This course has developed out of the consensus among Middle East experts that a proper understanding of recent events in the Middle East requires more than a casual or narrowly-focused knowledge of the cultural, social, historical, economic, religious and political background of these events. This course will provide students with an opportunity to study, through an in-depth interdisciplinary approach, one of the world’s most complex yet important regions which, except for its crises, is virtually ignored in the news media of most Western countries. This course will seek to illuminate the host of factors underlying contemporary issues in the Middle East and in some North African and Central Asian countries. The first 15 minutes of each session will be devoted to  discussions and analyses of daily developments in Middle Eastern countries.

Prerequisites: INTSTDS 2200 (245) or Junior Standing.