IAFF 6378: Political Economy of the Middle East

Shana Marshall

Thu 7:10 – 9:00 PM

This course will introduce students to the political foundations of the region’s economy. We will examine how the economy of the MENA has been shaped by encounters with external actors (foreign traders, colonizing governments, transnational firms, international financial institutions, development agencies, etc.) but also how the region has impacted the global economy, with a special focus on the Gulf states and their role in shaping global financial markets. We will examine the legacy and ongoing impact of Western development and reconstruction agencies and their discourses, with special attention to the region's agrarian zones as well as zones transformed by imperial wars. Other important regional actors such as militaries, oil companies, sovereign wealth funds and labor movements will also be examined. This course will introduce students to mainstream political economy approaches concurrently with their critiques, in order to provide an understanding of the evolution of theories and practices of economic development and their political origins. Taught Fall 2021.

Thu 7:10 – 9:00 PM

IAFF 6378 : Youth Politics in the Middle East

Kristin Diwan

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

This seminar will take a closer look at youth politics in all its forms - through both case studies and more conceptual works – to come to a better assessment of a decade of change in the Middle East. Taught Fall 2021.

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378: Refugees & Displaced People in ME

Fatima Hadji

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

The course will focus on the refugee and the IDP communities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Through case studies, analysis and reflection, the course will engage students in examining the sheer scope of this crisis,analyzing the causes and consequences of displacement, the roots and underlying issues of injustice that impact refugee and IDP communities including vulnerable populations. In addition to investigating the profound implications when it comes to preventing, responding to and resolving displacement; and how the steady increase in displaced populations influence regional and world politics, and how resettlement became a contentious debate among the regional and international community alike. Students will also explore the general background on UN and other international agencies and organizations, regional human rights bodies, and in-country agencies involved with IDPs and refugees in light of the legal frameworks and policies that are designed to protect refugee and IDP populations. Taught Spring 2021.

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378: Oil: Industry, Economy, Society

Robert Weiner

Mon 7:10 – 9:00 PM

This course takes a multidisciplinary approach (primarily political economy and management) to oil and its effects on business, nation-states, and the world economy. The first half of the course adopts a top-down viewpoint, examining the global oil environment. The second half is more bottom-up, using cases to grapple with industry issues. The course is conducted in a mixture of seminar and lecture formats. A group proposal, paper, and presentation, as well as active class participation are expected, and constitute over half the assessment. Taught Spring 2021.

Mon 7:10 – 9:00 PM

IAFF 6378: Lebanon & Syria

Firas Maksad

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

This course explores the complicated link between Syria and Lebanon – from the time these territories were part of the Ottoman Empire until the present. In the process, the course focuses on the different political and economic trajectories the two states followed upon gaining independence from France; the domestic and external sources of their respective foreign policies; Lebanon’s slide towards civil war in 1975 and Syria’s intervention to end it; the politics of Syria’s domination of Lebanon and, ultimately, Syria’s withdrawal from the latter; and, finally, the civil war in Syria and its impact on Lebanon. Taught Spring 2021.

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378: Religion & Society in the Middle East

Nathan Brown

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

What role does religion play in the modern Middle East? How does it inform politics, social relations, and the practice of everyday life? How do the answers to these questions vary across time, space, and other contexts? This course takes these broad questions as points of departure, exploring them from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Drawing upon recent scholarship in history, anthropology, political science, religious studies, gender studies, and post-colonial studies, it takes a comparative approach to various expressions of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and other religions, paying particular attention to their historically evolving relationships with one another, and with ostensibly secular ideologies (nationalism, socialism, neo-liberal capitalism, etc.) and institutions like the state. Taught Spring 2021.

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

HIST 3825: Land and Power in Israel/Palestine

Shira Robinson

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

Intensive reading seminar surveying key debates and turning points in the history of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict. Approach strikes a balance between structure and agency in understanding the ways in which people make their own history, but not under conditions of their choosing. This is an undergraduate course that is open to graduate students. Taught Spring 2021.

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

GEOG 6262: Geographical Perspectives on the Middle East

Mona Atia

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

Examination of selected topics related to political, economic, social, cultural, and geographic patterns and processes in the region. Taught Spring 2021.

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6379: Middle East Studies Capstone

Marc Lynch

Fri 4:00 – 5:00 PM

Second in a two-course sequence with IAFF 6377. A project-oriented course, designed to synthesize the skills and knowledge that students have acquired in their graduate study. Restricted to students in the MA in Middle East studies program. Taught Spring 2021.

Fri 4:00 – 5:00 PM

GEOG 3154: Geography of the Middle East and North Africa

Mona Atia

Mon 12:00 – 12:00 AM

Cultural and physical regional patterns of the Middle East and North Africa. Taught Fall 2021.

Mon 12:00 – 12:00 AM