IAFF 6378.80 Oil and Politics

Robert Weiner

Mon 7:10 – 9:40 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 2022.

Mon 7:10 – 9:40 PM

GEOG 6262 Geographic Perspectives on the Middle East

Mona Atia

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

This seminar explores the contemporary transformation of spaces across the Middle East and North Africa. It combines an emphasis on geographic theory in conversation with specific empirical case studies. The aim of the course is to critically examine the relationship between people and their environment---whether the natural environment or the built environment and to think through the spatial manifestations of various forms of intervention. The seminar draws on interdisciplinary texts, and methods from human geography to explore economic, political and cultural change through the lens of economic globalization, urbanization and the infrastructures that support them. We will discuss the effects of geopolitical events on everyday life in the region using concepts such as scale, territoriality and governmentality. Through site-specific readings, our discussions will reveal how a multitude of factors in particular places and times coalesce and produce new, complex geographies and landscapes of power. Taught Spring 2022.

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378.12 Lebanon and 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 2022.

Wed 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378.O14 Refugees & Displaced People in ME

Fatima Hadji

Tue 7:10 – 9:00 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 2022.

Tue 7:10 – 9:00 PM

CAH 2115: Love and Body in Islamic Art

Mika Natif

Tue 12:45 – 2:00 PM

Thu 12:45 – 2:00 PM

Love and Body in Islamic Art is an introductory-level course that explores the prolific tradition of figural representation related to diverse kinds of love in the pre-Modern Muslim sphere. Through engagement with visual sources, historical materials (poetry and prose), and recent scholarly literature, we will cover such topics as: tension around image-making, art and courtly pursuit, gender and representation, constructing visual desire (homo and hetero), the beloved as an ideal beauty, and depictions of spiritual love. Throughout the course we will make visits to the National Museum of Asian Art, study original objects and discuss their diverse range of styles and cultures. All reading materials, including original sources, will be in English. No previous knowledge of Islamic art, history or religion is required. * This course fulfills the G-PAC Humanities requirement for Critical Thinking. Taught Spring 2022.

Tue 12:45 – 2:00 PM

Thu 12:45 – 2:00 PM

IAFF 6378: US Policy in the Gulf

Emma Soubrier

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

Special Topics in Middle East Studies: US Policy in the Gulf. Taught Fall 2021.

Tue 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6378:  Iran in the Middle East

Sina Azodi

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

Special Topics in Middle East Studies: Iran in the Middle East. Taught Fall 2021.

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

IAFF 6361: MES Cornerstone

Marc Lynch

Wed 7:10 – 9:00 PM

Multidisciplinary foundation course for the Middle East studies program. Introduction to key issues. Taught Fall 2021.

Wed 7:10 – 9:00 PM

PSC 6377: Comparative Politics of the Middle East

Nathan Brown

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

This course will concentrate on four aspects of the comparative politics of the Middle East: Islam and politics; regime type and change; political economy; and ideology. These aspects will be woven together rather than addressed as separate topics. Taught Fall 2021.

Mon 5:10 – 7:00 PM

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