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NES 3655 COMBINED Minorities of the Middle East (2023SP)
In the media we read about conflict in Iraq between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds; strife between Muslims and Copts in Egypt; rebellion in Syria against the ruling Alawite minority; and violence between Israelis and Palestinians; and the list goes on. This course aims to enrich students’ understanding of the diversity of the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), exploring histories of inter-communal contact and conflict. We explore the legacy of the Ottoman Empire and the impact of its dissolution. We will focus our attention on urban centers that fostered inter-communal relations, as well as investigating sites of strife and cases of minority repression. We will read histories, memoirs, and fiction, and view films that help us better understand inter-communal relations, tensions, and conflict. We will also interrogate the terms for exploring a range of distinctions among majority and minority populations including: religious difference (Muslims, Christians, and Jews); divisions of religious rite (Sunni and Shica); entho-linguistic minorities (Armenians, Kurds, and Nubians); national identities (Israelis and Palestinians); cultures of origin (Mizrahi, Sephardi, and Ashkenazi Jews). We will also examine how race, racism, and the history of slavery factor into modern discourses of identity in the MENA region.