Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East (Anthropology 301, 3 credits)

This interdisciplinary course presents a general introduction to the contemporary Middle East, a region that has come to carry diverse and multiple meanings to Westerners.  It will highlight the multiple and the complex cultural and socio-political life in the Contemporary Middle East, challenging some of the assumptions and stereotypes about the history, cultures, religions and politics associated with this particular region.  It will introduce the various Middle Eastern groups as they vary in language, religion, subsistence economy and other cultural variables.  The genealogical relationships between dialects, sects, and modes of subsistence will be outlined and framed within a historical context in order to highlight the dynamic nature of Middle Eastern diversity and how impressions of "stagnant East" are often misleading.  Furthermore, the biological diversity of the Middle Easterners will be examined in relation to the legacy of "scientific racism," nationalist claims and the findings of modern population genetics.   GENERALLY OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS.

 Modern and Contemporary Art in the Arab World (Art 330, 3 credits)

This course offers an introduction to Arab Modern and Contemporary visual arts. The first part of the course will look briefly at the history of modern arts in the region and the how they have developed from Islamic arts as well as how they have been influenced by colonialism, politics, religion and culture. The course will start by looking at art from the last century beginning with the Ottoman Empire and will move into modern political influences, including analysis of the works of ‘iconic’ artists in the modern and contemporary periods from Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon. The influence of government policies, education, international interest, as well as comparisons with other countries in the Middle East and North Africa such as Iran, the Emirates and Morocco will be used to demonstrate the major influences in the development of the specific characteristics in the visual arts of these countries. The course will be structured around lectures, group work by the students researching artists from each of the surveyed countries, participation in workshop(s) around art interpretation, and visits to local galleries and museums.

Traditional Islamic Arts (Art 350, 3 credits)

This course, offered in cooperation with the Institute of Traditional Islamic Arts in Amman, introduces students to the study of traditional Islamic art in two interlocking modules.  The first focuses on the basic concepts of the sacred geometry that is the basis of traditional Islamic art. The second consists of a project in one of five media -- illumination, Persian miniature painting, gypsum carving, zillij (mosaic tile work), or woodworking.   In the first module students study the underlying principles of sacred geometry and practice the production of those geometric patterns that recur in traditional Islamic art forms through the repeated drawing of circles from which the traditional Islamic geometric patterns emerge. In the second module, more complex patterns will be used to create a work combining all three representations of Islamic art – geometry, calligraphy and biomorphic motifs.  By the end of the course students will understand that the language of pattern represents the “breath of the compassionate” in both visual and metaphysical manifestations.  GENERALLY OFFERED ALL SEMESTERS.
 

Art and Politics in the Arab World since 1970 (Art 360, 3 credits)

The course examines how politics influence aesthetics in modern and contemporary cultural production in the Arab world, focusing on the Levant (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine) and Egypt. Emphasis is given to visual arts, urban art forms in music, political cartoons, street art and poster productions. A key theme of the course allows students to investigate how political change informs both artistic production and international trends in art consumption. Students will track and explore course themes through studying three important historical timeframes: the 1970’s post Arab-Israeli War; the 1990’s post civil war in Lebanon, and the time following Egypt’s recent ‘revolution’ in 2011. Another feature of this course focuses on the parallels between different times, forms and subject matters of production, as well as how more recent trends in artistic consumption on an international level have played a part in production and dissemination of cultural practices from the region. The course employs multiple means of engagement including watching film, listening to music, and exploring visual art, posters, and urban art. Students will visit cultural spaces, attend concerts and lectures outside the classroom, and watch presentations by practitioners from the relevant fields. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS. 
 

Economic Development in the Middle East and North Africa (Economics 320; 3 credits)

This course will explore issues relating to social, economic and political development in the MENA region through a multidisciplinary lens. And, as the course also aims to address the practical side of implementing development, it will depend on augmenting the classroom activities with field visits to and guest speakers from a variety of organizations working in the field of development. Students will be given indicative readings on the topics and encouraged to explore them more widely, especially by using examples of practical problems and policy questions, seeking primary data sources and reports. There are no particular prerequisites for this course; however elementary social science studies obtained in disciplines such as economics or politics or an interest in contemporary Middle East issues can be considered as foundational assets for the student. The course may also be of interest to students who are undertaking disciplinary social science degrees and who are interested in “Third World” politics or economics. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.

Contemporary Jordanian Culture, (MENA Studies 330, 3 credits)

The course provides an in-depth overview of major trends in contemporary Jordanian culture.  Representative samples from a wide range of cultural manifestations will be studied.   These include relevant selections from the domains of art, music, fashion, cuisine, drama, cinema, media, architecture, and – to a lesser extent – politics and interfaith dialogue, based on students' interests.  In addition to class work, students will be able to meet with a number of invited guests and visit a number of sites and institutions.  Students are expected to keep a journal in which they record their notes, queries, observations and critiques.  We will also be examining various cultural discourses, to facilitate not only our discussion and conception of what is "Jordanian" or "Arab" but also our discussion of the problems of examining and studying contemporary Arab culture from a Western perspective.  Since no cultural product is divorced from the historical, social, political and economic context in which it is created, we will read various secondary materials on these subjects at the outset of the course.  GENERALLY OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS.

Community-Based Learning in the MENA Region (MENA Studies 390, 3 credits)

This course offers students first-hand, experiential learning about the role of non-governmental, private voluntary and media organizations in an Arab society through community-based learning. The course enables students to examine social issues from multiple perspectives, read relevant texts, participate in projects related to the fields of education, human development, human and civil rights, journalism or social services, engage in direct service with partner agencies, and reflect academically on their experience. Guided and facilitated by the course instructor, students are expected to spend approximately six hours at their community placement work-site each week and submit weekly journal entries reflecting on their experiences, in addition to designing and delivering a final service learning project to be shared with a larger audience. This course is intended to deepen and broaden the students’ interactions with their host countries as well as provide a solid analytical framework to enhance their study abroad program in Jordan. GENERALLY OFFERED ALL SEMESTERS.

The Arab Spring:  Revolution and Reform in the Arab World (Political Science 312; 3 credits)

Beginning in December 2010, movements for political reform in the Arab world engulfed the region in a sea of change. This outpouring led to unprecedented outcomes across the region from the January 2011 Jasmine Revolution that forced Tunisia’s President Zine Eddine Ben Ali to flee to the Egyptian Revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of demonstrations centered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Protest movements seeking greater democracy and accountability arose in virtually every corner of the Arab world. The demands for change have led to both peaceful and violent demonstrations of varying intensity in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen. This course is team-taught by instructors from AMIDEAST programs in Egypt, Jordan and Morocco. Students will examine the conditions that led to the Arab Spring uprisings through a series of case studies including Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Topics covered include conditions that preceded the uprisings, regime reactions, the role of external players, and prospects for the future.  GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.

Contemporary Issues in Jordan and the Arab World (Political Science 315; 3 credits)

This course will discuss the conceptual, historical, economic and cultural environment in which the contemporary Arab state system was established and has evolved. We will study the various political, social, and cultural trends which have contributed to the ways in which modern Arab World history has unfolded, highlighting such important themes as the changing relationship between the state and society; impact of Western economic, political and cultural might on the region; the search for political and cultural "authenticity" in response to the West; economic transformation and development; and the region's role in international relations. The various methodological paradigms that are employed in the study of the Arab world will be analyzed. It will offer an overview of Arab regimes, their emergence, consolidation, the role played by foreign powers in their creation and their final shaping. Using a comparative approach, we will investigate the formation of state and types of ruling regimes, societal power bases and systems, socio-political movements and ideologies, legitimacy and modern state power, and the scope and opportunities for political participation, liberalization and inclusion/exclusion. Basic concepts to be explored include power, elites, state, colonialism, nationalism, Islamic revivalism, democratization, human development, and gender issues. GENERALLY OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS.

International Relations in the Middle East and North Africa (Political Science 320; 3 credits)

This course examines the different kinds of hard and soft threats that prevail in the Middle East and North Africa in the post cold war era to enable students to analyze and be able to predict objectively the effects of these hard and soft threats on the regional and international systems. Specifically, the course will focuses on the major issues of hard and soft threats that have a bilateral and multilateral nature in the region. It will examine threats that have direct short-term and long-term devastating consequences that are measurable in number of casualties, demolition of infrastructure, and other long-term effects not only on regional but also international peace and security in post cold war era. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.

The Arab Israeli Relations (Political Science 325, 3 credits)

This course provides an in-depth examination of the nature and dynamics of Arab Israeli politics. It explores some of the main approaches to understanding the political systems in Israel and the Arab States, with a focus on state formation, national identities, leadership, elites and ideologically-motivated terrorist violence.  It introduces students to the roots of the Arab Israeli conflict, including the two World Wars and their impact on the Middle East, the emergence of Zionism as a political force in Palestine, the emergence of Arab Nationalism as a  political force  in the region, the establishment of Israel and the wars that followed in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973 as well as peacemaking efforts including the Egyptian Israeli peace treaty, the Jordanian Israeli peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords between the Palestinians and Israel.  Cutting-edge issues in several of the disciplines comprising Arab Israeli studies will be surveyed by examining debates within the political literature on the area.  The phenomenon of Islamism and its relevance to Arab Israeli relations will be examined as well at the pertinent debates and what intellectual and political stakes they represent.  Students will be required to present analytical accounts and form original arguments of their own in class presentations and written assignments. GENERALLY OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS.

Radical Islamic Political Movements (Political Science 330, 3 credits)

This course introduces students to the inner dynamics of radical Islamic political movements of the last 30 years.  It will examine the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran as a representative of Shiite political Islam, Osama Bin Laden as an example of Wahhabi Sunni radicalism, Egyptian President Sadat’s assassins as examples of Sunni religious violence, Hamas as a manifestation of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political thought and the impact of Sayyed Qutb, and finally, the reasons for the worldwide spread of violent Islamic movements from Bali in Indonesia to Algeria to New York on September 11, 2001.  This course is not a study of Islam, but rather an examination of the historical roots of radical movements, their search for identity, and an analysis of the different patterns of self expression or suicidal acts in the political, cultural, social and military contexts of a crisis milieu. GENERALLY OFFERED SPRING SEMESTERS.

Contemporary Islamic Thought (Religion 330, 3 credits)

This course is an introduction course to contemporary Islamic thought. The central concern is the study of the ideational progress in Islamic thought. It provides an overview of main ideas and issues that have influenced Islamic thinking and Muslim politics over the last two centuries. In addition, the course will introduce leading and influential thinkers and texts that have played key roles in shaping the Muslim mind. While students are not expected to have specialized knowledge of Islamic thought, some background historical reading will help put the readings in context. Students will be introduced to various methodological and theoretical approaches in studying religious and political thought. The course will address the following themes: setting the stage, politics and debates in Islamic thought, Islamic theology and philosophy, modernity and traditionalism, key Islamic thinkers and important issues in Islamic thought including Ijtihad, democracy and human rights. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.

Tourism, Historical Memory, and the Construction of the Nation in the Middle East (Sociology 360, 3 credits)

Tourism is usually understood as a vehicle for economic growth. This course examines another aspect of this industry, namely, the way tourist sites are used by states and other actors as existential locations to define the nation. The focus is on specific tourist sites in Jordan, Israel, Turkey, and Egypt to understand how religious and secular authorities produce a historical narration of a “nation.” Some of the questions raised include the following: How do Islamists interpret non-Muslim sites like Pharaonic temples and monuments in Egypt and Petra in Jordan? How does the Hashemite Kingdom narrate Christian and Jewish sites in a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim? Are there other reasons besides economic ones that explain the recent Hashemite interest in Islamic sites? In the case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, how are the tourist sites in Israel and the Palestinian territories appropriated by Zionists in their effort to delegitimize Palestinian claims to the land? Moreover, while most of the analysis points to the fact that tourist sites have been used in an ethnocentric way to lift a given people over another, other examples will be examined when tourist sites are used in a pluralistic and positive way. As part of the course, students will visit a number of sites in Jordan and collectively make independent observations based on their reading of the appropriate scholarly literature. Moreover, each student will select a site in a Middle Eastern country and, using the analysis provided in the scholarly readings, will do a qualitative analysis of that site. THIS COURSE WILL ONLY BE OFFERED DURING THE FALL 2013 SEMESTER.

Globalization and Social Change in the Arab World (Sociology 370; 3 credits)

The process of globalization is creating new economic, political and social realities throughout the world. Arab societies are no exception. The impact there is seen in the transformation of the temporal and spatial organization of social relations and transcations, generating transcontinental or interregional flows and netowrks of activity, interaction and power. This course investigates various perspectives on globalization and social change in the Arab world. It examines the nexus between economic and political globalization and the societal consequences of globalization in different parts of the region as well as varied responses to the forces and challenges of globalization in the diverse geographic and culture parts of the Arab world. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.

Women and Society in the Arab World (Women’s Studies 330, 3 credits)

This multidisciplinary course presents an in depth overview of the status of women in contemporary Arab society.  It highlights the multiple and the complex economic, cultural and socio-political factors that shaped the lives of Arab women historically and continue to shape them today. It will also highlight the diversities of the lives of Arab women as they live different sets of circumstances. Critical analysis of the situation Arab women and challenging some of the held assumptions and stereotypes about Arab women both in the region and abroad are central concerns.

This course consists of two parts. The first part consists of an examination of women’s activism and struggle in some Arab countries and the factors that shaped the Arab women’s movement, with the Jordanian women’s movement as a case study.  The second part is an exploration of the themes and variations in women's lives in modern Arab societies, including major structural features (mainly the state, Islamism and tribalism) of modern Arab societies and their influence on the relationships between women and men and their impact on women’s status in the family and society at large. This section will cover the major economic, political and legal and socio-cultural issues. The analysis will identify areas of progress for Arab women as well as challenges to their advancement. GENERALLY OFFERED FALL SEMESTERS.