A general introduction to the history, politics, culture, and social life of the modern Middle East. Begins with the nineteenth century Ottoman reforms known as the Tanzimat and moves on to cover capitalist consolidation, the rise of European colonialism, the state-building process, social movements, Cold War politics, and the growth of the oil industry. Pays particular attention to how twentieth century transformations shaped new modes of identification including nationalism and citizenship, feminism, sectarianism, pan-Arabism, Third Worldism, Islamism.
5
UnitsOptional
Grading1, 2, 3
PasstimeNone
Level LimitLetters and science
CollegeShe knows her stuff and is respectful of students opinions. However, there were some weeks when the reading was just way too much. I learned plenty from this class though.
Cares a lot about what she is teaching. Wants everyone to succeed and hates grading because of it. Lots of reading to do, but most readings are interesting. No need to take notes in lecture because she posts the slides and would rather you listen to her speak than write things down. 5 biweekly assignments. Final and Midterm.
Took HIST46B in my first quarter here. In my second year now and I have a strong feeling that no other course experience will surpass. Every one of Seikaly's lectures was fascinating. Workload was reasonable and all assignments had a purpose. I came out of this course having really LEARNED rather than just having completed busy work.
Weekly short written assignments and large papers for midterm and final, but prompts are given in advance. Don't procrastinate and you'll do fine. Lots of reading and very dense lectures, but well organized and notes are posted online
weekly responses. midterm/final takehome but too long for a GE. shes nice and knowledgeable, but if you dont know anything about the middle east the class is difficult- she expects you to already have context. easy enough if you use wiki. could probably skip lecture if you do online iclicker. if you hate writing do not take this class
There's a lot of weekly readings, and usually, there is a writing assignment on one of the readings. You have to attend lecture and sections for participation. There is a take-home midterm/final in the form of an essay. Overall, great class, with really supportive TAs. Definitely a bit hard for a GE but doable if you put in the time.