Looking for a unique history class? The Contemporary Arab World course introduces students to the current realities of this important part of the world and helps them understand the causes behind them. 

Taking this class will enable you to understand the region and the US involvement in it.  Furthermore, because of its geographic importance, its size, and its resources, the Arab world plays an important role in international affairs and economics.

This course surveys the contemporary Arab ‎world since the First World War in order to understand the causes of current problems.  It covers crucial topics such as French and British occupation of the Arab world, independence movements, the rise of dictatorships, regional conflict, US involvement in the regions, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the condition of women, and the recent Arab revolutions.

The course will address the following issues:

• Social, political, and economic changes
• Why progress has been slow in Arab countries
• ‎The rise of Islamic fundamentalism
• Post-colonial Arab regimes
• The Arab-Israeli conflict
• US foreign policy in the Middle East
• The emergence of new political and cultural centers in the Arabian Gulf
• The Revolutions of 2011
• The Rise of ISIS

The lectures will survey the Arab world, while the textbook will allow us to focus on one case study, Syria, which is of great importance for current events.

The Contemporary Arab World
ARAB 2030
12/28/18 - 01/17/19 ONLINE

Thank you to Yasser D. Djazaerly for his contribution to this blog.

Dr. Yasser Derwiche Djazaerly grew up in Aleppo, Syria.  He graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received a joint Ph.D. in German Studies and Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities from Stanford University.  He teaches Arabic, French, and German language and culture courses at Fitchburg State University.