HIST 362 - Modern Middle East

Credit Hours: 3

A survey of Middle East history with an emphasis upon those events that provide historical background and context for current affairs in the region. It covers from around 1800 to the present, with an emphasis on the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries, beginning with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and goes on to cover the impact of WWI and WWII, Zionism, the rise of modern Middle East states, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Arab nationalism, the rise of political Islam and Islamic fundamentalism, a brief history of U.S. interest and activity in the region, the advent and rise of terrorism in the Middle East, and both Gulf Wars.