NEHC

This course offers an overview of the history of Mesopotamia from its origins down to the Achaemenid and Hellenistic periods, when Mesopotamia became part of larger empires. Weeks 1 to 5, preceding mid-term exam, cover the periods ranging from the late Chalcolithic down to the end of the Middle Bronze age (late fifth to mid-second millennia BCE). Weeks 6 to 10 study the developments of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, from the period of the archives of El-Amarna in the fourteenth century BCE down to the time of Alexander the Great in the late fourth century BCE.

This course provides a survey of the primary literatures of Islamic law and their treatment in modern scholarship. Primary texts read and discussed in class cover the following genres: compendium (mukhtasar), commentary (sharh), legal disputation (jadal), legal theory (usul al-fiqh), legal maxims (qawa’id fiqhiyya), handbooks for judges (adab al-qadi), handbooks for muftis (adab al-mufti), and legal responsa (fatawa). We will read closely selected excerpts from each of these genres and discuss relevant secondary literature in order to contextualize the primary texts thematically and historically and to examine critically the research questions that have thus far animated the modern study of Islamic law. Undergraduate students by instructor permission only.

The class compares the histories of both Iraq and Palestine to explore questions relating to colonialism, nationalism and resistance in the modern Middle East. Each class will take up a theme, ranging from arm resistance to gender roles in post colonialist contextS, and will compare the Iraqi to the Palestinian case. GRADUATE Seminar, three hours,

This graduate seminar offers a historiographical overview of the approaches to sect, religion, minority and gender in colonial and postcolonial contexts in the Middle East. We will discuss the conceptualizations of nationalism by different social scientists; explore the characteristics of Iranian, Turkish and Arab nationalism[s] in the years 1860-1979; examine the history of science and technology in the region and its influence on perceptions of Islamic modernity,; and ask whether sectarianism an old phenomenon or a new one, paying heed to the relationship between minorities and religions in the region.

This two-quarter seminar focuses on the transformation of the Muslim Ottoman principality into an imperial entity--after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453--that laid claim to inheritance of Alexandrine, Roman/Byzantine, Mongol/Chinggisid, and Islamic models of Old World Empire at the dawn of the early modern era. Special attention is paid to the transformation of Ottoman imperialism in the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver (1520-1566), who appeared to give the Empire its “classical” form. Topics include: the Mongol legacy; the reformulation of the relationship between political and religious institutions; mysticism and the creation of divine kingship; Muslim-Christian competition (with special reference to Spain and Italy) and the formation of early modernity; the articulation of bureaucratized hierarchy; and comparison of Muslim Ottoman, Iranian Safavid, and Christian European imperialisms. The first quarter comprises a chronological overview of major themes in Ottoman history, 1300-1600; the second quarter is divided between the examination of particular themes in comparative perspective (for example, the dissolution and recreation of religious institutions in Islamdom and Christendom) and student presentations of research for the seminar paper. In addition to seminar papers, students will be required to give an oral presentation on a designated primary or secondary source in the course of the seminar.

This two-quarter seminar focuses on the transformation of the Muslim Ottoman principality into an imperial entity--after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453--that laid claim to inheritance of Alexandrine, Roman/Byzantine, Mongol/Chinggisid, and Islamic models of Old World Empire at the dawn of the early modern era. Special attention is paid to the transformation of Ottoman imperialism in the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver (1520-1566), who appeared to give the Empire its “classical” form. Topics include: the Mongol legacy; the reformulation of the relationship between political and religious institutions; mysticism and the creation of divine kingship; Muslim-Christian competition (with special reference to Spain and Italy) and the formation of early modernity; the articulation of bureaucratized hierarchy; and comparison of Muslim Ottoman, Iranian Safavid, and Christian European imperialisms. The first quarter comprises a chronological overview of major themes in Ottoman history, 1300-1600; the second quarter is divided between the examination of particular themes in comparative perspective (for example, the dissolution and recreation of religious institutions in Islamdom and Christendom) and student presentations of research for the seminar paper. In addition to seminar papers, students will be required to give an oral presentation on a designated primary or secondary source in the course of the seminar.

This is the continuation of NEHC 20837/20837: History Early Turkish Republic I. Students will produce a seminar/research paper and meet to discuss selected readings on the transition from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic and the consolidation of the Republican regime.

The course reviews the issues and scholarship on various facets of the social history of the Islamic Near East, ca. 700-1500 CE), including Patterns of Social Organization (“class,” tribal or kinship ties, professional ties, ethnicity, etc.), the role of pastoral nomadism in Near Eastern societies, non-Muslim communities and their relations with Muslims, Women and Gender issues, Technology and Social Change, Historical Demography, and Urbanism.

This is a required introductory course for all CMES ancient-track students.

Television is one of the major media phenomena of the 20th and 21st centuries. Television had a significant part in the building of the modern nation-state and is, nowadays, one of the main manifestations of global capitalism. The Israeli television market went from one public channel, dominated by the government, to become a leading exporter of television content to the Western World. During the semester we will review the political history of global and Israeli TV, we will learn to distinguish between different TV genres such as soap opera, sitcom, "reality" TV and quality drama series. We will explain how the growth of various creative products and different genres reflected both the political and economic zeitgeist. Likewise, we will focus on how the unique characteristics of the Israeli television market brought about its international success. We will focus on the narratives of Israeli successful drama series such as Fauda (a series about an under-cover IDF unit aired on Netflix), In treatment (a psychological drama which was aired on HBO) and Homeland (an Israeli action format aired on Show-time) and try to explain their global success. We will also focus on how the various political minorities in Israel are represented on television and the political and social impact of their representation. In addition, we will discuss concepts such as "quality" and "trash" TV as concepts reflecting social, political and economic struggles. We will also discuss the changes which the digital era is bringing about and its impact on television at large and television in Israel.