NEHC

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.

The course concerns the many ways Oriental Jews are represented in Israeli discourse: in academic writings, in history curricula, in Israeli novels and films, in ethnic museums and in political discourse. It will also discuss Mizrahi self-identities as manifested in protest movements, civil organizations, and political parties. The course will take a chronological path and will follow the changes that occurred in the discourse about ethnicity from the state`s early years until recent days.

The course concerns the ways Jewish history has been constructed and conceptualized in the State of Israel since 1948. It will examine academic and para academic research, popular history books, TV series, educational programs, national archives and public ceremonies.

“The first man on moon”, “the first Thanksgiving” or “the first kiss” – our society is still fascinated and remembers the exact moment something happened for the first time. The history of the Ancient Near East, especially the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), is quite rich of such “firsts in history”.
From the moment, writing is discovered there is an abundance of textual record, covering the first documents about politics, law, and economics. The first private documents allow us a glimpse into what living and dying were life like more 5000 years ago.

This class will explore what the cultural conditions of those innovations are and how innovations transform societies and why it matters to study ancient civilizations.

By discovering primary sources (in English translation), the fascination of reading those texts for the “first” time will be experienced. Visits at the Oriental Institute Museum will link textual record and object-based inquiry.

The second quarter will be devoted to the preparation of a major research paper.

The first quarter will take the form of a colloquium on the sources for and the literature on the political, social, economic, technological, and cultural history of Western and Central Asia from 900 to 1750. Specific topics will vary and focus on the Turks and the Islamic world, the Mongol universal empire, the age of Timur and the Turkmens, and the development of the "Gunpowder Empires." The second quarter will be devoted to the preparation of a major research paper.

This course examines responses to the Mongol destruction of the Abbasid caliphate in 1258 and the background to formation of regional Muslim empires. Topics include the opening of confessional boundaries; Ibn Arabi, Ibn Taymiyya, and Ibn Khaldun; the development of alternative spiritualities, mysticism, and messianism in the fifteenth century; and transconfessionalism, antinomianism, and the articulation of sacral sovereignties in the sixteenth century. All work in English. This course is offered in alternate years.

The seminar covers the history of the region during the 19th and 20th centuries. It looks at how the modern historiography of modern Middle Eastern studies shaped, and was shaped by, post-colonial studies, subaltern studies, and historical perceptions of urbanity, modernity, Orientlaism, and class. The class will pay heed to the fluid and constructed nature of Arab national culture, and the terminology used by Arab nationalists concerning ""nahda," “revival,” and “rebirth.” We will explore various "golden ages" Arab nationalists envisioned, like pre-Islamic Semitic empires, the first Islamic state under the leadership of the Prophet Muhammad, the Ummayds, the Abbasids and Muslim Spain, as a way of analyzing the the constructed and temporal nature of national discourses. We will finally examine the distinction between Pan-Arab nationalism (qawmiyya), which considered Arab culture, history, and language as markers of one's national identity, and often strove for political unity with other Arab states; and territorial-patriotic nationalism (wataniyya), which hailed the national cultures of particular Arab states (Egyptian, Iraqi, Lebanese), focusing on their geography, archaeology, and history the key features of national identity.

NEHC 30019. Mesopotamian Law, LLSO 20019 SIGN 26002. Ancient Mesopotamia -- the home of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians who wrote in cuneiform script on durable clay tablets -- was the locus of many of history's firsts. No development, however, may be as important as the formations of legal systems and legal principles revealed in contracts, trial records, and law collections (codes), among which The Laws of Hammurabi (r. 1792-1750 BC) stands as most important for understanding subsequent legal practice and thought of Mesopotamia's cultural heirs in the Middle East and Europe until today. This course will explore the rich source materials of the Laws and relevant judicial and administration documents (all in English translations) to investigate topics of legal, social, and economic practice including family formation and dissolution, crime and punishment (sympathetic or talionic eye for an eye, pecuniary, corporal), and procedure (contracts, trials, ordeals).

This course covers the period from ca. 1700 to the present. It explores Muslim intellectuals' engagement with tradition and modernity in the realms of religion, politics, literature, and law. We discuss debates concerning the role of religion in a modern society, perceptions of Europe and European influence, the challenges of maintain religious and cultural authenticity, and Muslim views of nation-states and nationalism in the Middle East. We also give consideration to the modern developments of transnational jihadism and the Arab Spring.

This sequence explores the thought and literature of the Islamic world from the coming of Islam in the seventh century C.E. through the development and spread of its civilization in the medieval period and into the modern world. Including historical framework to establish chronology and geography, the course focuses on key aspects of Islamic intellectual history: scripture, law, theology, philosophy, literature, mysticism, political thought, historical writing, and archaeology. In addition to lectures and secondary background readings, students read and discuss samples of key primary texts, with a view to exploring Islamic civilization in the direct voices of the people who participated in creating it. All readings are in English translation. No prior background in the subject is required. This course sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies.