ANTH 390/690 - Politics & Religion in the Middle East (3 credits)

(next offering, Spring 20xx) - Dr. Jon W. Anderson
TTh 10:15-11:50 TBA

This course examines the cultural frames of politics in the contemporary Middle East and develops the background for understanding community and authority, reformism, fundamentalism, and national movements. It begins with an introduction to cultural and religious features of contemporary Middle East societies and proceeds to case studies that elicit cultural notions of piety and honor in individuals and of trust and loyalty in social relations. It pays particular attention to forms in which these are expressed and how to ‘decode’ them, including how people in Middle Eastern societies ‘read’ expressions for these values.

The goal of this course is to assist students to become more informed consumers of information and views on the contemporary Middle East, and to acquire background on the Middle East and Islamic studies. It has no prerequisites, and counts as a major elective in Politics, as an intermediate "topical course" for Anthropology majors, and satisfies social science distribution requirements.

For graduate students, ANTH 690 requires additional readings and a research paper.