HS 489 - Seminar: America in the Middle East

(3.00 cr.)

Prerequisite: One HS 100-level course, one HS 300-level course. Explores the complex history of America's interaction with the Middle East, beginning with the first Barbary war fought in North Africa in 1801 and ending with the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Topics include Protestant Christian missionary activity; the American brand of orientalism; the United States' involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the Arabian Gulf; and the politics of oil and cultural encounters and exchanges. Students work with primary sources such as diplomatic documents and other official records, missionary reports, newspapers, memoirs, literature, art, and advertising. Written or electronic permission of the instructor. GT