Middle East History - Spring 2010 at Canada College

Middle East History
Professor Mike Noonan

History 455
MW 12:45pm-2:00pm
CRN: 42552

The people of the Middle East have a rich history. The region has seen the rise of agriculture, the birth of all three of the world's major monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), and for centuries the Middle East was a world power, a key player in international trade before the rise of Europe. Since the 19th century the Middle East has become a territory that is central to the aspirations, ambitions, and conflicts of nations and peoples all over the world.

This course has three goals. The first goal is to give you a basic familiarity with Middle East history, its major events and controversies. The second goal is to show that there are many different ways to look at Middle East history and no source of information is without a perspective. This is true of all history, but perhaps especially true of the Middle East. Finally the third goal of this course is to give you the critical tools to approach issues in the Middle East in a historically grounded manner, to make your own judgments knowing the facts and perspectives from which they are presented, in other words to be historians.