Environmental Science A22 - How the Middle East Views the West

Institution:

Wheaton College - Massachusetts

Subject:

Description:

Since 9/11, Americans have asked two central questions about the Middle East and the Islamic world: Why do they hate us and What went wrong (in the Islamic world) These questions may seem innocent in nature but in reality they betray our point of view and our expectations, both of which are deeply compromised at times by the assumptions that we ourselves possess of Middle Easterners as people who are unlike us and alien from us. In this course, we will leave such assumptions behind, and instead conduct a rigorous and contextualized investigation of life in the Middle East. We will build a foundation of historical knowledge on what has occurred in the Middle East in the last hundred years that produced the situation that we have today. Along the way we will examine ordinary peoples' lives in order to understand everyday realities and diverse conditions within the region. With this achieved, we will proceed to reverse the gaze-or turn the viewing glass around-and attempt to understand how Middle Easterners perceive Americans. Students enrolling in this course are asked to leave preconceptions at the door and bring an open mind to the information that we will explore together. Our work will focus on a variety of historical and contemporary texts as well as multimedia resources. Through discussions and writing assignments, students will have a chance to improve their oral and verbal expression. They will also learn how to apply a high standard of critical analysis and scholarly rigor to all their work. This course fulfills the Beyond the West Foundation requirement. (Yuen-Gen Liang)

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.wheatoncollege.edu

Phone Number:

(508) 285-7722

Regional Accreditation:

New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Calendar System:

Semester

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