| Part IB |
Course Description
This paper examines key moments in the formation of the modern Middle East and North Africa with an emphasis on developing an understanding of the periods of transition and conflict that have shaped and defined modern societies in the region since the nineteenth century.
The encounter with European modernity and subsequent European imperialism in the area provides the framework within which we shall study modernisation efforts, responses to colonialism, the rise of new ideologies such as nationalism, and the role of religion in politics and political discourse. The course will look at the late Ottoman Empire, Iran, North Africa and the modern states of the region that emerged in the 20th century, including Israel.