Contending Visions of the Middle East

Examination of major debates in the field of Modern Middle Eastern and Islamic History, exploring what the main approaches and their critiques are, how the field (especially recently) came to be polarized and politicized, and where more fruitful middle ground might be found between these hardened categories. Topics will include Orientalism and its discontents, the rise of political Islam, nationalism, and `civilizational identities.` ,br>