All courses numbered 500 and above are graduate courses.
Undergraduates need to submit a course permit to enroll.
HIST 630 Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Relations in the Middle East
Sharkey
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
This seminar addresses several recurring questions about Muslim, Christian, and Jewish relations in the Middle East. How have Islam, Christianity, and Judaism influenced each other in the region historically? How have Jews, Christians, and Muslims fared as religious minorities? To what extent have communal relations been characterized by harmony and cooperation, or by strife and discord, and how have these relations changed in different contexts over time? To what extent and under what circumstances have members of these communities converted, intermarried, formed business alliances, and adopted or developed similar customs? How has the emergence of the modern nation-state system affected communal relations as well as the legal or social status of religious minorities in particular countries? How important has religion been as one variable in social identity (along with sect, ethnicity, class, gender, etc.), and to what extent has religious identity figured into regional conflicts and wars? The focus of the class will be on the modern period (c. 1800-present) although we will read about some relevant trends in the early and middle Islamic periods as well.
