Spring 2024 Middle East UN2000 section 001

ETHNICITY, RACE, IDENTITY IN THE PRE-MOD

ETHNICITY, RACE, IDENTITY

Call Number 00286
Day & Time
Location
T 4:10pm-6:00pm
501 Diana Center
Points 4
Grading Mode Standard
Approvals Required None
Instructor Nathanael P Shelley
Type SEMINAR
Course Description

This seminar investigates the concepts of ethnicity, race, and identity, in both theory and practice,
through a comparative survey of several case studies from the Pre-Modern history of the Middle East.
The course focuses on symbols of identity and difference, interpreting them through a variety of
analytical tools, and evaluating the utility of each as part of an ongoing exploration of the subject. The
survey considers theories of ethnicity and race, as well as their critics, and includes cases from the
Ancient World (c. 1000 BCE) through the Old Regime (c. 1800 CE).


Students in this course will gain a familiarity with major theories of social difference and alterity, and
utilize them to interpret and analyze controversial debates about social politics and identity from the
history of the Middle East, including ancient ethnicity, historical racism, Arab identity, pluralism in the
Islamic Empire, and slavery, among others. In addition, students will spend much of the semester
developing a specialized case study of their own on a historical community of interest. All of the case
studies will be presented in a showcase at the end of the semester.


All assigned readings for the course will be in English. Primary sources will be provided in translation.
The course meets once a week and sessions are two hours long.

Web Site Vergil
Department Asian and Middle East @Barnard
Enrollment 11 students (20 max) as of 9:06PM Friday, December 6, 2024
Subject Middle East
Number UN2000
Section 001
Division Barnard College
Section key 20241MDES2000W001