Instructor: Elias Tuma, Department of Economics, College of Letters and Science

Description: The course will aim at acquainting students with basic knowledge of the region in the 20th century, its demography, political regimes and economic and social systems..

Format: The course will be conducted as a seminar in which students will discuss assigned readings, primarily from my book: Economic and Political Change in the Middle East; Understanding the Middle East, Deborah Gerner, editor; selected articles from my Another Viewpoint series; and others. Students will be required to prepare a paper on a topic selected individually in consultation with the instructor. Each student will also make a presentation of the paper project in class during the process of preparation so that students will help each other by raising questions and making comments on the draft presentation. The instructor will hold an office hour once a week to discuss issues with students individually and to get acquainted on a one-to-one basis to the extent possible. Grading: Research paper [12-15 pages] (50%); final exam based on questions given in advance; I hand out about 10 questions to prepare for; I then choose 3-4 out of those (50%).

About the Instructor: I am a Professor Emeritus of Economics, have taught and published extensively on the Middle East, and continue to publish a monthly commentary mainly on the political economy of the region, with special emphasis on the Arab-Israeli conflict. I have conducted several freshman seminars in the past, as well as 190 courses for upper division which were conducted as seminars.