MLA Proseminar: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan: Islamism, terrorism and globalization

Why are Islam and the Middle East continually in the news in the Western world, and why are Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan the countries that are most frequently named? Fifty years ago, before the terms "Islamism" and "terrorism" were coined, and before we began talking about globalization, things were very different. All three countries had close relations with Europe and America. In this course we will track the various currents of social change that produced the current situation, using the methods and theoretical concepts of anthropology. We will follow the news in the course of the semester and track the way things are continuing to change, so that at the end of the semester we can understand the region and its problems in the context of world history and globalization. Instead of an exam at the end of the semester, you will be asked to write a short essay (1000 words) on a question at the end of January relating to issues we have discussed in class, and again at the end of February and March, and to formulate a research question on a problem that interests you in the history of the area and try to answer it a a final paper by the end of the examination period.