This course aims to provide a historically sound understanding of the contemporary Middle East, by surveying its contemporary history, not as a static sectarian continuum, but as a complex and changing set of contentions between local, regional, and international actors. By unearthing socio-economic and political developments, the course seeks to set out nuanced questions on more contemporary topics, particularly the events that followed the invasion and occupation of Iraq, arriving at the Arab Spring and its outcomes.

To this end, the course covers key issues of development in the contemporary Middle East, such as military authoritarianism, neoliberalisation, sectarianism, religious extremism, civil conflict, human and civil rights, gender and elite politics, through a combination of classical lectureship and multimedia-interactive learning tools. It also provides students with cultural and historical content that widens their knowledge of the region and its peoples beyond politically-constructed frames.