Middle East Studies Cluster

The Middle East is a region of great ethnic and cultural diversity and intense nationalist rivalry. Its near monopoly of world energy supplies and geopolitical location have long made it a focus of international capital flow, labor migration and world power competition. This cluster addresses key issues facing Middle Eastern societies in the 21st century, issues which face the United States as well: ethnicity, transnational culture, migrant labor, the politics of energy, and distribution of wealth in the context of both regional and world power structures.

Cluster Coordinator: John Damis
Office: URBN 650L
Phone: 725-3111
E-mail: damisj@pdx.edu

Sophomore Inquiry: The Original Melting Pot—
Middle East Ethnics, Politics and Culture

This course introduces students to the distinctive cultural histories of the ethnic groups of the region and their interrelationships from Roman times to the present, examining at the same time larger political, economic and cultural patterns at work in the region in the same period. Specific contemporary issues such as transnational culture, migrant labor, distribution of wealth are also addressed. Selections of scholarly and literary sources are used to introduce the student to both professional views and those of the people themselves of the region.

This SINQ leads to the Middle East Studies Cluster.

Approved Cluster Courses for Academic Year 08-09