This course takes a cultural and historical approach to politics of the Middle East; it investigates the nature of political authority and the complex relationship between religion, traditions, social movements, class structures, and the challenges Middle East societies faced from colonialism and globalization. The course provides a critical appraisal of normative paradigms and approaches through which the Middle East has been studied, the narratives covering its history, how knowledge has been organized, and the repercussions of particular approaches and theories.

This course examines the major theoretical paradigms in critical social theory and economic development. It gives focus to assumptions made on social and economic development, and examines the evolution of different schools of thought and theoretical constructs. The approach of the course is interdisciplinary, combining insights from sociology, economics, political science and history. It applies models and methodologies through which historical processes can be conceptualized with respect to the ideological frameworks that guide social power and development policy.