Short Course Description
The post-World War I territorial states that emerged on the ruins of the Ottoman Empire and out of French North Africa were based on a particularly doctrine of state nationalism which emphasized Arab and Turkish ethnicity. Modern Iran had a different trajectory, but also gave greater emphasis on Persian ethnicity as the core of the nation-state. Minority ethno-linguistic and religious communities were expected to assimilate into the dominant, ?enlightened? polities being fashioned, or face the consequences. This course will examine the efforts by Middle Eastern states to subsume their minorities into this dominant paradigm, and the various responses of the subordinate groups. Special attention will be devoted to the Kurds and Berbers, the two largest ethno-linguistic communities in the region that have not achieved self-determination, particularly in light of their newly assertive identity movements in recent years.
Full syllabus will be available to registered students only
