59 courses with the subject MES, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
MES 100Selected Topics1-6
Exploration of a topic (to be determined) not covered by the standard curriculum but of interest to faculty and students in a particular semester.
Islam as a faith and a civilization. Understanding its origins, beliefs, rituals, and the historical development of its intellectual traditions in the pre-modern and modern eras, and its geographic, cultural and theological diversity today.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the SU academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
An introductory survey of Middle East history beginning with the rise of Islam. Includes culture, social life, women and politics, early Arab Empires, the Ottomans and Safavids, intellectual renaissance.
A survey of modern Middle East history from roughly the 20th century, covering the nation-states from Iran to Morocco. Includes culture, social life, colonialism and nationalism, feminism, and political change.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the S.U. academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
MES 308Ancient Judaism and the Origins of Christianity3
Offered only in Madrid. Social, cultural, intellectual, and historical conditions which surrounded the birth of this new world religion in its ancient Mediterranean cradle--from Mesopotamia and Egypt to Greece and ancient Rome.
This course is designed to familiarize students with the burgeoning field of contemporary Arab-American literature, highlighting the ways in which this literature portrays and complicates Arab-American identities and cultures.
An exploration of the social, economic, and political histories of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain since independence to understand the contexts and reasons for the revolutions that began in 2011.
Offered only in Madrid. Key historic encounters between the three versions of monotheism, with reference to the richness of past cultural and religious legacy rooted in the Mediterranean region.
MES 325Europe's Encounters with Turkey and Central Asia3
Examines, using historical, political and identity perspectives, the complex relationship between the West and the Turkish-speaking societies. Offered regularly through Syracuse Abroad.
This course in international relations explores themes related to social, political, economic, and cultural processes, as well as power relations, in the Middle East. The course examines topics like state-on-state violence, nationalism, political Islam, gender, postcolonialism, regional security, and political economy.
Arabic culture through geography, literature, religion (Islam and other religions), ethnic groups, social divisions, films, the media, music, art, food, gender issues, and everyday life.
MES 342Religion and Politics in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict3
Considers the extent to which religion matters in an enduring ethno-nationalist conflict. Approaches the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an interdisciplinary perspective that explores the intersection of religion and politics.
Religious, political, economic, and social dimensions of life in modern Middle East. Legacy of Islam, encounter with Western modernity, Arab-Israeli conflict, and political economy of the region.
MES 360Reading Gender and Sexualities: Gender and Sexuality in the Arab World3
This course explores the ways in which gender and sexuality are represented in an array of visual, historical, and literary texts from the Arab world and its diaspora, starting from the pre-Islamic era up till the contemporary period.
MES 364Enchanting Words: Muslim Poets, Singers and Storytellers3
Understand the power of words and language in Muslim cultures expressed in oral and literary genres including poetry, humor, fables, folksongs and travel journals. Explore key themes such as virtue, reality, divine and human nature.
Expressions of beauty, creativity and faith in Islamic calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, architecture, miniatures and music. Unity and diversity of the visual and performing arts of Muslims in different periods, cultures and regions.
Topics include globalization and interdependency of faiths, the "clash of civilizations", relations between religion and state in Islam and Christianity and whether it is possible to separate the world into monolithic entities "Islam" and "West". Offered in London only.
An exploration of history, social change, and culture in the Middle East through film, music, television, sports, and the internet. Focused on the average citizen asking questions about gender roles, youth culture, and national identity
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the SU academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
This course introduces students to classical/modern Islamic law by analyzing Islamic constitutionalism, criminal laws, family laws, gender, political violence, and Islamic banking, through the examination of Middle Eastern and South Asian legal systems.
The soundscapes of the overland Silk Road as a window into history, commerce, migration, social life, values, faith, tolerance and conflict. Case studies from Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Central Asia, and Southwest Asia musics.
Exploration of a problem, or problems, in depth. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor(s) and the department.
MES 404'AZAHAR' The Islamic Conquest and the Christian Reconquest2
Thirteen day interdisciplinary seminar. Lectures in situ. Artistic, historical, cultural monuments of Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada and Toledo or Salamanca. Theological, philosophical and historical thought as to recreate the artistic and cultural climate of medieval al-Andalus/Spain.
Graphic narratives that handle complex issues defining life in the Middle East and its diaspora, including wars and military conflicts, coming-of-age struggles, and gender relations.
History of modern Iraq from early 20th century to present, Iraqi cultural life, labor movement, socialist politics, women's movement, warfare and masculinity, blogging, the Iran-Iraq war, the Gulf War, sanctions, 2003 invasion and aftermath.
A required course for students pursuing a minor or major in Middle Eastern Studies. An interdisciplinary study of special topics that fall under the rubric of Middle Eastern Studies: Western modernity, Islamic thought and practices, and popular culture.
MES 453Feminisms, Sexualities, and Human Rights in Middle Eastern Societies3
Focuses on the centrality of gender and sexuality to the politics of everyday life by mapping women's rights movements, LGBT Mobilizations, and minority activisms in the Middle East.
Politics of gender, religious identities, and resistance in the Islamic world. Gender scripts in Qur'anic scripture and Shariah laws. Contemporary realities of Muslim women living in different parts of the world. Additional work required of graduate students.
Offered through SUAbroad by educational institution outside the United States. Student registers for the course at the foreign institution and is graded according to that institution's practice. SUAbroad works with the S.U. academic department to assign the appropriate course level, title, and grade for the student's transcript.
Offered only in Madrid. This traveling seminar explores the interweaving of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures during the Middle Ages, the resulting tensions, and the lasting cultural and social impacts on present-day Spain and the modern world.
Exploration of a problem, or problems, in depth. Individual independent study upon a plan submitted by the student. Admission by consent of supervising instructor(s) and the department.
Thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Distinction in Middle Eastern Studies Program. Normally in the semester prior to graduation, topic chosen in conjunction with advisor.
Politics of gender, religious identities, and resistance in the Islamic world. Gender scripts in Qur'anic scripture and Shariah laws. Contemporary realities of Muslim women living in different parts of the world. Additional work required of graduate students.
MES 644Israel and Palestine: Historical Approaches3
A thorough historical grounding for understanding contemporary Israel and Palestine in terms of changing social, economic, cultural and political contexts.
Orientalist, Marxian, Weberian, and postmodern viewpoints about such issues as colonialism, Islamism, nationalism, secularism, authoritarianism, modernity, and patriarchy in the Middle East.
