M E STU 150.1

Jewish-Muslim relations as they developed in the Middle East and North Africa from the rise of Islam to the present day. This course analyzes how ethnic and religious boundaries were drawn and transgressed in historical settings including Muhammad’s Arabia, Islamic Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and modern Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and Israel. It asks how this shared cultural heritage is remembered and mobilized in the contemporary world, shedding light on the current state of Muslim-Jewish relations in MENA, Europe and the US. Films, memoirs, scripture, and historical works will form the basis of our inquiry.