Studying the history of the Middle East from the 1800s to the present day, the Modern Middle East class aims to teach students about the region, including history and politics, so they can understand how the Middle East has evolved.
Created in 2022, it is a semester class offered only to seniors taught by Dr. Wesley Lummus, who established the class.
“The Middle East is my academic specialty, so I like teaching about it,” Lummus said. “I also think it is important to learn about this part of the world because it is not taught about as much.”
Senior Liz Steger, a student in the Modern Middle East class, has enjoyed her experience so far, largely due to the new perspective taught in lessons.
“I decided to take this class because we do not learn a lot about the Middle East in other history classes,” Steger said. “I took World History and U.S. History but neither of those really have any focus on the Middle East, so everything we have learned so far has been brand new, which is fun.”
Steger wants to use the new knowledge she is gaining during this class to be more well-informed.
“I hope to get a better understanding of geopolitics and foreign affairs from this class,” Steger said.
To give students a wide range of information about the Middle East, the class doesn’t specifically focus on one period; instead, it focuses on many different topics.
“It looks at politics in the Middle East and how the countries of the Middle East came to be, starting with the fall of the Ottoman Empire,” Lummus said. “Then, it looks at European imperialism and how they divided the borders and created new states, and how those new states influence the Middle East today.”
Steger’s favorite unit was learning about the earlier history of the Middle East.
“I think one of the most interesting things we learned about was the first two civil wars in Islam, because it still really impacts foreign relations between different countries today,” Steger said.
When structuring the class, Lummus decided to simulate a college undergraduate class, which includes writing exercises, discussions and a variety of media-based works.
“There’s a lot more personal responsibility in the class, and sometimes the students work at their own pace, which they seem to enjoy,” Lummus said.
Lummus hopes the students will use what they learn in the Modern Middle East class to better understand current events.
“I hope the main takeaway is that students can look at the news with a historical perspective,” Lummus said. “I hope that they can be comfortable with concepts in the news and understand exactly what they mean.”
