How have anthropologists encountered, written about, and produced the “Arab world” over the past century? Beginning with early Western travelers’ imaginaries of Arabia and ending with an ethnographic memoir, this course provides an introduction to the anthropological project and to the everyday realities of people living in the region.  Through ethnography, literature, film and field-trips, we will explore such topics as gender, sociality and identity; military conflict and war; disease, bioethics and Islam; pilgrimage and piety; labor migration, refugees, and diaspora; globalization, media and mediation; and the Arab uprisings.

Students in the NYUNY MEIS Dept: This course counts for MEIS elective credit; Students in the NYUNY Anthropology Dept: This course counts for Anthropology elective credit.