[PEN-L:33708] Re: suggestions for a syllabus of course on the Middle East

[Michael Pollak <mpollak@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 8 Jan 2003 eatonak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> After a long pause (10 years or so) I realized that I should offer an
> INTRODUCTORY (i.e. no prior knowledge about the region and a very
> introductory exposure to economics) course on the political economy of
> the middle east with a sufficient emphasis on the historical processes
> and current problems, including 9-11, Iraq, "terrorism," oil, etc. I
> would appreciate any suggestion regarding syllabus, books

For history, I highly recommend Robert Lacey's _The Kingdom: Arabia & the
House of Sa'ud._ It is extremely well written and perceptive.  And the
history of Saudi Arabia is the key to understanding how Islamicism came to
replace nationalism.  Which has a lot to do with oil and the political
economy of the middle east.

It only goes up through 1981, but IMHO still surpasses anything I've read
that's been written since, scholarly or popular.

Michael