In this unit, we will be exploring the roots of modern issues in the Middle East, including the rise of ISIS.

To begin, we will look at Western perceptions of the Middle East and consider how that has affected events that have taken place in that region over the last century...

Lesson One:  What is the Middle East?

We looked at the following images (from Project Look Sharp) and discussed which ones "looked like" they were from the Middle East and which ones were actually from the Middle East...

Assignment: worksheet (TBA)

Images of the Middle East?

Learning goal:  to understand how our understanding of the Middle East can be made up of lots of misperceptions and stereotypes. 

Lesson Two:  Stereotypes of the Middle East:  Reflected in Hollywood

We viewed "Reel Bad Arabs" and discussed the stereotypes that have been reinforced through film - and other media - over the last century.

Assignment: Reel Bad Arabs Worksheet

Learning goal:  to understand how our understanding of the Middle East can be made up of lots of misperceptions and stereotypes, that are reflected in popular culture and media, and that these stereotypes can also be used to gain support for the foreign policies of Western government towards various groups from that region or from a "Middle Eastern" culture who are living in the West.. 

Lesson Three:  What is Middle East culture?

We looked at perceptions that the West has of Middle East culture...

Assignment: worksheet (TBA)

Culture of the Middle East?

Learning goal:  to understand how the modern Middle East - and the cultures within it -  are not as monolithic or homogeneous as the Western media often leads us to believe.

Lesson Four:  "Lines in the Sand": Exploring the Imposed Borders of the Middle East

Viewing a short documentary entitled "Lines in the Sand," we explored the origin of the borders of newly-created countries such as the Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria following the First World War.  These Middle East countries, dubbed "mandates" by the League of Nations, fell under the control of Britain and France, with France overseeing Syria and Lebanon, and Britain everything else. The film also explored the numerous conflicting treaties made by the British between various groups in the Middle East in an effort to garner their support during the War, including the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence (1915), the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), and the Balfour Declaration (1917).

McMahon-Hussein Promise         Sykes-Picot Agreement Promise          Balfour Declaration Promise

Learning goal:  to understand how the modern Middle East - particularly the states in it -  is a construction that evolved from the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the intervention of the British and French into the economic and political life of the region.

Lesson Five:  Below the Surface: British Economic Involvement, and Interest, in the Middle East

Viewing a short documentary entitled "Britain, Oil, and the Middle East," we explored Britain's economic interest and involvement in the region even before the First World War, as it sought to gain access to the oil that was being discovered there.  

Learning goal:  to understand how British, as well as Russian and French, interest in the modern Middle East was largely driven by two factors - control of the region and domination of the oil supplies that existed there.  These factors were what drove their foreign policy there and the reason behind their "mandates."

Lesson Six:  Background on Iraq

In this class, we explored the recent history of Iraq and comparing the objectivity of two timelines that trace Iraq from 1979 through to 1990, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein.

Assignment:  in-class assignment

Learning goal:  to understand how timelines, although made up of facts, can be quite subjective and tell only part of a story 

Lesson Seven:  Why is there terrorism?

In this class, we explore some written excerpts that try to address the question of why there is terrorism. 

Assignment:  in-class assignment

Learning goal:  to understand why terrorism is employed in some regions and some of the reasons behind people's support of terrorism as a method of action 

Lesson Eight:  Assessing ISIS

As the culminating assignment, we are exploring the rise of ISIS and assessing both its effectiveness and the threat it poses to the region as well as the world.

Assignment (click icon below)

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