Following September 11 the U.S. public has once again been awoken to
the fact that events beyond U.S. borders can powerfully affect us.
Understanding the events leading up to 9-11 and the events that have
occurred since that date requires a substantial background of
information that most Americans lack.  The goal of this course is to
provide both the theoretical and historical background to help
students understand the international stage and the U.S. role on that
stage following 9-11.  The course begins with the Middle East: its
colonial history, internal politics, and the role of Islam in
politics.  The course then turns toward conflict in the Middle East
including the Middle East as a Cold War battlefield, the Palestinian-
Israeli conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Conflict in the Middle
East leads us to Terrorism, a difficult concept that we will seek to
define and better understand.  Finally we will move to an examination
of post 9-11 politics where we will examine the U.S. response to 9-11
with a focus on the Afghanistan, Iraq, and the role of the media in
our interpretations of 9-11, U.S. response, and the
Middle East.