United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11

United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11
(24 lectures, 30 minutes/lecture)
Course No. 8593

Taught by Salim Yaqub
University of Chicago
Ph.D., Yale University

Format: MP3, 64 kbps, Stereo, ~320 MB

This lecture series is a narrative history of U.S. political involvement in the Middle East from World War I to the present day. Presented from a historian's perspective, it is meant to strengthen your ability to place today's headlines into historical context, evaluate what is most likely to happen next, and understand those oncoming events when they do occur.


At the dawn of World War I, the United States was only a rising power. Our reputation was relatively benign among Middle Easterners, who saw no "imperial ambitions" in our presence and were grateful for the educational and philanthropic services Americans provided.

Yet by September 11, 2001, everything had changed. The U.S. had now become a "world colossus so prominent in the political, economic, and cultural life of the Middle East that it was the unquestioned target of those bent on attacking the West for its perceived offenses against Islam."

How and why did this transformation come about? And how did each of the factors that make the Middle East so complex contribute to this transformation? Placing Today's Headlines in Historical Context

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