HIST 410 - U.S. Relations with the Islamic World

This seminar explores United States foreign relations in the Twentieth Century with the Islamic world, primarily in the Middle East and greater South Asia and Southeast Asia. It engages the students and instructor in a critical and in-depth analysis which examines United States relations with the oil-rich, largely Arab, nations of the Persian Gulf region, the role of the U.S. in the conflict over Palestine/Israel, the reaction of anti-communist American administrations to the Pan-Arab movement during the Cold War, and the attempt to balance strategic interests in the midst of near-continuous hostility between Islamic Pakistan and multi-religious India following the end of British colonialism. Particular attention is given to the concept of cultural conflict between Judeo-Christian and Islamic societies. Specific events of interest include the formation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine (including independence of a Zionist state in 1948, the Six Day War, Yom Kippur War, Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and the conflict with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) over an independent Palestinian state), the Suez Crisis of 1956, the formation and influence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iran-Iraq War of 1981-82, Islamic resistance to Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 and the U.S. support for the muhajaden guerrilla fighters confronting Soviet armed forces. The course ends with study of the Persian Gulf conflicts with Iraq following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, and the strain in relations between the U.S. and Islamic countries caused by the rise of terrorist movements which condemn the status quo policies of the U.S. toward autocratic Islamic regimes.

Credits: 3
NOTE:
* Honors Scholar Course.
** History major African and Middle Eastern History and United States History course.
*** This course counts toward the 63-credit Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) graduation requirement.
**** This is a writing-enhanced course.