Middle Eastern History: Free Courses

Image by Muhammad Mahdi Karim;, via Wikimedia Commons

Right now, all eyes are turned toward Japan. That’s understandable. But, all the while, the unrest in the Middle East continues unabated, especially in Libya and Bahrain. So it seems timely to highlight a resource that will give you a deeper understanding of this evolving region. Richard Bulliet, a professor at Columbia University, has posted on iTunes a 26 lecture course called The History of the Modern Middle East. The course takes you back to the founding of Islam, then works forward to the 19th and 20th centuries, covering the creation of Middle Eastern states, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the role of oil, the Iranian revolution, etc. In short, he gives you the lay of the modern land.

For even deeper context, you can access two other free courses taught by Bulliet: First, the History of the World to 1500 AD, available on YouTube here, and second, the History of Iran to the Safavid Period (essentially pre-modern Iran) available on iTunes here. All three courses appear in the History section of our mega collection of Free Online Courses. In total, you will now find 1,700 courses, all free to download to your computer or mobile device…

Thanks very much to Dara, editor of DIY Scholar, for sending these along.