Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

• Describe main geographic qualities related to the physical and human landscapes of the Middle East.
• Distinguish various Middle Eastern countries and describe their present day economic, social, and political status.
• Analyze the interrelationship between human, culture, and the physical environment in a regional context.
• Describe the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity within the Middle East and how these differences relate to current internal conflicts and external interventions.
• Analyze the distribution of regional features using maps, graphs, and visuals. 

The main aspirational goals of the proposed course are the following:

• Learn how cultural, physical, political, and environmental components of the Middle East interact.

• Have a basic understanding of the Middle Eastern countries in terms of both their uniqueness and similarities, and learn about the natural and cultural diversity of the region.

• Acquire geographic analytical skills applicable to a variety of professional tasks where the analysis of spatial information is required, ranging from the simple reckoning of locations to the understanding of the spatial structure and process that maps represent.

• Compare and contrast one’s own dominant value system with those of Middle Easterners and confront their possible stereotypes and ethnocentrism.

Class will include lectures, films, documentaries, reading assignments, map activities, quizzes, essays, class discussions, and a research project.

Students will be expected to demonstrate mastery of themes, concepts, issues, competencies and skills by any combination of the following:

• In-class discussions

• Exams and quizzes

• Mapping activities

• Class assignments and exercises

• Conducting research

• Field observation exercises and projects

Themes, Concepts, Issues:

• Middle East as a region 

• Significance of the geographical position of the region. 

• Boundaries and major physiographic regions.

• Natural environment: relief, climates, water bodies, biogeography. Modification of the region’s environment and physical and cultural landscapes.

• Population and Resources: population distribution and demographics dynamics, resource distribution and resulting conflicts, urban and rural systems, the concept of nation-states and nations without states. 

• Historical Background: The historical evolution of the Middle East political map and current political geography with relations to colonialism and foreign interventions.

• Economic Geography: natural resources, agriculture, manufacturing, services, international trade, and ideas for possible economic and political integrations.

Competencies and Skills:

• Demonstrate how to use maps and other geographic representations to interpret the cultural landscapes in the Middle East.
• Demonstrate how to analyze the spatial organization and spatial interaction, and how to use those ideas in describing demographic, economic, and political phenomena across the region.
• Demonstrate how physical systems affect human systems and how resource distribution, usage, and climate patterns and change can affect human life in the region.
• Demonstrate how humans' actions modify the physical environment and how societies can devise solutions for environmental change in the region.