HIME 2002

Professor Thompson is an excellent lecturer and excellent professor, and this class is both challenging and rewarding. She breaks the curriculum down into periods of Middle Eastern empires, European colonies, and Middle Eastern states. Professor Thompson is clearly an expert in her field and her lectures are both articulate and well-structured. This being said, she does tend to go onto tangents that can detract from the overall structuring of a lecture. The class is heavy on reading, with the primary sources taking the priority for exams. Speaking of exams, there is one in-class midterm (IDs and essay), one take-home midterm (essay), and an in-class final (IDs and essays). The primary source readers are accessible during exams, so it is a good idea to read actively. Rhonda was a really good TA, though she seemed to be a tough grader. She also drifted in discussion from the lecture topic quite often. Of note- I have read earlier reviews of this class claiming that students are not specifically taught the origins of terrorism and Islamist violence. This complaint seems to have been heeded by Professor Thompson, for I felt we covered such topics with an illuminating degree of depth. Ultimately, a fascinating study of the turbulent region we see today, and the history behind that turbulence. Great professor, great class. But tough- make no mistake.

I didn't realize how much I had learned from this class until I took the final exam. Thompson's lectures can be disjointed and disorganized, but the big themes that she focuses on are very interesting and different than the perspectives of many on the Middle East. There's a lot of reading assigned, but you don't need to do all of it and can still get a good grade. Although lectures can be boring and tedious, I would definitely take this class again.