45 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
45 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
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# Week 1
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## Goldschmidt & Marashi Reading
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- What is "middle east"?
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- Nile Valley to Muslim lands of Central Asia
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- Geography: hot + dry, rainfall but small
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- Many farming villages found, however
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- Polar ice caps retreated, rainfall diminished. People move to Nile, Tigris,
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Euphrates, etc.
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- Middle East more accessible than US, China, etc.
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- Not endowed w/ nature; no grassy plains, scarce drinking water
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- Meager mineral deposits
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- Huge oil reserves (more than half of world's), but concentrated in few
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countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, UAE
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- Exploitation started in 20th century
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- Mountains shield minorities in countries (eg. Lebanon, Yemen, Iran) while
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invasions bring new races + culture into Middle East, resulting in cultural
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"mosaic" - many physical characteristics, belief systems, languages, cultures
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- $\frac{9}{10}$ of ME is muslim, half / half speak Arabic / (Turkish +
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Persian)
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- "Mosaic" starts to crumble - modern information age (schooling, TV, etc) lead
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to universal culture (mostly) among young
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- Cultural/religious difference persist -> conflicts. Muslims felt unequal to
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Christians -> Lebanon civil wars
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- Iraq -> Suni vs. Shi'a Muslims
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- Israel -> 1.7 million Arabs in borders
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- Gaza Strip -> occupied between 1967 -> 2005, invaded 2006, 2009, 2014,
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contains 1.8 million Arabs. Jews (in Israel) divided between European or Asian
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and African origin (Ashkenazim vs. Mizrachim / Orientals).
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- Interaction between humans + geography important
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- Main causes of ME conflict
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1. Incomplete transfer from religious / theological government to secular
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government
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2. Resulting belief that governments are illegitimate, not willingly obeyed
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3. Quest for dignity + freedom by people determined to not lose independence
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(again)
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4. Involvement of outside gov't without regard for the people in ME
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5. Growing concentration of destructive weapons in volatile countries
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6. Scarcity of / demand for food, water, fossil fuels
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7. Overpopulation and widening inequality (wealth gap)
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8. Failure to resolve Palestine-Israel
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9. Sectarian / Ethnic tensions
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10. Palestinian, Iraqi, Syrian, Yemeni refuges. Internal displacement.
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