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