44 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
44 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
# 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.
|