79-152 Science, Medicine, and Colonialism in the Modern Middle East
6 units, Carnegie Mellon University
This minicourse will explore the links between imperialism, colonialism, and settler colonialism with the development of science, technology, and medicine in the19th and 20th century Middle East and North Africa. In particular, the focus of the minicourse is on how imperial, colonial and settlercolonial ideas and practices regarding race, the body, and illness, helped to construct and shape power relations between colonial governments and subject populations. It covers the rich historical work on colonialism and settler colonialism in the Middle East, and the spread of understandings of environment as linked to race and the body. Students will gain an understanding of how the civilizing mission of colonialism in the 19th century Middle East became a significant tool to control health, resources, and political power. The mini will offer a chance for students to compare geographical sites of settler colonialism such as Palestine and Algeria, and the trajectory of the civilizing mission through the 20th century, as understood by a range of historical and contemporary figures. Students will engage with not only traditional academic secondary sources but literature, photographs, and decolonial theorists.
Prerequisites: none listed
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