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Arab commentators have called the United States both a liberator and an imperialist power in the Middle East – its values and freedoms coveted and demonized, its culture admired and reviled, its government blamed for failed revolutions and successful ones – a schizophrenic relationship at worst – an intimate source of opposition and inspiration at best. As ISIS attempts to capture the Middle East, a refugee crisis grows, and democratic hopes hang on by a thread, the U.S. witnesses a burgeoning generation of young Arab rights activists, especially women, willing to risk their lives for freedom and social equality. But what consequences can truly be attributed to U.S. interventions, or lack thereof, and what kind of outcomes are to be expected? This course will explore U.S.-Arab relations through the history and culture of the modern Middle East - from the Imperial and Cold War eras to the Six Day War to the Arab uprisings, with visiting U.S. ambassadors to discuss current events. <a href="http://bit.ly/1bebp5s" target="_blank">Click here to see evaluations, syllabi, and faculty bios</a>