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Phone: (413) 585-3536
Office: Wright Hall 106; Hours: W 2-4
E-mail: drdivine@email.smith.edu
 I
began to undertake serious work on the Middle East as an undergraduate at Brandeis
University, concentrating on the history of Islamic civilizations and on language
study. My graduate training at Columbia University broadened and deepened my knowledge
of the Middle East through courses on classical Muslim history and on the region's
economics and politics. Among students of the Middle East, my training in three of
the region's major languages is distinctive, enabling me to conduct original research
in Arabic, Hebrew, and Turkish. (Many of my articles appear on the syllabi of courses
offered at universities in the Middle East.) While my scholarly interests direct
my attention to both historical developments and contemporary trends, I tend to brew
up my projects in an interdisciplinary cauldron.
My study of politics has led me to explore Muslim and
Jewish cultures and the ways in which these cultures shape societies, order relationships
between men and women, and structure how people of all classes understand their life
options. Thus in my courses, you are likely to find information about food, fashion,
music and family dynamics, as well as about wars and public policies.
Recent Course Syllabi
GOV 224 Islam
and Politics in the Middle East (Microsoft Word document)
GOV 229 Government and Politics
of Israel
GOV 248 The Arab-Israeli Dispute
GOV 323 Seminar: Warring
for Heaven and Earth: Jewish and Muslim Political Activism in the Middle East
Curriculum Vitae
Spring 2008 (PDF) |
