Having explored history and its connections to modern times since 1975, the Winter Lecture Series is one of the most popular lifelong learning programs offered by the University of Washington. For this year's four-part series, "The Good, Bad, & Catastrophic: Lessons from Global & Mideast Crises," the UWAA will partner with the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies to dig deep into the issues that have shaped the modern Middle East--and try to forecast what the region might look like in the wake of the Arab Spring.
The 2010-2011 uprisings left an indelible mark on the region, and the impact will be felt for decades to come. But how did the Middle East get to this point? And what we can we learn from the century of turmoil and crisis that preceded it? These are among the many questions that three UW professors will try to answer throughout the series.
From Empre to Nations: The Origins of the Modern Middle East
Re?at Kasaba, Stanley D. Golub Chair and Director, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
The end of World War I saw the Middle East and North Africa divided into more than 20 states, laying the groundwork for 50 years of competing ideologies and political struggles. Re?at Kasaba will look at the post-war period, which saw the rise of Gamal Nasser in Egypt, the establishment of the state of Israel, and the onset of the Cold War.