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Spring 2009
History 98
2 Unit(s)

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About the Course:

Albert Camus' "The Stranger" is practically required reading for high school students.  They read of a Frenchman killing an Arab on a beach in Algeria, but what they do not realize is that that beach, smack in the middle of the Islamic world, was for over a century actually part of France itself.  Algeria had been part of France even before Nice!

The French presence which began in Algeria and later extended to Tunisia and Morocco presents a unique case in human history.  With massive settler populations in all three countries, the region became a rich mélange of the Islamic and Western World.  It thus constitutes perhaps the best frame of reference for students of international and cross cultural relations as well as those of foreign policy as America has found itself in a predicament no so different from that of the French fifty years previously. (Officials at the Pentagon were actually required to watch a movie about the Battle of Algiers to learn how to better fight counter insurgency warfare).

The course itself will span from the history immediately preceding the French conquest of 1830 to the end of French rule in Algeria in 1962.  Although the content will include a requisite amount of history of all three countries (do not fear my friends), the primary objective of the course will be to examine all aspects pertaining to the subject of the Decal in order to provide students with a rich understanding of a pertinent instance of cross cultural interaction which bears such strong resemblance to the current geopolitical climate of today. 

Class meetings will include limited lecture, several films, and the equally important component of discussion / debate. 

How to Enroll:

Come to 247 Dwinelle on Tuesday January 27, 2009 for a brief meeting and the rationing of CCNs.