On-line Courses

Arab-Israeli Politics -- This is a course about politics and clashing value systems, not history, but first you will need to learn the history and learn why you are learning the historical facts that are presented. You will also discover that "Arab-Israeli" politics really involves several levels: 1) conflicts between Arabs and Israelis in Palestine/Israel, 2) conflicts between the state of Israel and various Arab states in the region, 3) conflicts, muted since the end of the Cold War but still present, between powerful states outside the region who are sucked into the first two sets of conflicts, 4) conflicts within the American community over the nature of our commitment to Israel and how to reconcile it with other national interests, 5) conflicts within the Israeli body politic over relationships with their Arab neighbors, and 6) conflicts between Arab states and within the various Palestinian communities over their relationships with Israel. This course is designed to enhance your understanding of these domestic, regional, and international factors in the "Arab-Israeli" conflict.

Civil Society and Citizenship -- A critical examination of the concept of civil society, how it developed in the West, how it has traveled to the Middle East, and whether it is being rearticulated in cyberspace. This course features Internet discussions between students in Texas and in Beirut and Cairo. Syllabus, calendar, assignments, student work, and links to related materials.

Civil Society : Western and Postcolonial Experiences - Signature seminar for first-year undergraduates

Comparative Study of Politics (Grad Core Seminar)

Globalization in the Middle East and North Africa --This undergraduate seminar will survey the recent efforts of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to adapt to the global economy. We will compare their respective strategies of economic and political development and discuss the possible interrelationships between economic and political change.

Politics of International Oil -- Analyzes the national and international structures of the petroleum industry. Changing trends in industrial structures are related to international political alignments, focusing on the Middle East. Materials include world oil data and mail archives about oil producing countries. Syllabus, calendar, assignments, and links to related materials.

Politics of the Middle East and North Africa -- This seminar will critically examine various Western (Weberian, Marxist, and post-structural) approaches to the study of politics in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly within the Arab world. We stress theoretical assumptions about politics as well as the content of contemporary everyday politics in the region, because our understanding of the everyday may be victim to our own intellectual tastes and prejudices. Syllabus, calendar, assignments, grades, student work, and links to related materials.

Comparative Political Economy of Globalization-- Globalization of the world economy has intensified in the past decade and poses special challenges and opportunities for developing countries. This seminar looks comparatively at the responses which may in turn contribute to the restructuring of the world economy. The seminar will focus on global and local production regimes, financial structures, and modes of socio-political regulation which are setting the pace and indeed largely define the various forms capitalism striving to coexist in the new world order.

Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa--This seminar will survey theories and practices of economic development in the Middle East and North Africa. The evolving guidelines of the "Washington Consensus" shared by the United States, the European Community, and international financial in stitutions, will be analyzed in light of the region's political and economic realities and contrasted with other approaches to development articulated by regional and international actors. Special attention will be paid to the evolution of financial systems in the region.

The United States and the Middle East -- Issues in American government: U.S. foreign policies toward the Middle East since World War II. The course syllabus includes links to a number of Internet sources that offer information about U.S. foreign policy and about Middle Eastern countries. Syllabus, calendar, assignments, exams, student work, and links to related materials.


  July 15, 2016  -- Clement Henry
Department of Government, College of Liberal Arts, University of Texas at Austin.
Questions, Comments, and Suggestions to chenry@austin.utexas.edu