Understanding the contemporary Middle East / edited by Deborah J. Gerner.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction / Deborah J. Gerner -- 2. The Middle East: A Geographic Preface / Ian R. Manners and Barbara McKean Parmenter -- 3. The Historical Context / Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr. -- 4. Middle Eastern Politics / Deborah J. Gerner and Philip A. Schrodt -- 5. International Relations / Mary Ann Tetreault -- 6. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict / Simona Sharoni and Mohammed Abu-Nimer -- 7. The Economies of the Middle East / Elias H. Tuma -- 8. Population Growth, Urbanization, and the Challenges of Unemployment / Valentine M. Moghadam -- 9. Kinship, Class, and Ethnicity / Laurie King-Irani -- 10. The Role of Women / Lisa Taraki -- 11. Religion and Politics in the Middle East / John L. Esposito and Mohammed A. Muqtedar Khan -- 12. Middle Eastern Literature / miriam cooke -- 13. Trends and Prospects / Deborah J. Gerner.

Understanding the Contemporary Middle East is an interdisciplinary book designed for use both as a core text for "Introduction to the Middle East" courses and as a supplement in a variety of discipline-oriented curriculums. The geographical domain of the volume is the Arab world (the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula, and North Africa), Iran, Israel, and Turkey; its temporal focus is post-World War II, with a particular emphasis on the 1990s. There are very few books for classroom use that introduce students to the Middle East as a whole rather than focusing on a specific discipline. Understanding the Contemporary Middle East fills this gap. The fifteen authors, writing with clarity and precision, address a range of crucial issues facing the region in the twenty-first century: there are chapters addressing geography, history, politics, economics, international relations, the israeli-Palestinian conflict, the status of women, religion, class and ethnicity, patterns of population growth, and the literature of the region. Each chapter provides up-to-dateand engagingdescription and analysis, along with sugestions for further reading. Numerous maps and photographs help the reader gain a feel for the region.