ONLINE: The Middle East is seldom portrayed in Western media other than in stories of war, terrorism or repression. Yet the invention of civilization itself originated in the ancient Middle East, and the great Islamic empires added to its achievements. This lecture-format course will not focus on detailed history nor politics but will sweep across time to introduce the main historical empires of the Middle East and spotlight the technology and humanities — religion, philosophy, art and music — they contributed. Students will learn the positives of these cultures to balance their understanding of the Middle East today. | Lecture + Q&A.
Max enrollment: 200.
Sally Purath earned a B.A. in social sciences and an M.Ed. at Colorado State University. She has studied Muslim religion and culture in Turkey, Morocco and Spain. She taught high school history, humanities and English for 26 years and OLLI courses since 2009, including courses on the humanities of the Middle East and Western religions.