One of the very best courses available, the historical examination of continue changing in the Middle East, allows students think the pieces that derive in actual regional struggle.

I started from an extremely low level of knowledge and understanding about the Middle East and am struck that there are likely to be others like me, as it wasn't covered as a topic when I was at school, and the news stories can be confusing - hopefully school age children now get a sound grounding to understand the world around them, but if not, there is a very good case to have this far more widely taught in non muslim communities (all age groups) in Western Europe. I found the speaker to be factual and non judgemental, and his interest and enthusiasm for the subject was very engaging. Thank you

Excellent Course. Professor Susser does a thorough, careful job of bring the Middle East up to date to 2013 or so. Would love to see an additional week added dealing with developments up to today.

An excellent course that examines the evolution of the Arab- Israeli conflict and which provides a historical context for the "Arab Spring" Insightful and thought-provoking...

An excellent follow-up and continuation to Part I. This course offers great insight into the historical and current relations of the countries within this region.

I recommend this course to anyone interested in learning about the Middle East. (I took Part I and Part II of this course) The Middle East is a very hot topic of discussions these days, but sadly a lot of people don’t know much about the region. Most of the people learn about the Middle East trough media. Popular (mainstream) media creates an image of the region that only involves terrorism, autocratic governments and civil war. Even though most of the Middle East contemporary problems are extremely complicated, this course will help you understand a little about the region’s modern history, culture and ethnic/religious diversity. Understanding Middle East’s history (especially its modern history) will help you a great deal to understand the region’s contemporary issues. The Middle East is much more than what we see in the news. This course will greatly expand your knowledge regarding the history and culture of the region. I recommend people to take both, Part I and Part II, of this course. You will not regret it.

Boa noite, meu nome é Gládiston, sou brasileiro e moro em São Paulo, Brasil. Sou professor da rede pública e resolvi fazer este curso porque é muito importante pra minha formação contínua. Os conteúdos aprendidos serão muito úteis para as minhas aulas. Gostei de todos os módulos do curso, pois cada um abordou o tema de uma nova perspectiva. Agradeço, profundamente, pela oportunidade, pois, certamente, poderei contribuir para formação de seres humanos dignos e responsáveis.

Good evening, my name is Gládiston, I am Brazilian and I live in São Paulo, Brazil. I am a teacher in the public network and I decided to take this course because it is very important for my continuing education. The contents learned will be very useful for my classes. Enjoy all the modules of the course, as each one approached the theme from a new perspective. I deeply thank you for the opportunity, for I will certainly be able to contribute to the formation of worthy and responsible human beings.

I found the course to be so informative to aid understanding of the history of the middle east and how it has shaped the complexities of the whole area that we know currently. The course content was so explanatory to assist my understanding. This was greatly assisted by the skills and abilities of Professor Susser in presenting the video material in a clear manner that accompanied the excellent course text book written by the professor and Duygu Atlas. I would really recommend the course to anyone keen to enhance their knowledge of the middle east. Thank you to all concerned at Tel Aviv university and Coursera for making the course available. Terence Turner.

Both courses were very helpful to better understand the evolution of middle east. The course is mainly focused on muslim (Arab and non Arab countries) and also explain the creation of Israel, but when it comes to explain the evolution of Middle East, the impact of Israel is not well analyzed. Questions suh as: Is it possible that the downfall of the secularism in Middle East finds its origine in a the way that secular governments found peace with Israel and therefore created a chain reaction of downfall of these regimes and their secular reforms?

I really enjoyed the course. Learning deeply about modern history of the Middle East with professor Asher Susser was a complete privilege. This brief course form the University of Tel Aviv needs more activities than just only two exams, but besides that I was glad to take it. This region of the world is so rich in history that indeed history started there. Nowadays it seems as a harsh zone but this can always change as the Middle East story knows it. Thank you so mouch!

Thorough, insightful and taught with passion, this course gave me the understanding of the middle east conflict that I was looking for. They say experts can explain a complicated subject and make it feel simple and easy to understand and that is what Prof. Susser did with this course. Truly a "do not miss" course for any level if you want to gain insights into the history or get a simple and real understanding of the modern middle east. Really a great course.

Professor Susser's intensive course makes one realize just how complicated the entire Middle East & it's politics continue to be and why the entire region is in constant conflict. One can understand the contentious predicament Israel faces being in the middle of this political powder keg & the realities it faces.

If one really wants to know about the Middle East & how it remains in constant conflict this course is highly recommended.

Excellent course! Although it is very good as a stand alone course, I highly recommend that you do the first part, even if you don't care about the Ottoman Empire or the origins of the Islamist movement (and the first part is a bit more challenging, I thought -- lots to remember). There is no way to truly understand the modern Middle East without this historical context.

Excellent! When will Prof Professor Asher Susser present a next Course? Perhaps: The Emergence of the Modern Middle East - Part III ? So many things have developed since the last point of Course II in the Middle Eas, I am sure the Prof will have enough material to present the next course? Very well done indeed! - Looking forward to hearing from you on this

Prof Susser has presented a detailed case on the politics after the collapse of the Ottoman. I have learnt a lot about the conflicts and struggles in the Egyptian, Syrian & Jordanian context. This is, in my opinion, worth knowing if you would like to grasp the mirage happening in the middle east currently.

This course explained more about the Middle East than I had ever known in my life. I never understood the conflicts in that region, or why there was so much strife, but this class explained that perfectly. I wish this had been taught in school for me, I would have felt so much better informed.

This is an excellent course on the Middle East, its recent history and political landscape brilliantly outlined in such a way that one can have a bird's view of the whole region as it moved from one point in time to the modern era with full consideration of every tidbit of important events.

Exceptional course. Part I and Part II together give an excellent overview of the modern Middle East. The news from that region all makes a lot more sense now. The downloadable lecture summaries are an added bonus -- better than what most classes make available. Highly recommended.

Get ready for a wild ride as you're taken on a journey from the Ottoman Empire to the Arab Spring revolutions as Professor Susser presents the cold, hard facts about the Middle East and its dealings with traditionalism and modernity. Highly recommended!