Full course description
The first year of the Trump presidency has been marked by considerable rhetoric and by shifts in long standing US foreign policy for the Middle East. Understanding the difference between mere rhetoric and reality matters in a complex, conflict-ridden international hotspot. This lecture will provide a historical survey of America's role in one of the world's most volatile areas as well as an analysis of current policy and trends, including assessments of what will be the consequences to regional and global security. Saeed A. Khan is Senior Lecturer in the Departments of Near East & Asian Studies and Global Studies at Wayne State University - Detroit, Michigan, where he teaches Islamic and Middle East History, Politics and Culture, and where he also is a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Citizenship. He is also Adjunct Professor in Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy and at Rochester College, co-teaching a course on Muslim-Christian Diversity. In addition, he is a founding member and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy & Understanding: a DC and Michigan-based Think Tank promoting the study and analysis of US social and domestic policy. With areas of focus including US policy, globalization, Middle East and Islamic Studies, as well as genomics and bioethics, Prof. Khan has been a contributor to several media agencies, such as CSpan, NPR, Voice of America, the National Press Club and is a regular panelist on Turning Point, appearing on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as newspapers and other outlets including Time, Quartz, The Hindustan Times and Veja in Brazil. Recently, he was appointed as a consultant to the Vatican's Cor Unum Dicastery.