HIST 3517A: History of Modern Egypt
HIST 3517A: History of Modern Egypt
Winter 2026
Instructor: Hussam Ahmed
Course Description:
Instead of providing a chronological survey of modern Egypt, this class will focus on a series of moments in modern Egyptian history, exemplified in the lives of particular Egyptians. The figures we will look at are all writers of one sort or another, from ‘Abd al-Rahman Jabarti, a late 18th-century scholar and historian, to Ahdaf Soueif, a 21st-century novelist and political commentator. Class readings will comprise works by these writers, and class lectures will set their lives, writings and ideas in historical context. In this way, students will learn about French and British colonialism in Egypt, Egyptian responses to the challenge of European colonial thought and practices, Islamic reformism in early 20th-century Egypt, early Egyptian feminism, changes in Egyptian education, the emergence of the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam, the Nasserist Revolution, the experience of the Coptic community in Egyptian society, the Sadat era and the “open door” policy, the “Tahrir Square” Revolution of February 2011 and its aftermath.
Organization:
This class will meet in person. The class will be organized into two-hour lectures and weekly discussion groups.