An introduction to the peoples, cultures, and histories of the Middle East from the rise of Islam to the 20th century, surveying the development of political and social institutions and exploring the emergence of key intellectual currents, political and religious varieties, and cultural trends within what is often wrongly construed as a monolithic regional culture. We explore a range of literary, architectural, artistic, and scientific sources from pre-modern and modern Islamicate societies and study of the daily lives and contributions of Muslims and non-Muslims alike, highlighting a multi-layered representation of complex and vibrant Middle Eastern societies.
La Belle Époque, that period in the life of France’s pre-World War I Third Republic (1871-1914) associated with extraordinary artistic achievement, saw Paris emerge as the undisputed Western capital of painting and sculpture; it also was the most important production site for new works of musical theatre and, arguably, literature. It was during these decades that Impressionism launched its assault on the academic establishment, only itself to be superseded by an ever-changing avant-garde associated first with the nabis, then with fauvism and cubism; that the operas of Bizet, Saint-Saëns, and Massenet and the plays of Sardou and Rostand filled the world’s theatres; and that the novels of Zola and stories of Maupassant were translated into dozens of languages. Finally, this was the society that gave birth to one of the greatest literary works of all time, Marcel Proust’s Remembrances of Things Past, the first volume of which appeared just as the First World War was about to bring the Belle Époque to a violent end. Sources include reproductions of paintings, recordings of chamber music, opera and mélodies, and several of the most significant novels of the period.
A site for IMA NY Students to find equivalent courses outside of IMA NY
For most students joining IMA in Fall 2022 and beyond, our new program structure affects the categorization of courses on this site.
Classes listed in the "IMA Major Electives" categories refer to the old IMA program structure. If you're under the new IMA program structure, these courses count as general IMA Electives.
You can still search the Interchange for most of your courses. You can find "IMA Major Distribution" courses listed here: