Spring 2027

Introduction to the Modern Middle East

Introduction to the Modern Middle East traces the formation of contemporary Middle Eastern states and societies, examining global phenomena and country-specific studies.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 8

Past student reviews · Daniel Stolz

The assessment structure was light, consisting of only two papers and no tests. While outside readings could feel lengthy, students noted they were generally not difficult to manage.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Identify the origins of the Middle East nation-states

  • Compare the larger Middle East nation-states in terms of politics, economy, and society

  • Analyze trends in the development of U.S. relations with the Middle East

  • Explain the modern Middle East in terms of global processes of change

  • Use primary sources to support all of the above

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
HISTORY 139

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

DANIEL STOLZ is recorded teaching in Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Daniel Stolz

Students found the course engaging because Professor Stolz emphasized thematic connections over rote memorization of dates, helping them understand how different periods and topics in the modern Middle East connect.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.71 GPA, 87.5% A/AB (n=64 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.68 GPA, 84.5% A/AB (n=71 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.61 GPA, 82.3% A/AB (n=62 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Daniel Stolz

The assessment structure was light, consisting of only two papers and no tests. While outside readings could feel lengthy, students noted they were generally not difficult to manage.

Past student reviews · Daniel Stolz

Students appreciated the professor's responsiveness to emails and his focus on student understanding. However, lectures moved quickly, and slides were sparse, requiring attentive note-taking to capture verbal details.

Topics

  • Global phenomena including world wars, the Cold War, women's movements, and fossil fuels
  • Islamism and its influence
  • United States relationship with the Middle East
  • Country-specific studies of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Israel/Palestine

Skills

  • Using primary sources to support historical analysis
  • Analyzing trends in U.S. relations with the Middle East

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1316 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records 
[]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "db10662320b7c1fd6494a9b56ad109f6fee2af979d7e5d59730f6ee2b332c442",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}