Fall 2026

Introduction to the Modern Middle East

HISTORY 139 traces the formation of modern Middle Eastern states and societies, examining the impact of global phenomena on regional politics, culture, and daily life.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Daniel Stolz4.1/5Ege Gutay

Summary

1 / 7

The course requires only two papers and discussion participation, with no tests. Reviewers characterize the difficulty as very low.

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

Fall 2026

Daniel Stolz

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.3/5 difficulty · 7 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Daniel Stolz is consistently praised for making lectures interesting and relatable while fostering a deep understanding of thematic connections in the modern Middle East. Reviewers highlight his caring nature, responsiveness to emails, and focus on comprehension over rote memorization. However, students note that his lectures move quickly and slides are sparse, requiring active note-taking and class attendance.

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).

No course-specific feedback yet.

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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Online (some classroom)80 / 840
DIS 301Classroom Instruction18 / 180
DIS 303Classroom Instruction15 / 180
DIS 304Classroom Instruction18 / 180
DIS 333Classroom Instruction12 / 00
DIS 302Classroom Instruction17 / 180

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Daniel Stolz delivers engaging lectures that provide a broad understanding of the modern Middle East. Reviewers describe the course as easy and smooth sailing for those who follow the material.

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

The course requires only two papers and discussion participation, with no tests. Reviewers characterize the difficulty as very low.

Students value Stolz's focus on thematic connections over memorization and his responsiveness. However, sparse slides and fast lecture pacing require careful note-taking and class attendance.

Topics

  • Impact of global phenomena (wars, Cold War, science, technology) on Middle Eastern politics and culture
  • Islamism and its influence
  • United States relationship with the Middle East
  • Country-specific studies of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Israel/Palestine

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

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

1320 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
HISTORY 139 · Fall 2026

Introduction to the Modern Middle East

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:448:009064",
    "course_id": "HISTORY 139",
    "course_uid": "course_1586b5e76a0d0bc1f062c77e",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "009064",
    "source_subject_id": "448",
    "title": "Introduction to the Modern Middle East",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
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 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "d6e34b13dd60fe25caa33873d596ed85e4a34ee8f850168db15d2dcbf5903435",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}