Resource Guides

History of Sanctions in the Middle East and North Africa For decades, the United States utilized sanctions as an economic tool against hostile state actors. It sought to threaten global regimes deemed antithetical to US values and interests. Sanctions maintain a notoriously consistent presence in countries across the Middle East and North Africa, intimidating the […]

In 2017, Arab Americans began a national initiative to coordinate and advocate for an Arab American Heritage Month. Governmental agencies throughout the United States responded and several cities and states have issued proclamations in recognition of their Arab American communities. TeachMideast curated this collection of resources to introduce students and educators to the history, culture, […]

The novel Coronavirus which causes the disease known as COVID-19 has pushed the world into a global pandemic. As nations around the world scramble to control the spread of the disease, the Middle East region has been particularly hampered by poor health infrastructure and lack of government funding for immediate social services. Coupled with slowing […]

Teaching the Revolutions The Arab Spring — the popular uprisings across the Arab World that began in early 2011 — was the defining moment for a generation of Arabs, and was the seed of some of the most devastating, ongoing conflicts in the world today. However, it also produced some surprising and inspiring democratic successes. […]

The topic of oil in the Middle East can be (pardon the pun) sticky. Many discuss Middle Eastern oil as if it is an inherently corrupt and destructive force that gives autocrats a money-fueled mandate to oppress their people, but this is not a fair assessment. It is important to be aware of the bias many Western […]

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is among the most intricate and divisive issues on the global stage today, and teaching about it can be immensely difficult – but also immensely important. We’ve done our best to aggregate moderate and balanced resources with perspectives from both sides, but you know your classrooms best, so we encourage you to […]

Iran is an incredibly complex country that cannot be covered in just one unit. This resource guide is centered around helping teachers and students understand the complex relationship between Iran and the United States. The following tools provide context about the history of the relationship, what went wrong, and why tensions still exist today. Major moments in […]

A lot of difficult questions and topics linger on the subject of Islam and often times it isn’t easy to find resources capable of addressing these difficult topics fairly. Muslims and non-Muslims both have biases towards Islam, especially when it comes to women’s rights, sharia law and liberalism. Below is a short list of supplemental […]

The Syrian Civil War is in its eighth year, and the conflict and resulting refugee crisis are prominent global issues. It is important for students to learn about the war — whether it just be the basics or a more in-depth discussion — so they can become more informed members of the global community. 

The Middle East is made up of many communities that encompass different ethnic groups, cultures, religions and languages. Sometimes these identities overlap but there are also important distinctions, which can be difficult to distinguish. Both Muslims and Arabs represent significant portions of the diverse American population.