Wrap Up of the Class

Before this class, the only prior knowledge I had of the material we learned was from my World History class last semester, which I also took with Metcalf. However in World History, the material was only slightly touched on since there were so many other countries to learn about. In high school, I never learned about the Middle East. I feel fortunate that I took this class this semester because I have learned so much in such a small amount of time. I have learned that the United States is not what I have believed it to be since I was old enough to form an opinion on my country. I have learned about events in history that seem so important that I had never even heard of before this class. For example, I had never learned about the Armenian massacre until I read Forgotten Fire. After finishing the memoir, it seemed impossible that such a huge event was never touched upon in high school or any other previous classes. In the history of the Modern Middle East, I learned more about the state that our world is in today. The class touched on two of the most important events going on in our world today: the Arab-Isaeli conflict and the war on terrorism. Personally I have always been for the most part uninterested in politics, which made me ignorant of events taking place in our world today. I always wanted to change this about myself but could never conjure up the enthusiasm to become more interested in politics. This class has finally made me interested in world affairs and politics. I think that every American should learn the material that we learned about in this class.