A CIA political map of the Middle East \u2014 which omits most of North Africa
(Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
A member of my tour group in Israel \u2014 I don\u2019t recall who it was \u2014 asked me, at one point while we were walking along, to explain the difference between the terms Near East<\/em> and Middle East<\/em>. \u00a0The question came at an awkward time, and, anyhow, I decided that it was something that the whole group should hear. \u00a0But things came up and I never got back to the issue.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
So I\u2019ll attempt an explanation now, here. \u00a0My comments aren\u2019t based on specific research, which would be interesting to pursue, but simply on my sense of things after years of being in and around the academic field.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Originally, I think, the terms Near East<\/em> and Middle East<\/em> were introduced along with the term Far East<\/em>, which we obviously still use (roughly) for East Asia. \u00a0They\u2019re quite manifestly Eurocentric expressions, because they categorize countries and places according to their nearness to or distance from Europe (specifically cities like London and Paris, and academic centers such as Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, and Berlin). \u00a0Curiously, though, the terms have caught on in the region itself: \u00a0Arabic speakers describe themselves as living in al-sharq al-awsat<\/em> (\u201cthe Middle East\u201d) or, less commonly, al-sharq al-adna<\/em> (\u201cthe Near East\u201d). \u00a0The late great Marshall Hodgson tried to replace them with substitutes such as \u201cthe Nile-to-Oxus region,\u201d but his neologisms, while they make eminent sense, haven\u2019t really caught on.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another problem with the terms\u00a0is that, in fact, Morocco (which is almost always, but \u2014 weirdly \u2014 not quite inevitably, included in the Near East or the Middle East), is actually situated to the west of France.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201cNear East\u201d was probably originally intended to include Turkey, North Africa, and the Arab world. \u00a0The \u201cMiddle East\u201d probably contained Iran, Afghanistan, modern Pakistan, India, etc. \u00a0The last three are almost never included today. \u00a0And the Far East was and still is the Far East.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today, though, \u00a0Middle East<\/em> and Near East<\/em> are essentially synonymous. \u00a0At least, I<\/em> can\u2019t tell the difference between them. \u00a0My degree from UCLA is from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. \u00a0Had I attended the University of Utah, though, the equivalent degree would have been supervised by the Middle East Center. \u00a0At BYU, I teach Arabic courses in the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, but my students who major in the field graduate in Middle East Studies (Arabic)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes, oddly, Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia and Libya are excluded from the \u201cMiddle East.\u201d \u00a0(Perhaps there\u2019s a lingering influence here of the \u201cNear East,\u201d but I\u2019m not sure about that. \u00a0They may also be omitted from the \u201cNear East\u201d; I haven\u2019t done a systematic study of this.) \u00a0And, sometimes, Pakistan and Afghanistan and, very strangely, even Armenia and Greece are included.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hope that clarifies things. \u00a0Or, at least, that it confuses you in an appropriate and satisfying way.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 A member of my tour group in Israel \u2014 I don\u2019t recall who it was \u2014 asked me, at one point while we were walking along, to explain the difference between the terms Near East and Middle East. \u00a0The question came at an awkward time, and, anyhow, I decided that it was something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>