Geographic regions such as the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) are human constructions based on ideas about space and difference, rather than naturally existing categories. This course starts with a critical analysis of the making of the MENA region, which covers about 25 countries from Morocco to Iran, as a historical and political process. In an effort to move beyond the predominantly Orientalist constructions of this region in mainstream discourses, we will read critical ethnographic studies of the historical, political and cultural processes that have shaped human lives in this diverse cultural space.