Students were shown different map projections that centered continents in varying ways. While the term “Middle East” might make directional sense if the Americas were all the way to the west, does it still make sense if we look at a map where Asia is positioned westward? We discussed the Eurocentric nature of the name, and then explored different definitions of the Middle East. Finally, students were tasked with remapping the region. In teams, they had to consider the (potentially new) boundaries they would establish for the region typically called the “Middle East” – and explain why. They could either create one cohesive region, or make smaller ones if they felt that made more sense.

The end results were fascinating! All teams chose to subdivide the region, and most used geography and proximity to one another to determine which countries should be grouped together. That said, others created subregions based on shared religious beliefs, diplomatic relations, and language. Our conversations around this exercise revealed the complexity of defining the area we know as the Middle East. This activity will act as a springboard for our subsequent lessons around how the West perceives the region, imperialism, colonial histories, religiosity, and the ramifications of these factors for the modern day Middle East.