Despite its relatively recent emergence, ISIS is in many ways the 
inevitable and latest chapter in the ongoing saga that is the modern Middle East. While some may point to the 2003 Iraq War as the historical event that gave birth to ISIS, it is important to go back further, say, 100 years, to World War I, to assess the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of ISIS. Now, as we commemorate the centenary of the War to End All Wars, we can examine the shaping of the Middle East, its borders, its politics and its players.

Saeed A. Khan is a lecturer in the Department of History and Near East and Asian Studies at Wayne State University. He teaches Islamic and Middle East History, Politics and Culture and is also a Fellow at the Center for the Study of Citizenship. His primary area of research is the identity politics of Muslim Diaspora communities in the U.S., U.K. and Europe. He is also Adjunct Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy and at Rochester 
College, a panelist on CBC’s Turning Point and contributor to Detroit Today on Detroit Public Radio.

This is the fourth in a six-lecture series. The subject is "Violence: Its Roots and Reasons." The next lecture will be February 4, entitled "The Root Causes of Sexual Violence."

http://www.olli-umich.org/programs_activities/lectures/3rd_Lecture_Series.pdf