78449 - History and Institutions of the Modern Middle East

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students - are able to articulate informed and coherent arguments about the main aspects of Middle Eastern political , social and cultural development in Turkey, Iran and the Arab Middle East by referring to the relevant scholarly literature

Course contents

The course will consist of 30 frontal lectures for a total of 60 hours of class instruction. Lectures will introduce students to the core contents of the discipline while elaborating on how the additional study materials related to weekly key questions.

Lectures will cover the following topic: Introduction to the Study of the Modern and Contemporary Middle East: working definitions, historical and cultural background; Defensive Modernization (XIX century): Ottoman Empire, Qajar's Persia and Egypt Compared; WWI and the Making of the Modern Middle East; the Colonial Middle East- State and Nation-building in the Interwar Period; the Origins of the Palestinian Question; the Middle East in the Bipolar World: the Golden Age of Panarabism and the Radicalisation of Arab Politics; The Middle East in the Seventies: Regional Patterns of War and Peace; the Middle East in the Seventies (2): the Resurgence of Political Islam; the Middle East and the end of the Cold War; wrap up.

Readings/Bibliography

Students are required to study the following textbooks:

for a comprehensive chronological and thematic overview, William Cleveland and Martin Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, Boulder: Westview Press, [any edition from the 5th; pagination on virtuale references the 7th; copies available from Ruffilli’s library course collection].

for background information on Islamic history and civilization: Karen Armstrong, Islam: a Short History, New York: Modern Library Chronicles, 2001. (available on line for free: [http://www.archive.org/])

The use of the historical maps is highly recommended. A very good selection of maps can be found here:

https://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps.shtml [http:]

Additional readings useful for working on relevant weekly key questions and in preparation for the in.sessional written exams will be available on Virtuale.

Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the lecturer within 1 month after the beginning of the course (hard deadline) to fix an appointment. A first contact will be established and queries about exam preparation and study methods will be answered. Non attending students are required to study the core texts above (Cleveland and Armstrong) and will be assigned a customized bibliography (a book or a selection of scholarly articles) on a topic of their choice among the ones covered during the course.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Assessment methods

Two in-sessional written exams. The first mid-term will consist of 10 multiple-choice questions and 2 open questions around week 4 (tbc) and 3 open questions around week 7 and a final oral exam. Mid-term and final exam dates will be announced via Virtuale.

All exams are aimed at assessing the knowledge of the disciplinary contents of the couse, in addition to the abiity to use critical and analitical skills to elaborate on them and articulate coherent and clear arguments in both written and oral form.

Mock exam papers will be made available on Virtuale.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the relevant office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustmets in relation to the course teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

PC, videos, slides, and maps. 

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Biancani