HISTORY AND SOCIETRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST

ARA1009 introduces students to the history of the Middle East, from the rise of Islam in 610
to the 1980s.

Syllabus Plan
Week 1 Lecture History and the Middle East
Week 2 The Rise and Expansion of Islam, 610–61
Week 3 Umayyad & Abbasid Empires, 661–945
Week 4 The Post-Abbasid Empires, 900s–1200s
Week 5 The Early Ottoman Empire, 1281–1600s
Week 6 Iran under the Safavids & Qajars, 1501–1925
Week 7 The Later Ottoman Empire, 1700s–1923
Week 8 Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, & Egypt, 1920s–50s
Week 9 Palestine, 1800s–1948
Week 10 The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948–79
Week 11 The Reassertion of Islamic Power / Review for Final exam

POLITICS AND ECONOMY OF THE CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE EAST

To provide a general introductory survey of the politics and political economy of the Middle
East, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, the political dynamics of key states, the politics of
Islam, the political economy of oil, and major wars.

Syllabus Plan
Week 1: 7 October
Overview of the Middle East
Lecture: The Historical Context: Colonial Legacies and Post-Independence

Week 2: 14 October
Seminar: The Emergence of the State System in the Middle East
Lecture: Egypt from Nasser to Mubarak

Week 3: 21 October
Seminar: Egypt between Autocrats, Theocrats and Hegemonic Powers
Lecture: Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority

Week 4: 28 October
Seminar: The Palestinian Question and Lebanese Confessional Politics
Lecture: Ba‘thist Syria and Post-Ba‘thist Iraq

Week 5: 4 November
Seminar: Syria and Iraq: Between Dictatorships and Interventions
Lecture: Iran and Saudi Arabia: Republican versus Monarchic Islamism

Week 6: 11 November
NO CLASS: ENJOY READING WEEK!

Week 7: 18 November
Seminar: Revolutionary and Rentier Politics in Saudi Arabia and Iran
Lecture: The Political Dynamics of the Maghreb

Week 8: 25 November
Seminar: Democratization and Civil Reconciliation in the Maghreb
Lecture: Democratization in the Middle East

Week 9: 2 December
Seminar: Democratization in Crisis? Causes of Authoritarian Persistence in the MENA
Lecture: Islamist Politics and the “War on Terror”

Week 10: 9 December

Seminar: Islamism between Violence and Democracy
Lecture: Political Economy, Gender and Development

Week 11: 13 January

DEADLINE FOR ESSAY SUBMISSION (4pm)
Seminar: A Very Political Economy? Rentierism, Patrimonialism and Arab Politics
Lecture: The New Media Environment

Seminar: The Impact of the New Media Environment

Review for the Final Examination

INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM

The primary aim of this module is to introduce students (with no prior background) to the
basic sources and historical contexts for the origins of Islam (Qur’an, sira, hadith) and some
of the basic spiritual principles expressed in those sources as well as the contexts and
practices that exemplify the spiritual principles. An important secondary aim (which is
indispensable for fulfilling the primary aim) is to help students become aware of and begin to
abandon cultural stereotypes about what constitutes both “religion” and “Islam,” and to begin
to become aware of other disciplines and conceptual tools—rooted in history and the social
sciences—which are more adequate for perceiving and conveying the actual phenomena
related to cultural traditions, social practices and every-day lives among Muslim peoples.
The module includes a component of library and information literacy designed for beginners
in Arab and Islamic Studies.

Syllabus Plan
Week 1: General historical background: Near Eastern monotheisms, Muhammad in Mecca
and Medina.
Week 2: The Qur’anic revelation and formation of a community, creed and polity.
Week 3: The experience of scripture (the Qur’an)—aural and written dimensions; unique
features and structures; ritual contexts of use and expression; exegesis.
Week 4: The hadith: historical contexts, lines of interpretation, the Prophetic example.
Week 5: Fiqh, Shari‘a and Islamic “law”.
Week 6: Who is a Muslim? What is a Muslim community?
Week 7: Community and authority
Week 8: Devotion and covenant-renewal – pilgrimage and visitation.
Weeks 9-10: Seeking God – theological, philosophy and mystical perspectives; elaborations
in the Islamic humanities and spirituality.

Week 11: Who speaks for God and Islam? Religion and identity in the modern world