Montgomery College

                            Rockville Campus                     

History and Political Science Department

Syllabus

 

HS214: Modern Middle East           Office: Humanities Bldg, Room 270

Section 23423                      Office hours: 11:15 – 12:15 Tues/Thu

Dr. T. Elkin Taylor                 Office phone: 240-567-5178

Fall 2008                           Home phone: 301-229-9270

Classroom: Humanties 133                E-mail: prof_etaylor@verizon.net

2:00 - 3:15 p.m. Tues/Thu               

 

Required Texts:

 

·        William L. Cleveland.  A History of the Modern Middle East. 3d ed.  2004

·        The Middle East.  11th ed.  Published by Congressional Quarterly.  2007.

·        The Washington Post (September 4 - December 16, 2008).

 

General Course Information:

 

Description:  This course emphasizes developments in the Middle East (including Afghanistan) since 1914.  But to understand the region's recent history one must know the nature of Middle Eastern culture as it developed over the centuries, and this is the principal focus of the first few weeks of the course.

 

Aims and objectives: That students (1) cultivate a thoughtful, critical view of historical events, (2) develop a thorough knowledge of the Middle East and an understanding of its religions, its cultures, its history – how and why it came to be what it is, (3) understand the motivations and perspectives of the various actors in the region, especially in the period since 1945, and (4) articulate thoughts clearly and coherently, orally and in writing.

 

Course Requirements and Grading:

 

There will be three exams, each consisting of several "mini-essays," a longer essay and questions on current affairs.  Exam questions will come from lectures, discussion, textbooks and newspaper articles.  For the most part exams do not include material covered in prior exam periods.  Exams taken on schedule allow students to choose from among alternative questions and include an extra-credit question; exams taken late offer neither of these benefits.  The final exam must be taken on schedule. 

 

Each student must read and write an analytical review of two books, chosen from a list that will be handed out early in the course.  Most are in the MC Rockville library.  I prefer an essay that draws on both books, not two separate reviews.  For example, you may want to summarize the most salient points of each of your two books and then compare the viewpoints of the authors or the experience of two different countries as reflected in the books, perhaps mentioning the virtues or shortcomings you perceive in the works under review.  Choose books that lend themselves to joint treatment.  Alternatively, you may write an analytical review of one long book (500 pages of text or more).  If you have experience or special knowledge of some particular country or aspect of the Middle East, I suggest that you choose books on subjects that are NOT in your area of expertise, in order to broaden your understanding of the region.  Reviews should be about 4 double-spaced typewritten pages long; no cover or binder, please.

 

Quality of analysis, organization and writing skill will be important factors in determining the grade of your review.  Most important of all is the thoughtfulness and perceptiveness of your paper.  Some students may be asked to report orally on their reports.  There is a penalty of one letter grade per week for late submission of papers.  Plagiarism (passing off the work of others as your own) or any other form of cheating, will ordinarily result in an F for the course. 

 

Reports, exams and participation are given a numerical grade and weighted as follows:

 

First exam (Sept. 30)                               20%

Second exam (Nov. 4)                                20%

Book review (due Dec. 2)                             25%

Final exam (Dec. 16)                                 20%

Attendance, participation, etc.                      15%

                                 

Guidance for Students:

 

Class attendance is of great importance; 15% of the student's grade is based on participation in class.  A few class periods are set aside exclusively for discussions on assigned subjects; in addition there will often be brief discussions of current events.  Most classroom time is taken up with lectures, many of which cover material not in the textbooks. Take good notes.  Similarly, much important material in the textbooks is not covered in lecture.  Students are responsible for knowing the views of guest lecturers who address the class.  If you must be absent from any class, let me know - in advance if possible - and arrange to study the notes of another student.  Ask questions and say what you think in class.  Keep up with assigned readings.  These include (1) textbook assignments as listed below; (2) all articles on the Middle East in the Post (paper or electronic version) for the duration of this course; and (3) a few extra assignments which will be made later. An unexcused absence from a pre-announced discussion period results in the student receiving a zero for that class.  I encourage you to talk to me during office hours or at any mutually convenient time, especially if you need help.

 

The Cleveland textbook has a useful glossary of Arabic, Persian and Turkish terms.  The CQ text has a chronological list of events.

 

                                                - Elkin Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

HS 214 – Class Schedule

 

The following is the schedule of lectures and readings.  It is subject to change.  Required readings should be completed before class.  "WC" refers to the Cleveland text; "CQ" refers to the text published by Congressional Quarterly. 

 

       Lecture                        Subject of Readings                    Textbook Readings                                                                             

9/4    Introduction                                                              

 

9/9    Judaism & Christianity     Rise and expansion of Islam;          WC 1-35; CQ 1-11                                         Islamic civilization to 15th cent.   

 

9/11   Birth & growth of Islam    Safavid & Ottoman empires;            WC 37-80; CQ 11-32

                                  Ottoman empire, Egypt, 1789-1849                      

               

9/16   Traditional Islamic law    Ottoman empire, Egypt, 1839-76;      WC 81-117 

                                  Egypt and Iran, late 19th century   

        

9/18   Traditional society        Response to Europe's challenge;      WC 119-48

                                  Turkey & Iran up to 1914            

 

9/23   The family and society     End of the Ottoman Empire;     WC 149-92

                                  Turkey & Iran up to 1945             

 

9/25   Islam and women             Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, 1919-45;   WC 193-237

                                  Syria, Lebanon, Arabia, 1919-45     

 

9/30   FIRST EXAM

                    

10/2   Palestine to 1948           The Arab-Israeli conflict to 1948    WC 239-71; CQ 33-52

 

10/7   Arabs v. Israel, 1948-2008 Palestine-Israeli conflict           WC 356-67, 473-78, 499-517;

                                                                         CQ 52-96

 

10/9   Israeli society             Israel                                WC 345-56; CQ 279-306

 

10/14  GUEST SPEEAKER – Aaron David MILLER, author, The Much Too Promised Land

 

10/16  DISCUSSION: ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE                     CQ 377-94

 

10/21  Turkey                      Turkey and Iran, 1945 - c. 1979      WC 273-300; CQ 457-74        

 

10/23  Iran, 1979 to date          The Iranian Revolution                WC 423-50; CQ 235-59

 

10/28  Egypt                      Egypt under Nasser & Sadat            WC 301-44, 369-82, 392-95;

                                                                         CQ 217-33

                    

10/30  Lebanon                    Lebanon/Jordan                        WC 382-92; CQ 307-24, 337-60

 

11/4   SECOND EXAM

 

11/6   Afghanistan                Afghanistan                           Special assignment (TBA)

 

11/11  Syria and Iraq             Syria/Iraq                            WC 397-415; CQ 261-77, 437-55

 

11/13  War in the Gulf, 1980-2008                                        WC 415-21, 478-97

                                  War in the Gulf

11/18  War in the Gulf (continued)                                CQ 97-139, 325-35

 

11/20  DISCUSSION: THE PROBLEM OF IRAQ                                   WC 541-48; review CQ 111-39  

                                     

11/25  Oil and the Middle East    Petroleum                             CQ 141-58

 

11/26-30 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

 

12/2   Saudi Arabia               The Arabian states                   WC 451-72; CQ 395-435, 475-85

                                                                           REPORT DUE

                                                                                        

12/4   Islamism                   Islam and politics                    WC 519-39

 

12/9   Islamism (continued)                                      CQ 17-32

 

12/11 DISCUSSION: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY & THE MIDDLE EAST                CQ 159-214

 

12/16  FINAL EXAM (2:45 – 4:45 p.m.)