INR
3274 U 01 A, Summer A 2008 (May 5-June 18)
Mondays
and Wednesdays, 11:00 am-1:45 pm, PC 213
Instructor: Marsha B. Cohen (profmcohen@gmail.com)
http://mcohen02.tripod.com/inrme.html
Office
hours: by appointment
Course Syllabus – INR 3274
International Relations of the Middle East
The centrality of the “Middle East” on the trade routes of the ancient and medieval world made it not only the “cradle of civilization” but also the entrepot for the meeting of minds and merchandise moving between east and west. Nomadic peoples moved across its vast fertile plains and deserts, absorbing the cultures of both their conquerors and conquests. Within this framework we will observe regional geopolitical patterns in the quest for hegemony that have persisted over the course of thousands of years, and examine the legacy of the confrontations with invaders from the West which continue to shape political perceptions and interactions in the contemporary international system.
Course
Requirements:
Students are expected to come to
class having completed the assigned readings for the session and
prepared to discuss them. Students are
strongly encouraged to keep apprised of current world affairs in general and
events in the Middle East, and to subscribe for daily e-mail updates from the New
York Times [registration (free) required].
Internet links to English-language newspapers and radio broadcasts from
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Iran and elsewhere can be found on the class
web page http://mcohen02.tripod.com/inrme.html .
U.S. newspapers with extensive and intensive coverage of foreign affairs, as well as British, Canadian, and other newspapers from around the world can be accessed online from http://mcohen02.tripod.com. Students with a reading knowledge of Middle Eastern languages are welcome to utilize non-English resources.
It is also highly recommended that students take advantage of any lectures and other course-related on and off campus activities related to the course. Some of these will be announced by the instructor and/or posted to the class web page.
An 4-5 page analytical paper will be required of each student that closely examines various perspectives of an event covered by the Middle East press during the course of the semester. Detailed instructions will be posted on the class website. The paper is due June 9.
Evaluation and Grades:
92-100 = A
90-91 = A
88-89 = B+
82-88 = B
80-81 points = B-
70-79 points = C
60-69 points =
D
Below 60 = F
Points will be assigned for:
Semester paper: Maximum 100 points
Final exam: Maximum 100 points
Attendance
and participation: Maximum 100
points
Quizzes: instructor reserves the right to give “pop”
quizzes if it appears that a majority of students are not doing the readings.
No grades of “Incomplete” will be given in this course. Assignments not turned in or exams not taken will be calculated as having zero value.
One text, available from the FIU bookstore or other sources, is
required. If purchasing used books from
sources other than the bookstore, it is crucial that you purchase the most
current edition specified below. Older
editions will not have critical current information.
James L. Gelvin, The
Modern Middle East: A History, Second edition (2008). Oxford University
Press.
Additional required readings of short articles may occasionally be added to reflect Mideast current events which we will be exploring in class as they arise. I will e-mail them to you and post them on the class website.
Reading Assignments (to be completed prior to the date of the class indicated):
Week #1 Read for class Gelvin 1-34.
Monday, May 5: Introduction. International Relations of the Middle East: the early years.
Wednesday, May 7: The rise and spread of Islam.
Monday, May 12: The Crusades.
Wednesday, May 14: The impact of Imperialism.
Week #3 Read for class Gelvin 111-205;
Syria: The French Mandate; Antoun
Sadeh, “What Motivated me to Establish the Syrian Social Nationalist Party”
(1935).
Monday, May 19: Nineteenth century geopolitics;
secularism and modernity.
Wednesday, May 21: World War I and its aftermath - carving up Turkey.
May 23 – last day to apply for
Summer graduation
Week
#4 Read for class Gelvin 223-270. Gamal Abdel Nasser, Denouncement of
the Proposal for a Canal Users' Association (1956); Anwar el
Sadat, “Afro-Asian
Solidarity and the World Mission of the Peoples of Africa and Asia, 1957”; Soviet
Reaction to the Baghdad Pact, 1955; The Eisenhower
Doctrine on the Middle East, Message to Congress Jan. 5, 1957.
Monday, May 26: Memorial Day,
University closed.. No class.
Wednesday, May 28: Post WWII Arab nationalism, the
Cold War, and US mideast policy.
Week #5 . Read for class Gelvin 100-110; 206-221; 271-281. Sir Henry McMahon: Letter to Ali ibn Husain, 1915; The Balfour Declaration, November 2, 1917 ; Palestinian National Charter, July 17, 1968 ; Guide to the Middle East Peace Process; Hamas Covenant 1988; Jerome Slater, “What Went Wrong: the Collapse of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process”.
Monday, June 2: Arab-Israeli conflict
Wednesday, June 4: Israel and the Palestinians
Week #6 Read for class Gelvin 282-293; 317-320; “The Anglo-Russian Entente, 1907” (Yale Avalon Project); Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-89), “The Uprising of Khurdad 15, 1979” ; Ali Abootalebi, “The Struggle for Democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran”
Monday, June 9: The Iranian Revolution. Paper
due.
Wednesday, June 11: Contemporary Iran.
Week #7 Read for class Gelvin 294-312; Bernard
Lewis, “The Roots
of Muslim Rage”; S. Sayyid,
“Crusades and Jihads in Postcolonial Times”; Kenneth W. Stein, “The Bush
Doctrine: Selective Engagement in the
Middle East”;
Monday, June 16: Global terrorism, 9/11 and the Iraq
War.
Wednesday, June 18. Conclusions: What’s next for the Middle East? Final Exam.