Admission requirements
This class is intended (in order of preference) for
(1) students of the BA Middle Eastern Studies who have successfully completed the propedeutic exam of the BA Middle Eastern Studies;
(2) premaster students for the MA Middle Eastern Studies;
(3) students from other programmes. Please contact the coordinator of studies, Eli van Duijnen, to find out whether you can be admitted to this class.
Description
The social, economic, political, and legal status of Middle East minority and diaspora populations have long been used as a lens through which to evaluate the policies and even legitimacy of regimes governing the region’s states. Local opposition groups, foreign powers, non-governmental organizations, and other actors have asserted the need to defend minorities from state power and/or the hegemony of majority populations. Such assertions have frequently been used to justify violent responses to perceived discrimination and marginalization. In addition, authoritarian regimes have frequently justified their enduring domination of the state by depicting themselves as protectors of minority populations, and by hinting of apocalyptic outcomes if they are removed from power.
This seminar will explore the interrelated nature of these phenomena over time and in the emergence of the modern nation-state in the Middle East starting in the late 19th century. In particular, it will explore the various ways in which minorities and diaspora populations have acquired, articulated, and wielded forms of agency. Together we will examine how minority and diaspora populations utilize self and external identifications in struggles for power that simultaneously challenge and uphold the authority of the state.
Course objectives
to develop skills necessary to evaluating existing scholarship on a subject in order to propose a research project for further study.
to obtain familiarity with interdisciplinary approaches to the study of diasporas and minorities.
to understand the merits and drawbacks of these approaches in general and in specific cases;
to develop and carry out a small research project on a well-defined topic, based on primary source texts;
to report on research findings orally (by reading a paper) and in writing, in accordance with the basic standards of historical scholarship.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Attendance and active participation are obligatory for seminars. Students are required to prepare for and attend all sessions. The convenors need to be informed without delay of any classes missed for a good reason (i.e. due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, family issues, problems with residence permits, the Dutch railways in winter, etc.). In these cases it is up to the discretion of the convener(s) of the course whether or not the missed class will have to be made up with an extra assignment. The maximum of such absences during a semester is two. Being absent without notification and/or more than two times can result in exclusion from the term end exams and a failing grade for the course.
Course Load
2 contact hours per week: 13×2= 26 hours
Reading for each class: 39 hours
In Class Presentations: 4 hours
Literature Review and Final paper: 71 hours
Assessment method
Assessement and weighing
Each student will be graded on the basis of four formal assignments:
| Assignment | Weighing | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Class Participation and preparations | 35% |
| 2 | In-class presentations | 15% |
| 3 | Midterm literature review | 25% |
| 4 | Final Paper | 25% |
Resit
If the final grade of the course is below a 5.5, a resit examination may be requested. This re-sit exam will encompass all of the required course material (including suggested readings) throughout the semester. Class participation and preparation and presentations will not be part of the re-sit grade.
Exam review
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will be organized.
Reading list
Bedross Der Matossian. Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2014.
Ussama Makdasi. The Culture of Sectarianism. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000.
Lerna Ekmekcioglu, Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey. University of Stanford Press, 2016.
Orit Bashkin. New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq. Stanford University Press, 2012.
Other selected readings.
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office de Vrieshof.