Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
Limited places are also open for exchange students.
Please note: this course takes place in The Hague. Traveling between University buildings from Leiden to The Hague may take about 45 minutes.
Description
Culture is constituted by a set of practices, such as conversation, habits and rituals, and a set of objects, such as narratives and images, and is the primary vehicle through which people give meaning to their selves, their lives and their societies. This course introduces students to the cultural diversity of the contemporary Middle East through two disciplinary angles. On the one hand, the course looks critically at the intersection of language, culture, politics and ideology (building upon the introduction to sociolinguistics). On the other, it critically engages with the ways in which power is articulated through cultural processes of meaning-making by analysing an eclectic selection of objects, texts and practices (building upon the introduction to cultural studies). Rather than an historical or geographical overview, this provides an orientation for the pursuit of the students’ own interests in Middle Eastern cultures. The course offers insight into the complex cultural power relations at stake in the use and control of various languages and linguistic registers in the region and teaches students to closely analyse cultural objects, by considering aspects of their form and content in relation to their social, political and economic context.
Course objectives
The student:
Gain a thorough understanding of the cultural and sociolinguistic context of the Middle East from a global perspective;
Become familiar with cross-cultural communication aspects of international relations within the context of a specific area;
Learn about the ways in which language behavior reflects the diverse cultural patterns of the Middle East.
Reflect critically on the cultural developments in the Middle East from a global perspective;
Learn how ethnicity, gender, religion, urbanization interact with the use of language in the Middle East.
Gain in-depth knowledge of cultural production and identity formation in the Middle East in its global context;
Understand the interaction between politics and language policy and planning.
Analyse an artefact of the chosen area using the concepts and theories introduced in Cultural Studies, Sociolinguistics and Introduction to International Studies;
Reflect on the meaning of the main concepts in cultural-, sociolinguistic-, and intercultural communication studies as applied in different cultural contexts;
Use the theories discussed in the course to identify and compare communicative, narrative, and visual productions from regions of their choice;
Situate a cultural artefact within the context of the cultural production and cultural policies of the region of their choice;
Collect and analyse specialised literature using traditional and electronic methods and techniques;
Formulate a well-defined research problem based on specialised literature; set up, under supervision, a study of a limited size and formulate a reasoned conclusion;
Explain research findings in a clear and well-argued way in the form of a short essay;
Present their findings and arguments in a coherent and clear way in the form of a short presentation and during in-class debates;
Give and receive feedback to and from peers in a constructive fashion and use reasoned criticism to revise one’s own point of view or own argumentation;
Integrate the instructions and criticism of supervisors, and take previous instructions and criticism into account in new situations.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover issues both inside and outside the readings.
Tutorials
Tutorials are held once every two weeks, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your Tutorial-lecturer in advance. Being absent at more than two of the tutorial sessions will result in a lowering of your tutorial grade (40% of the end grade) with 1 point for each session missed after the first two sessions. Please note that being absent at any tutorial session may have a negative impact on the grade of the assignment due for that particular tutorial session. This is at the discretion of the Tutorial-lecturer.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.Final Exam:
Written examination with short open questions and (up to) 50% multiple choice questions.
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Tutorials | 40% |
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of Tutorial grade, Midterm Exam grade, and Final Exam grade.
The weighted average of the Midterm Exam grade and the Final Exam grade needs to be 5.5 or higher.
This means that failing Exam grades cannot be compensated with a high Tutorial grade.
Resit
If the end grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the weighted average of Midterm- and Final Exams is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the full 60% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier Midterm- and Final Exam grades. No resit for the tutorial is possible.
Please note that if the Resit Exam grade is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the tutorial grade.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2024 – 2025.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
- Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.