Admission requirements
Requirement for BA in Modern Middle East track and successfully passed History of Middle East 1500-present or premaster students.
Description
This course is an advanced survey of the impact of key ideological currents on Middle East politics from late 19th century to the present. It critically reviews how secular and religious ideologies have shaped and justified hegemonic and counterhegemonic political projects in the region. These include different forms of Turkish, Arab, Kurdish, Jewish, and Iranian nationalism to Islamist ideologies. By adopting a intellectual history approach, the course will also analyze the impact of global ideas and trends – such as enlightenment, colonialism, capitalism, democracy, and modernization as well as socialism and liberalism – on the politics and societies of the Middle East. The course will introduce theories of nationalism, concepts of political thought, and methods of intellectual history. The course relies on a review of secondary literature and translated primary sources of political thought.
Course objectives
The purpose of this course is to help students understand the ideological and intellectual trends of history of the modern Middle East, and to critically engage with existing explanations and theoretical approaches in the study of Middle Eastern politics.
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
| 5 EC x 28 hrs = | 140 hrs |
|---|---|
| Lectures (13 x 2) | 26 |
| Study of compulsory literature and preparation exam | 74 |
| Assignment(s) (to do reading, research, writing, and preparing presentation) | 40 |
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for:
Sharing of reading material
Announcements and communication
Assessment method
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Class attendance and Participation | 20% |
| Presentation | 30% |
| Take-home exam with open questions | 50% |
The course is an integrated whole. The take-home exam and the assignments must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Resit
There is only a resit opportunity for the take-home exam, which will count for 50%.
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
- A detailed syllabus with selected readings will be provided at the beginning of the term
Registration
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Contact
Remarks
Students with disabilities
The university is committed to supporting and accommodating students with disabilities as stated in the university protocol (especially pages 3-5). Students should contact Fenestra Disability Centre
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be familiar with Leiden University policies on plagiarism and academic integrity. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you submit any work with your name affixed to it, it is assumed to be your own work with all sources used properly indicated and documented in the text (with quotations and/or citations).