Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Middle Eastern Studies (research) or the MA Asian Studies (research). Students from other departments are kindly referred to the course description of the regular MA course.
Description
The world is undergoing tectonic shifts both geopolitically and geo-economically in our contemporary era. This course investigates the position and role of the Middle East in the context of such shifts as the retreat of the West and the rise of the rest, especially China and India. The US is currently self-obsessed and becoming increasing (self-)isolated and unilateral in its foreign policy approach. The EU is disunited and busy giving tactical responses to tactical problems within the EU (e.g. extremism, the refugee question, Brexit, and the rise of nationalism, among other things), lacking a strategic vision. The Middle East is looking eastward.
China is becoming increasingly active in the ME and elsewhere and rolling out global geo-economic initiatives. One such multifaceted and globally game-changing initiative by China is the New Silk Road (NSR), otherwise called Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It has been described as the present day iteration of the ancient Silk Road. It involves more than 65 countries including most of the major and minor actors in the Middle East. In this course, we will pay particular attention to the Middle East’s involvement in the BRI (this will be the main focus of the course) and the ways in which the Middle Eastern (f)actors both affect and are affected by this initiative. In addition to BRI, the Indian initiative (North South Trade Corridor) will also be discussed in the class, especially in terms of how it involves the Middle East. The main question to be addressed in this course is how the region is navigating its way forward in an era in which America is the main geopolitical actor and China the major geo-economic actor.
Course objectives
Understanding the broad theoretical and methodological debates within the field of International Relations (especially with a focus on how geopolitics and geo-economics intersect)
Get a deeper understanding of theories of geopolitics (e.g. classical and critical) especially as applied to the Middle Eastern cases
Getting familiar with the historical backgrounds that affect current geopolitical issues in the region
Understanding the general issues in and contours of Asian-Middle Eastern relations
Getting a general understanding of the main contours of New Silk Roads
Getting a deep understanding of the role The Middle Eastern (f)actors in NSR and their international political economy
Analyzing the impact of domestic issues (in the ME and China) on global and regional developments
Analyzing and interpret the perils and promises of The Middle East looking eastward (to China)
Sharpening students abilities to analyze the policies at stake in this topic
Understand the ME-China-US dynamics in the Middle East
Developing the ability to make use of the knowledge acquired in the course for students’ future career in terms of various possibilities: policy making, problem-solving, public relations, teaching, research, consulting, and so forth
Developing original research questions, thus contributing to the scholarly literature with regard to the various topics at stake in the course (Middle Eastern studies and International Relations).
Critical evaluation of the scholarly literature at stake in the course
Developing presentation skills for both a scholarly and general public
In-depth knowledge of the current issues (in terms both of domestic and foreign policies) in the Middle Eastern countries involved
Timetable
Visit MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Attendance and participation are obligatory for seminars. Students are required to 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. Being absent without notification can result in a lower grade or exclusion from the term end exams and a failing grade for the course.
Course Load
| Total course load: 10 EC x 28 hours | 280 hours |
|---|---|
| Extra contact hours ResMA | 6 hours |
| Attending seminars: 13 x 2 hours | 26 hours |
| Reading / studying material | 124 hours |
| Completing assignments | 124 hours |
Assessment method
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). It is also unacceptable for students to reuse portions of texts they had previously authored and have already received academic credit for on this or other courses. In such cases, students are welcome to self-cite so as to minimise overlap between prior and new work.
Students must submit their assignment(s) to Brightspace through turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Presence, active participation in the class, review of course literature (3 times during the course), and discussing fellow students’ presentations | 15% |
| Presentation | 15% |
| Take-home exam | 30% |
| Research paper of 3,000 words, excluding bibliography | 40% |
Take-home exam
Students will receive 3 essay questions, out of which they can choose one question. This one question should be answered with a well-evidenced/referenced and well-argued answer within 2 days (min: 1000 words – max: 1500 words, excluding bibliography).
(Date of the exam to be determined in the first session together with students and taking into consideration their preferences)
The research paper must be relevant to the themes, theories, and/or actors discussed in the course.
Research Paper
The research paper is written in two stages: a first version which will be commented on and a final version. Students who do not meet the deadline for the first version will lose the right to get comments and will only be graded based on their final version.
The actual deadlines for submission of the first and final versions of the paper will be communicated by the convenor of the course through Blackboard (after consulting with students in the first session. (The deadline(s) mentioned in uSis is/are fictional for administrative purposes only.)
Late submissions of the final version will result in a deduction of paper grades as follows: 1-24 hrs late = -0.5; 24-48 hrs late = -1.0; 48-72 hrs late = -1.5; 72-96 hrs late = -2.0. Late papers will not be accepted more than four days after the deadline, including weekends and will be graded with 1.0.
The final mark for this course is formed by the weighted average.
In order to pass the course, students must obtain an overall mark of 5.50 (=6) or higher.
The course is an integrated whole. All assessment parts must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Resit
Only if the total weighted average is insufficient (5.49 or lower) and the insufficient grade is the result of an insufficient paper, a resit of the paper is possible (40%). In that case the convener of the course may assign a (new) topic and give a new deadline.
A resit of the other partial assessments is not possible.
Exam review
Review of the exam and research paper results:
If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized. To request a review the student should send an email to the instructor of the course.
Reading list
The book titles and / or syllabi to be used in the course, where they can be purchased and how this literature should be studied beforehand will be posted on Brightspace.
For the Research MA students additional readings will be determined by the convener at a later stage taking into account the students’ fields of interest. The extra sessions will be used to discuss the additional literature.
Registration
Students are required to register through uSis. To avoid mistakes and problems, students are strongly advised to register in uSis through the activity number which can be found in the timetable in the column under the heading “USIS-Actnbr.”. More information on uSis is available in Dutch and English. You can also have a look at the FAQ.
Not being registered, means no permission to attend this course. See also the webpage on course and exam enrolment for registration deadlines and more information on how to register.
Students are also required to enroll on Blackboard as soon as the course is available there.
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 at least four weeks before the start of their courses to ensure that all necessary academic accommodations can be made in time conform the abovementioned protocol.