Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Middle Eastern Studies (research) or another relevant Research MA. Students from other (regular MA) programmes are kindly referred to the course description of the regular MA course.
Description
This course traces the political history of the Middle East throughout the twentieth century. The story starts with the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, resulting in different paths to nation-state formation where transnational ties challenged the international settlement. Politics of nation building, authoritarian reforms, and colonial practices in the Middle East will be discussed in the global context of the interwar years and the Second World War. The second half of the twentieth century was marked by revolutionary processes of decolonization, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and political rivalries among monarchies and republics in the Arab Middle East. The countries of the Middle East’s non-Arab “Northern Tier” (Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) constituted one of the decisive frontier regions between the North Atlantic Alliance and the Soviet Union, where diplomacy, democracy, and development had an immediate Cold War context. Finally, this course will elaborate on the idea of an early end of the Cold War in the Middle East towards the end of the 1970s. The result was the emergence of a variety of conservative-authoritarian regimes towards the end of the twentieth century that proved to be resilient and robust until first decades of the twenty-first century. By combining approaches from international sociology with international history, this course will explore the political history of the Middle East in the twentieth century in its local and global complexities.
Course objectives
At the end of the semester, students will be able to:
describe and take a critical stance to the current developments and paradigms in the state of research on the history and politics of the Middle East in the twentieth century,
identify and utilize main conceptual and theoretical approaches in international sociology and international history,
find primary sources on various themes of the modern Middle East in European and (translated or original) local languages at the Leiden University Library and in other online-available resources,
design a research proposal in studying diplomacy, security, revolution, and war, as well as nation-state formation, modernization, and development,
conduct original research based on an evaluation of scholarship, application of theory and methodology, and use of primary sources,
report on research findings both orally and in writing, in accordance with the basic standards of scholarship.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
The deadline in MyTimetable is set for administrative purposes only. The actual date(s) will be communicated by the lecturer(s) in Brightspace.
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. The maximum of such absences during a semester is two. Being absent without notification can result in a lower grade or exclusion from the term end exams and a failing grade for the course.
Assessment method
Academic integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with the notion of academic integrity and the ways in which this plays out in their own work. A good place to start is this page. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students may not substantially reuse texts they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.
Students must submit their assignment(s) to Brightspace through Turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
ChatGPT: What is possible and what is allowed? Dos and Don'ts.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Participation (active participation in the in-class discussions) | 15% |
| Presentation and assignments | 25% |
| 5,000-word essay (term paper) | 60% |
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.
Final Paper
Students are free to formulate a research topic that is related to the themes and time frame encompassed in this course on the history and politics of the Middle East in the twentieth century. The term paper must use one of the proper academic citation systems (Chicago style notes and bibliography) and it must be authentic. The paper must conform to the designated limit of 5,000 words. Plagiarism will be checked and automatically means failing the class.
The term paper is written in four stages: First, the topic of the term paper needs to be discussed and decided with the instructor. Second, an abstract (max. 300 words) must be submitted. Third, a first version which will be commented on must be submitted. Fourth, the final version will be submitted. 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.
Students must complete the assignment(s) on time Late submissions will result in a deduction of marks for the assignment as follows: 1-24 hs late = -0.5; 24-48 hs late = -1.0; 48-72 hs late = -1.5; 72-96 hs late = -2.0. Submissions more than 96 hs late, including weekends, will receive a failing grade of 1,0 for the assignment.
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 (60%). 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.
Inspection and feedback
Feedback will be supplied primarily through Brightspace. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the assessment results, a review will be organized.
Reading list
The list of weekly articles will be made available after the first session.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the information bar on the right.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office de Vrieshof.