Note: the first meeting for this course will take place on Friday, September 7, 12-13 hs, in Vriesh2/004. Presence of students of both Theories and Methods of Middle East and Islamic Studies 1 and Theories and Methods of Middle East and Islamic Studies 2 is required.
Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Middle Eastern Studies or the MA International Relations is required. Students of the MA Middle Eastern Studies have priority. Students from other MA programmes can only be admitted if there are places left. Students from other programmes interested in taking this course are kindly requested to contact student advisor, Dr. Nicole van Os, or Dr. Tsolin Nalbantian, if you are interested in taking this course but NOT a student of one of the above-mentioned MA programmes. See also under registration below.
Description
What is historiography? What is the Middle East? Does the historiography of the Middle East display defining characteristics that distinguish it from, for example, European historiography? Can the study and analysis of Middle East historiography reveal as much about Western perspectives of the Middle East as it does about the “actual” history of the region? Using these broad questions as points of departure, this course will survey the Western canon of historical writing on the region we now know as the Middle East. In the process, it will seek to place this body of literature in the context of larger historical and historiographical trends by reviewing major theoretical and methodological developments in the humanities and social sciences, examining their employment in concrete research projects focusing on the Middle East, and analyzing the resulting debates that have ensued within the profession. This course is designed for graduate students who have an interest in the Middle East.
Unit 1: Orientalism
Unit 2: Social and Labor History
Unit 3: Modernization
Unit 4: Race
Unit 5: Gender and Sexuality
Unit 6: The Cultural Turn
Unit 7: Post Colonial and Subaltern Studies
Course objectives
to develop the skills and insights that are necessary to evaluate existing research and to design and carry out empirical research projects;
to obtain familiarity with the theories developed in social sciences and their application in the study of the Middle East and Islam;
to understand the merits and drawbacks of these theories both 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
Mode of instruction
- Seminar.
Attendance and active participation are obligatory for seminars. The convener needs 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. In case of unforeseen absences make sure to have another student report on what you missed; you are responsible for seminar information and announcements whether present or not.
Course Load
Total course load: 10 EC x 28 hours = 280 hours
3 contact hours per week = 13×3: 39 hours
12 hours reading for each class: 156 hours
blackboard assignments: 5 hours
Preparing the presentation: 5 hours
Short essay: 15 hours
Final paper: 60 hours
Assessment
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 the blackboard through turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Attendance and participation | 50% |
| Short essay | 25% |
| Final paper | 25% |
Attendance and participation
This component (50%) includes presentations (15%), being called on to orally summarize (a) reading(s) and respond to the presenter (15%), questions for discussions that will be posted to Blackboard weekly (5%), and active participation in the general discussions (15%).
Short essay
Each student will submit a 5-7 page paper (1,250-1,750 words) on one of the weekly assignments. This partial examination may not be rewritten. This component constitutes 25% of the final grade.
Final paper
Each student will write a 10-12 page (2,500-3,000 words) literature review/introduction of their MA thesis in consultation with the instructor. This component constitutes 25% of the final grade.
(The paper deadline mentioned in uSis is a fictional date for administration purposes only. The actual date will be communicated by the convenor of the course.)
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
Re-sits are only possible if the student obtains an overall mark of 5.49 or lower. Re-sit assignments, if applicable, will be discussed with the professor.
Exam review
Final paper comments will be given only if a student requests them within 30 days of their final paper results.
Reading list
Michel Foucault. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage, 1995.
Zachary Lockman. Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Joseph Massad. Desiring Arabs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
Timothy Mitchell. Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002.
Timothy Mitchell. Colonizing Egypt. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008.
Eve M. Troutt Powell. A Different Shade of Colonialism: Egypt, Great Britain, and the Mastery of the Sudan.
Edward Said. Orientalism. New York: Vintage, 1994.
Other selected readings
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.
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable.
Blackboard
Contact information
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.