Required Texts
The following book will serve as the primary textbook for this course:
In addition, students are required to secure a copy and read to completion the following novel:
Copies of all the above-listed books can be secured via online purchase, online rental, or library loan.
Any additional reading assignments will be available on the course website for download as PDF files (as of the first day of class). Also, all of the books from which said articles and chapters are assigned will be available at the university library under course reserves for this course. Please contact me immediately if you have any trouble accessing the readings.
Note for Graduate Students Only: Given the additional reading requirements expected of graduate students, it is advised that students enrolled in the graduate component of this course review the "Graduate Student Readings" section of each week and secure copies of the book they plan to read in time so as to have completed the reading by the end of Thursday of any given week.
- Gelvin, James L. The Modern Middle East: A History. Fourth Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
In addition, students are required to secure a copy and read to completion the following novel:
- Sinan Antoon, The Book of Collateral Damage, trans. Jonathan Wright (Yale University Press, 2019).
Copies of all the above-listed books can be secured via online purchase, online rental, or library loan.
Any additional reading assignments will be available on the course website for download as PDF files (as of the first day of class). Also, all of the books from which said articles and chapters are assigned will be available at the university library under course reserves for this course. Please contact me immediately if you have any trouble accessing the readings.
Note for Graduate Students Only: Given the additional reading requirements expected of graduate students, it is advised that students enrolled in the graduate component of this course review the "Graduate Student Readings" section of each week and secure copies of the book they plan to read in time so as to have completed the reading by the end of Thursday of any given week.
Weekly Lectures and Reading Schedule
[Please note the following reading and assignment schedule is based on the Fall 2019 offering. As such, it subject to change depending on the specific term it is offered in. For questions, please contact the course instructor.]
Week 1: Introduction (August 26 & 28)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 2: The Early Modern Middle East I (September 2 & 4)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lecture:
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Week 3: The Early Modern Middle East II (September 9 & 11)
Assignment Due:
Required Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 4: Defensive Developmentalism (September 16 & 18)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 5: Imperialism (September 23 & 25)
Required Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 6: 19th-Century Transformations (September 30 & October 2)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 7: World War I (October 7 & 9)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 8: Midterm Exam Week (October 14 & 16)
Assignment Due:
No Required Readings for Undergraduates
Graduate Student Readings:
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Week 9: The Making of the Contemporary State System (October 21 & 23)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 10: Nationalism and Its Others (October 28 & 30)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
Lectures:
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Week 11: Themes in Post-World War II History (November 4 & 6)
Required Readings:
Supplemental Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 12: Post-Colonial State Building and Economic Development (November 11 & 13)
Required Readings:
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
Lectures:
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Week 13: The Question of Oil (November 18 & 20)
Required Readings:
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 14: Novel Week (November 25 & 27)
Assignment Due: Novel-based Paper (Via Email by No Later Than 3:00pm)
No Required Readings for Undergraduates
Graduate Student Readings:
Lectures:
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Week 15: Wrapping Up (December 2 & 4)
Required Readings:
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
Lectures:
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Final Exam:
In accordance with Registrar's Final Exam Schedule:
Wednesday, December 11, 12:20-2:20pm [Click here to download final exam study guide]
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Week 1: Introduction (August 26 & 28)
Required Readings:
- James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), pp. 11-23.
Supplemental Readings:
- Zachary Lockman,"Said's Orientalism: A Book and Its Aftermath," Contending Visions: The History and Politics of Orientalism (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 183-215.
- Timothy Mitchell, “The Middle East in the Past and Future of Social Science” in The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines, edited by David Szanton (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004), pp. 74-118.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Zachary Lockman, Contending Visions of the Middle East: The History and Politics of Orientalism (Cambridge, 2004)
Lectures:
- Session 1: Introductions
- Session 2: "Introduction to MENA History" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 2: The Early Modern Middle East I (September 2 & 4)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 24-31.
- Jane Hathaway, "Land and People," The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1800 (Routledge, 2013), pp. 23-34.
- Abrahamian, "State and Society under the Qajars," A History of Modern Iran, pp. 8-33.
Supplemental Readings:
- Steven F. Dale, "The Legitimacy of Monarchs and the Institutions of Empire," "The Economies around 1600," and "Fall of the Safavid Empire," The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Saphavids, and Mughals (Cambridge University Press, 2010), pp. 77-105 & 106-135, 247-256.
- Jamil M. Abun‑Nasr, "Ottoman Rule in the Center and Eastern Maghreb" and "Morocco Consolidates Her National Identity," A History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period (Cambridge University Press, 1993), pp. 144-247.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Jane Hathaway, The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516-1800 (Routledge, 2013).
Lecture:
- No Class (September 2): Labor Day
- Session 3 (September 4): "Gunpowder Empires" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 3: The Early Modern Middle East II (September 9 & 11)
Assignment Due:
- Content Test (In Class on Monday 9 September) [Click here to download study guide]
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 32-57.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Alan Mikhail, Nature and Empire in Ottoman Egypt: An Environmental History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013)
Lectures:
- Session 4 (September 9): Content Test
- Session 5 (September 11): "The Emergence of a World System" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 4: Defensive Developmentalism (September 16 & 18)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 69-89.
- Joel Beinin, "Ottoman Reform and European Imperialism, 1839-1907," Workers and Peasants in the Modern Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 44-70.
- Abrahamian, "Reform, Revolution, and the Great War," A History of Modern Iran, pp. 34-62.
Supplemental Readings:
- Frederic Anscombe, "The Setting" and "The Resurrection of the Ottoman Role in the Gulf," The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), pp. 9-15, 16-33.
- Mustafa Minawi, "Telegraphs and Territoriality in Ottoman Africa and Arabia during the Age of High Imperialism," Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies (2016), pp. 1-21.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Afshin Marashi, Nationalizing Iran: Culture, Power, and the State, 1870-1940 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008).
Lectures:
- Session 6 (September 16): "Defensive Developmentalism: A Theoretical Framework" [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 7 (September 18): "Defensive Developmentalism: Case Studies" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 5: Imperialism (September 23 & 25)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 90-105.
- Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, "The Age of Aggressive European Expansion," A History of the Maghreb in the Islamic Period (New York: University of Cambridge Press, 1993), pp. 248-323.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Julia Clancey Smith, Rebel and Saint: Muslim Notables, Popular Protests, and Colonial Encounter (Algeria and Tunisia, 1800-1904) (University of California Press, 1997).
Lectures:
- Session 7 (September 23): "Imperialism: A Theoretical Framework" [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 8 (September 25): "Imperialism: Case Studies" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 6: 19th-Century Transformations (September 30 & October 2)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 106-165.
Supplemental Readings:
- Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, "Workers, Labor Unrest, and the Formulation and Dissemination of Radical Leftists Ideas," The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010), pp. 134-164.
- Nader Sohrabi, "Global Waves, Local Actors: What the Young Turks Knew about Other Revolutions and Why It Mattered," Comparative Studies in Society and History (January 2002), pp. 45-79.
- Afsaneh Najmabadi, “Is Our Name Remembered? Writing the History of Iranian Constitutionalism As If Women and Gender Mattered,” Iranian Studies 29, (1-2) (Winter/Spring 1996): 85-109.
- Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010).
- Selim Deringil, The Well-Protected Domains: Ideology and the Legitimation of Power in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1909 (London: IB Tauris, 2011)
Lectures:
- Session 9 (September 30): "19th Century Transformations (Part 1)" [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 10 (October 2): "19th Century Transformations (Part 2)" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 7: World War I (October 7 & 9)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 189-192.
Supplemental Readings:
- Eugene Rogan, "The First World War and Its Legacy in the Middle East," The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Middle-Eastern and North African History, edited by Amal Ghazal and Jen Hanssen (Oxford University Press).
- Alia El Bakri, "'Memories of the Beloved': Oral Histories from the 1916-19 Siege of Medina," International Journal of Middle East Studies (Nov. 2014).
- Jennifer Derr, "The Dirty Subject of the First World War," International Journal of Middle East Studies (Nov. 2014).
Graduate Student Readings:
- Melanie Schulze Tanielian, The Charity of War: Famine, Humanitarian Aid, and World War I in the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2017).
Lectures:
- Session 11 (October 7): "World War I" [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 12: (October 9): Review Session for Midterm Exam
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Week 8: Midterm Exam Week (October 14 & 16)
Assignment Due:
- Midterm Exam (October 14): In-class Exam [Click here to download study guide]
- Map Quiz (October 16): In-class Map Quiz [Click here to download study guide]
No Required Readings for Undergraduates
Graduate Student Readings:
- TBA
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Week 9: The Making of the Contemporary State System (October 21 & 23)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 193-219.
Supplemental Readings:
- Abrahamian, "The Iron First of Reza Shah," A History of Modern Iran, pp. 63-96.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Tariq Tell, The Social and Economic Origins of Monarchy in Jordan (Palgrave, 2013).
Lectures:
- Session 15 (October 21): "State Building by Decree" [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 16 (October 23): "State Building by Conquest and Revolution" [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 10: Nationalism and Its Others (October 28 & 30)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 220-248.
- Avi Shlaim, "The Debate about 1948," in The Israel/Palestine Question, edited by Ilan Pappe (Routledge, 1999).
Supplemental Readings:
- Zachary Lockman, "Railways and Relational History," in The Israel/Palestine Question, edited by Ilan Pappe (Routledge, 1999).
- Ted Swedenberg, "The Role of the Peasantry in the 1936-39 Revolt," in The Israel/Palestine Question, edited by Ilan Pappe (Routledge, 1999).
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
- Gershon Shafir, Land, Labor, and the Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1882-1914 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996).
- Sherene Seikaly, Men of Capital: Scarcity and Economy in Mandate Palestine (Stanford: Stanford University Press, ABCD)
Lectures:
- Session 17 (October 28): The Question of Nationalism [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 18 (October 30): The Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict [Click here to download lecture outline]
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Week 11: Themes in Post-World War II History (November 4 & 6)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 259-287
Supplemental Readings:
- Joel Beinin, "Populist Nationalism, State-led Development, and Authoritarian Regimes, 1939-1973," Workers and Peasants in the Modern Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2001).
- Elizabeth Thompson, "Comrade Fahd: The Mass Appeal of Communism in Iraq" and "Akram al-Hourani and the Baath Party in Syria," Justice Interrupted: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in the Middle East (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2013), pp. 177-238.
Graduate Student Readings:
- Kevin Martin, Syria's Democratic Years: Citizens, Experts, and Media in the 1950s (Indian University Press, 2015)
Lectures:
- Session 17 (October 28): The Trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 18 (October 30): TBA
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Week 12: Post-Colonial State Building and Economic Development (November 11 & 13)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 259-287
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
- Timothy Mitchel, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (New York: Verso, 2011).
Lectures:
- No Class (November 11): Veteran's Day
- Session 19 (November 13): The Consolidation of Authoritarian Regimes I [Click here for lecture outline]
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Week 13: The Question of Oil (November 18 & 20)
Required Readings:
- Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, pp. 288-299
- Mary Ann Tetreault, "The Political Economy of Middle Eastern Oil," in Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, ed. Jillian Schwedler and Deborah Gerner (Lynn Reinner).
- Rashid Khalidi, "Oil and the Origins of the Cold War," Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East (Beacon Press: 2009), pp. 40-69.
- Irene L. Gendzier, "Oil, Politics, and US Intervention," in A Revolutionary Year: The Middle East in 1958, edited by William Roger Louis and Roger Owen (London: IB Tauris, 2002).
Graduate Student Readings:
- Abdullah al-Arian, Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Sadat's Egypt (Oxford University Press, 2014)
Lectures:
- Session 20 (November 18): The Consolidation of Authoritarian Regimes II [Click here to download lecture outline]
- Session 21 (November 20): The Question of Oil [Click here for lecture outline]
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Week 14: Novel Week (November 25 & 27)
Assignment Due: Novel-based Paper (Via Email by No Later Than 3:00pm)
No Required Readings for Undergraduates
Graduate Student Readings:
- Sara Pursley, Familiar Futures: Time, Selfhood, and Sovereignty in Iraq (Stanford University Press, 2019).
Lectures:
- Session 22 (November 25): Discussion of Sinan Antoon's Novel
- No Class (November 27): Thanksgiving Break
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Week 15: Wrapping Up (December 2 & 4)
Required Readings:
- Joel Beinin, "Post-Populist Reformation of the Working Class and Peasantry," Workers and Peasants in the Modern Middle East.
[Read only pp. 142-169]. - Brandon Wolfe-Hunnict, "US-Iraq Relations, 1920-2003," in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History (Oxford University Press, 2018).
- Toby C. Jones, "America, Oil, and War in the Middle East," The Journal of American History (June 2012).
Graduate Student Readings [Select One]:
- Salim Yaqoub, Americans, Arabs, and US-Middle East Relations in the 1970s (Cornell University Press, 2016).
- James A. Stocker, US Foreign Policy and the Collapse of Lebanon 1967-1976 (Cornell University Press, 2016)
Lectures:
- Session 23 (December 2): "US Policy from 1918 to 2018" [Click here for lecture outline]
- Session 24 (December 4): "The Arab Uprisings and Their Aftermath in Historical Perspective" [Click here for lecture outline]
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Final Exam:
In accordance with Registrar's Final Exam Schedule:
Wednesday, December 11, 12:20-2:20pm [Click here to download final exam study guide]
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