1. Define nation.
  2. Define state.
  3. Compare and contrast nation and state.
  4. What is a nation-state? Please give an example besides the United States.
  5. What factors contributed to the migration of European Jews into Palestine?
  6. What does the Israeli/Palestinian conflict teach us about nations and states?
  7. Give a brief history of Wahhabism and explain why you think Tariq Ali feels it is necessary to understand Wahhabism in today’s society.
  8. Explain Nasser’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood and how it has changed.
  9. What effect did the war of 1967 have on the Israelis, Palestinians and Egyptians?
  10. Explain how economic differences affected where the Palestinians went after 1948.
  11. According to Tariq Ali, what was the justification behind the students that held the U.S. Embassy in Iran hostage?
  12. According to Ali, what is the real reason America fought Iraq when they invaded Kuwait?
  13. According to Ali, what was the last group of people to accept Islam? Why was this, and what problems did it cause?
  14. According to Ali, why did the attacks on Sept 11th disturb us? Explain that feeling as it relates to Nationalism.
  15. Why does Ali add the prologue to his book, and what does it do for the reader?
  16. Ali is aware there exists fundamentalists in religion, but who else does he claim to be fundamentalists and why?
  17. According to Ali’s prologue, why were other countries excited by the 9/11 attacks on the US?
  18. In Ali’s “letter to a young Muslim,” what is his suggestion to all young, angry Muslims?
  19. What does Tariq Ali believe has been the driving force for military action in the Middle East throughout history? Does his argument relate more to Geertz or Asad?
  20. One of the main themes of Ali’s chapter entitled “History of US Imperialism” is the idea of a military industrial complex. What does military industrial complex mean and who benefited from the waging of offensive wars by the United States?
  21. Why does Ali say that other countries celebrated the events that occurred on September 11, 2001?
  22. In Ali’s “Letter to a young Muslim,” he makes his views of how to view individuals and the events of September 11, 2001 explicitly clear. How does he view individuals in general and how does he view the impact of the attacks?
  23. Who are the “year zero” people and what was their theory in rebuilding Iraq?
  24. Explain what Naomi Klein was referring to in the “honey pot” theory.
  25. According to Robert Newman’s history of oil video, why was the beginning of WW I related to oil?
  26. According to Robert Newman’s history of oil video, what do the “axis of evil” nations have in common?
  27. What is Said’s criticism of the Orientalist perspective, as described by Manger?
  28. Describe Said’s opinion of Geertz’s theory, as explained in Manger’s work.
  29. How would Asad respond to Manger’s perspective?
  30. How does Manger’s perspective reflect the objectives of this course?
  31. What is Orientalist Discourse? (Begin by explaining “discourse.”)
  32. Explain the differences between World Systems Theory vs. Development or Modernization Theory.
  33. Compare and contrast Mangers views about Muslim diversity to that of Asad’s.
  34. What factors in the Iranian economy (particularly with regards to Tehran and the Persian Gulf ports) contributed to the large demand for workers with Hagob’s skills?
  35. How did Reza Shah’s agenda of rapid Westernization in Iran contribute to the working conditions in which Hagobian and his fellow truck drivers worked?
  36. Name 5 advantages to joining the truck drivers’ guild.
  37. Explain the relationship between the primarily Christian travelling truck drivers and the Muslim owners of the tchai-khaneh (tea houses).
  38. Who was in power of Afghanistan during Galub’s story? and During what war was this story centered?
  39. Why were the “social experiments” given by the soviets both dehumanizing, but also a step forward for society?
  40. The title of this Chapter is the “Anti-Imperialism of fools.” In what ways were the U.S. government and its opponents both the “fools.”
  41. Tariq Ali claims htat after nationalism and communism failed in Iran there was only one option remaining. What movement was it and who supported it.
  42. True or False: the United States aims to promote democratic regimes. Give three examples for your answer from examples studied in this course.
  43. Using examples from the text, how were children viewed in this Iranian village society in Burke’s chapter 16?
  44. How do ordinary villagers see and deal with religious and state authority figures?
  45. Discuss a few important aspects of Iranian culture and society that are portrayed through ch. 16.
  46. Describe the importance of family in “Ahmad: A Kuwaiti Pearl Driver” and what it means to protect one’s family name? 2. Explain the system of debt in relation to “Pearling”.
  47. Explain why “pearling” was such a risky business.
  48. How and hwy has Ahmed become a Pearl diver”
  49. Compare/ Contrast what honor means to both Ahmed and Maalouf in Leo Africanus.
  50. Descibe the “modern capitalist economy” that began to take control of the Middle East Bibi’s story (Burke Ch. 7). How did this affect the roles of women in society?
  51. Trace the rise and fall of women’s power in the story of the Iranian tribal woman: Bibi.
  52. Compare the power of women in the Iranian Tribal Woman: Bibi story to the power of women in Gohary: an Iranian Community leader.
  53. Compare and contrast the Quabaday to what we think of as a gang.
  54. List several of teh attributing factors that led Abu Ali al-Kilawi to gain the status of a ‘qabaday’?
  55. Haddou encounters some people who judge and identify him based on his ethnicity and religion. How does this relate to Maalouf’s viewpoint on identity, and how would he react to Haddou’s encounters?
  56. Nasir experiences a generation gap among himself and members of his family. Briefly compare and contrast his situation with the generation gap which Ahmad, the pearl diver, is face with.
  57. In Burke’s chapter on Haddou, the migrant worker, discuss the effects migrating back and forth had on him in connection to Hasan migrating to different places in Maalouf’s book.
  58. In both the chapter on Nasir and on Haddou, there are strains on parental relationships. Discuss how those stains effect both Haddou and Nasir and in what ways.
  59. What was Haddou’s biggest problem with his family? Give examples of the problem Haddou had with them.
  60. What was a major difference between traveling in Cairo compared to traveling in Assiout in “Nasir: Sa’idi Youth?”
  61. Instead of taking classes in the science department, Nasir went into agronomy because his father wanted him to. What does this imply about the family dynamic in “Nasir: Sa’idi Youth?”
  62. What are some differences between family dynamics in “Haddou: a Moroccan Migrant Worker” and “Nasir: Sa’idi Youth.”
  63. In Burke’s chapter on Haddou, the migrant worker, discuss the effects migrating back and forth had on him in connection to Hasan migrating to different places in Maalouf’s book.
  64. In both the chapter on Nasir and on Haddou, there are strains on parental relationships. Discuss how those stains effect both Haddou and Nasir and in what ways.
  65. Haddou, the Moroccan migrant worker, discusses how he encountered many people who assumed certain qualities about him because of his ethnicity or religion. How would Maalouf react to these incidents? Briefly discuss how this relates to Maalouf’s idea about identity.
  66. Describe the generation gap which occurred among Haddou’s family. Compare and contrast this situation to Ahmad’s (the pearl diver from Kuwait) generation gap.
  67. What religion was Naji? List three ways how his religion affected the way that he lived in Iraq.How was life in Iraq changing at this time and what was affecting this change?
  68. What importance does the secular-religious divide hold for the settlers trying to occupy new territories?
  69. In what ways is June Leavitt not a "typical" settler?
  70. What are the Palestinian and Israeli reactions towards the settlers in the West Bank?