Arabic 111 Fall 2017
Culture and Civilization of the Arab Middle East
Instructor: Fahed Masalkhi
Office Hours: Thursday 12:00 – 1:00 or by appointment
Office: Curtin 878
Preamble
Although not included in the title, this course is an introduction. This means that no assumptions are made about prior knowledge of the subject matter. It also means that in this class you will be introduced to a wide range of new ideas, concepts, languages, and cultures. This will quickly add up to a vast sum of information. Part of the goal of this course is to make such information ready to hand. However, the ultimate aim is not to burden your minds with more material, rather, what we will aim to do is attempt to make sense of this information and try to synthesize it in ways that will help us understand the people, the past and the present of the Middle East.
Requirements
The requirements of this course mainly involve mind-set. Due to the prominence of Arabs, Islam and Muslims in contemporary discourse in both film and print; you will enter this class with some perceptions already formed. It is arguable that much of the prevailing discourse reaffirms and recycles stereotypical representations that are largely problematic, and that have obscured understanding of all things Middle Eastern. I thus urge youto come to this class ready and open to listen and learn.
Course Material
Early, E. A. (2014).Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East. Third Edition
And ONLY ONE of these novels:
GhassanKanafani, Men in Sun & Other Palestinian Stories.
TayebSalih, Season of Migration to the North .
Other Course readings will mainly come from the following volumes:
John L. Esposito, Islam the Straight Path, Oxford University Press, 2011
James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East, Oxford University Press, 2011
Dilip Hiro, Blood of the Earth, Nation Books, 2007
Andrew J. Bacevich, America’s War for the Greater Middle East
The relevant chapters and excerpts from these books and a number of other sources will be uploaded to D2L course page.
Course Structure and grading
Attendance and Participation 20%
Prompt attendance is essential. Tardiness and absences will defeat the process of learning. Attendance will be taken each time. More than three absences will result in a deduction in grade by one point (e.g. from B to B-). Full class participation is imperative. Any late assignment will drop by 10% for each day it is late.
Movie Reviews 20%
You will write Four critically analytic reviews of movies shown in class and other related works in two pages (600 words). You will draw on the readings and the material presented in class to analyze the featured films.
Midterm Exam on 20%
It will include all materials covered in readings and in class lectures up to that point.
Book Review 10%
Write a 4-5 page (~ 1500 word) review of a novel, you have the choice of one the following novels:
Ghassan Kanafani, Men in Sun & Other Palestinian Stories.
Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North
Final Project 30% (No Final Exam for this course)
This project must be done in pairs. The project will be in two parts; a 5-6 page (2500-3000 word) paper and a class presentation of the paper. Your team will present in class in pairs, but each student must submit their own final written paper. Project ideas must be approved by the instructor. Your task in the project will be to discover some basic facts about your issue of choice and explore how it relates to the life of Arabs past, present and/or future.
The range of topics for the project is completely open. You can for example choose to write about the Prophetic Traditions known as Hadeeth; howand when were they developed to become part of the Islamic sources? What are the major texts? Who compiled them? What role do they play today?
Or you can trace the journeys of the Moroccan Ibn Battuta, one of the greatest travelers of all times, whose journey covered three times the distance traveled by Marco Polo. Explore parts of the world he described, how different or similar it was to our world. Or you can explore how the Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera changed the region, and gave voice to the Arabs and Muslims and bonded them in new ways,…etc.
In putting your project together be mindful of the following:
• Any written piece worth reading is usually trying to answer a question. What question is your paper trying to answer?
• Do you keep your question in sight, or do you part company after the first page?
• Is your argument clear? Is it well organized?
• Do you present specific examples to support your argument?
• Are you able to effectively deliver the above in your presentation?
• BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world/middle_east)
• Foreign Policy/Middle East Channel (http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com)
• al-Jazeera English (http://english.aljazeera.net)
• Jadaliyya (http://www.jadaliyya.com)
• al-Monitor (http://www.al-monitor.com)
Final Projetct Deadlines;
Partner/team selection and assignment
Team draft proposal for the topic of the final project (200-300 words, graded)
Final paper part of the final project
Electronic Device Policy (Cellphone, Laptop policy, tablets, etc.):In order to avoid disturbing the learning of others, all cellular phones, Bluetooth, and paging devices must be turned off. Turned off means turned off: no vibrating, beeping, or receiving text messages. Your cellphone should not be resting on the desk, visible- it needs to be put away, out of sight. Furthermore,the use of laptop computers is not allowed. Your full attention is required.ABSOLUTELY NO EXCEPTIONS.Use of cellphones and laptops will negatively influences your daily participation grades.
Lecture Schedule
Tue 9/5 Introduction
Begin Screening The Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQlR9MGVxc
Primer On Islam
Thu 9/7 Lings – The Year of the Elephant p. 19-22
Lings – In Mecca 1 p. 44-65
Continue screening the Movie The Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQlR9MGVxc
Tue 9/12 Lings – From Mecca to Madina p. 98-103 and 120-135
Complete Screening The Message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMQlR9MGVxc
Thu 9/14 Lings – In Madina 1 – First Confrontation at Badr - 138-156 (Optional)
Lings – In Madina2 – Third Confrontation across the Trench– 222-241 (Optional)
Lings – In Madina 4 – Holy Peace at Hudaybiyah 255 – 284 and 290-296
Tue 9/19 Lings – Back to Mecca – 304-316
Lings – Back to Madina and Farwell 348-358
The Last Sermon of the Prophet
Thu 9/21 Qur'an
The Sound of the Divine in Daily Life
Kristina Nelson pp.310-314
Tue 9/26 Islam – what good is it?
The Five Pillars
Abu Illya and Zakat
Donna Lee Bowen pp. 315-31
Begin Reading Nasr The Shia Revival Chapter 1: The Other Islam, Who are the Shia? Pages 31-43, Pages 44-61 examine the highligted sentences, the rest is optional
Thu 9/28 The Genesis of Sunni Shi'a divide
Finish reading Nasr The Shia Revival Chapter 1: The Other Islam, Who are the Shia? Pages 31-43, Pages 44-61 examine the highligted sentences, the rest is optional
History – The 20th Century – The Unkind Hundred Years
Tue 10/3 Middle of what? East of Where? History and Geopolitics of the ME
Read: Hiro, Chpt 5 Blood of the Earth
Thu 10/5 Gelvin Part II &Chp 5 The Question of Modernity p. 67-86
Tue 10/10 Gelvin Chp 6 Imperialism p. 87-89
Chp 7 WasifJawahriyyeh and the Great Nineteenth-Century Transformations
p. 100-109
Thu 10/12 Gelvin Chp 8 The Life of the Mind p. 133-142 OPTIONAL
Chp 9 Secularism and Modernity p.143-149
Chp 10 Constitutionalism p. 150-157
Tue 10/17 Gelvin Part III – WWI and the Middle East p. 180 – 216
Thu 10/19 Second Movie Screening
Tue 10/24 Unending War
Bacevich, Chapter One: War of Choice 3 - 32
Thu 10/26
Bacevich, Chapter 12: Changing the Way They Live 217 - 238
Tue 10/31 Bacevich, Chapter 14: How This Ends
Thu 11/2 Mid Term Exam
Everyday Life in the Middle East
Generations
Tue 11/7 Men in the Sun Discussion
Thu 11/9 Harasiis Marriage, Divorce, and Companionship
Dawn Chatty pp. 49-54
Novel Review for Men in the Sun Due
Gender Relations
Tue 11/14 Two Weddings
Jenny B. White pp. 55-68
Thu 11/16 The “Ramallah Girls”: Social Change in Urban Space
Natalie K. Jensen pp. 159-171
Tue 11/21 A New Jordanian Generation Wears the Hijab
Donna Lee Bowen pp. 186-201
Home, Community, and Work
Car Culture in Contemporary Qatar
Andrew Gardner and MominaZakzouk pp. 133-142
Thu 11/23 THANKS GIVING BREAK
Islam in Practice
Tue 11/28 Abdul Qadar and the Sheep of ‘Id al-Adha
Donna Lee Bowen pp. 329-330
Tele-Preachers and Talk Shows: Egyptian Religious Discourse
Evelyn A. Early pp. 331-354
Performance and Expression
Thu 11/30 From the Death of Sally Zahran to the Trial of Hosni Mubarak:
Martyrs and the January 25 Revolution
Walter Armbrust pp.406-419
“The Worst Disaster is What Makes You Laugh”:
Sounds of the Syrian Revolution
Jonathan Shannon pp. 432-444
Thu 12/5 Class Presentations
Tue 12/7 Class Presentations
Thu 12/12 Class Presentations
Tue 12/14 Class Presentations