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