SPRING 2017 ONLINE COURSE
INA 201 and POS 349(990 & 995)
Topics in International Affairs: North Africa and the 'Arab Spring'
Course Description. 3 credits. North Africa has undergone some remarkable changes over the past several years. The course will explore the causes of this so-called “Arab Spring” and analyze its impact on world politics. First, the course will assess the history and culture of this region, as well as its wide range of political systems. Then it will proceed country by country, analyzing the political evolution of Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. Finally, we will assess the impact of the “Arab Spring” on the rest of the world (especially the Middle East, Europe, and Africa) and reflect on how the United States and other countries should respond.
Welcome aboard!
Look closely at all of the online resources in our Course Conference, using Blackboard. I will post PowerPoint slides every week to summarize the material, as well as useful websites, maps, and photos.
This is strictly an online course. All notes, assignments, and tests are distributed online, and our discussions will take place online. You will need access to a computer and computer skills that include using e-mail and accessing websites. You will not require high speed Internet.
You will need access to Blackboard, PowerPoint, and MSWord. Two films will be watched by video streaming. We will not use First Class for this course.
Required Books. These are available at the UMaine Bookstore.
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab. NY: Nation Books, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-56858-974-9 or e-book
Marc Lynch. The Arab Uprising. NY: Public Affairs, 2012.
ISBN: 978-1-61039-235-8 or e-book
Required Articles These will be posted as PDF files on Blackboard.
Required Style Sheet Kate L. Turabian. Turabian Style Sheet for Bibliography and Notes. (pdf)
HOUSEKEEPING AND COURSE CONFERENCE
Contact Information
Please send a message to me at any time via Blackboardor o clarify an assignment, to ask questions, and to share ideas. A response should come very soon. I will be working from home, which is in Camden. The emergency telephone number is 207-236-7087.
Help with online mechanics
Please notify me if minor glitches (for example, a reading that won’t open) occur.
If you have difficulty getting access, finding materials, or posting your assignments and responses, please contact me or the very helpful and expert staff at
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Every Week you are expected to doone of the following things.
1)Respond briefly (1 double-spaced page) to a Discussion Question that I will post on Monday. Send responses to the appropriate folder. Read what others have said and perhaps write your comment as a response. Often, the questions will ask for a thoughtful opinion. Post and exchange your views and comments.
2)Write and post a short Essay(3 double-spaced pages plus footnotes and a Bibliography).As before, I’ll post the question on Monday. Provide footnotes and a Bibliography to support your material. Use the required readings as well as doing outside research. Follow the Turabian format.
3)Take anonline Test. There is one after Week 7 and another after Week 14. Each test will include about 50 True/False questions. You may answer them “open book,” from the reading and the lectures. To answer them you’ll have to do the reading, and understand the ideas in it, which is the point. The second test is NOT cumulative. It covers only the readings for Weeks 8-14. You are on your honor not to discuss these tests with another person until after posting your answers.
Comments and feedback
I will comment on your essays, and occasionally on your discussion postings, using BlackBoard.
Grading
Discussion Questions: 7 X 2 points each = 14 points
Essays: 6 X 10 points each = 60
Tests: 2 X 13 points each= 26
Course Total: 100 points
Criteria for written work:
- Substance. Show us that you understand the assigned readings by making specific reference to them in your postings.
- Good, clear writing. Correct grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling are essential.
- Intelligence, logic, and organization.
- Creative thinking and interpretation. Your own ideas.
- Documentation: Provide footnotes and a bibliography, using the Turabian style sheet which is posted on Blackboard (PDF)
Schedule:
Week 1 (Jan 16-22): View slides for Week 1.
-- History of North Africa and the Middle East
-- Overview of the Arab Spring
-- After the defeat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in World War I, how did Great Britain and France respond to Arab hopes for independence?
-- Why did parliamentary democracies usually fail in the Arab world, giving way to military regimes and conservative monarchies?
-- How did the United States respond to the opportunities, threats, and challenges of the Arab counties?
-- What was the response from Arab governments—especially in North Africa—to such Islamists as the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists?
-- How did the Internet and personal electronic media transform the old political systems and cultural institutions of North Africa?
-- What are the Western stereotypes of Islam, terrorism, and Arab culture?
Read:
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. ix-39.
Bernard Lewis, “The Roots of Muslim Rage.” (PDF)
Answer DQ 1
Week 2 (Jan 23-29): Viewslides for Week 2.
-- Arab social, cultural, political, and economic issues.
-- How did poverty, unemployment, and the very high ratio of dissatisfied young people affect internal politics in the countries of North Africa and the Middle East?
-- Why did the Arab-Israeli conflict become so important to the Arab sense of identity?
-- What caused the “Arab Cold War”? Why did it end in 1967?
-- Why did Arab governments often cooperate with the U.S. and Israel in private, while doing exactly the opposite in public declarations to their peoples?
-- How did the Arab Oil Boycott of 1973 help authoritarian regimes to crush all forms of popular opposition or dissent in their countries?
Read:
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 1-28.
Extract from Frantz Fanon, “The Wretched of the Earth.” (PDF)
Post Essay 1.
Week 3 (Jan –Feb 5): View slides for Week 3.
-- Case study: Tunisia, Part 1
-- The role of women in Arab society.
Read:
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 29-65.
United Nations Development Programme. Arab Human Development Reports. “Arab Human Development Report 2005. Towards the Rise of Women. Executive Summary,” pp. 5-24. (PDF)
Answer DQ 2
Week 4 (Feb 6-12): Viewslides for Week 4.
-- Case study: Tunisia, Part 2
-- Who are the Islamists? What do they want?
-- How many average citizens really support their goals?
-- If they gain power, how would the Islamist agenda affect women, minorities, and foreign policy (such as ties to the West and the Arab-Israeli dispute)?
Read:
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. 40-110.
Open this address and read any ONE article that interests you:
Post Essay 2.
Week 5 (Feb 13-19): View slides for Week 5.
-- Case study: Egypt, Part 1
Read:
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 67-99.
Open this link:
Listen to Robin Wright, “Rock the Casbah: What Next in the Middle East?”
Answer DQ3
Week 6 (Feb 20-26): Viewslides for Week 6.
-- Case study: Egypt, Part 2
-- What is the risk that Al Qaeda or other extremist groups will try to destabilize these fragile new governments and expand their operations in North Africa?
Read:
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. 111-148.
ShibleyTelhami. “Egypt’s identity crisis.” Twitter, Aug. 16, 2013. (PDF)
Carrie Rosefsky Wickham. “Where does Muslim Brotherhood fit in Egypt’s moment?” CNN, Feb.1, 2011. (PDF)
Post Essay 3
Week 7 (Feb 27-Mar 5): Viewslides for Week 7.
-- Case study: Libya, Part 1
Read:
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 101-130.
Jacky Northam. “Moammar Gadhafi Ruled Libya With An Iron Fist.” (PDF)
There will be NO ESSAYand NO DISCUSSION QUESTION this week!
Take the First Test after you do this week’s reading. It is an objective (true/false and multiple choice) test, based on the Required Readings and the PowerPoint slides for Weeks 1 through 7.
FIRST TEST DUE MAR 5
Spring Recess: March 6-19
Week 8 (Mar 20-26): View slides for Week 8.
-- Case study: Libya Part 2
Read:
Thomas L. Friedman. “Looking for Luck in Libya”
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. 149-156.
Answer DQ 4
Week 9 (Mar 27-Apr 2): View slides for Week 9.
-- Case study: Algeria, Part 1
-- What was the significance of terrorism and torture in the politics of Algeria?
Read:
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 131-159.
Post Essay 4
Week 10 (Apr 3-9): View slides for Week 10.
-- Case study: Algeria, Part 2
-- Why has Algeria been relatively stable, compared to Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt?
-- How have the recent political changes affected religious and ethnic minorities, such as Christians, Jews, Berbers, and Africans?
Open this link:
Watch “Battle of Algiers.” (It provides the basis for Essay 5.)
Read:
“Algerians Belittle Elections But Not Enough to Protest” (PDF)
GhaffarHussain, “Algeria After the Arab Spring” (PDF)
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp.157-174.
Post Essay 5
Week 11 (Apr 10-16): Viewslides for Week 11.
-- Case study: Morocco, Part 1.
--What role did women play in these upheavals? To what extent have the new regimes continued this progress? In which cases have they imposed new restrictions on women, and why? Can outsiders (especially in the West) do anything to help in reducing the violence against women?
Read:
“Ethics in Film: Discussion of ‘Battle of Algiers’”
Nicolas Pelham, “How Morocco Dodged the Arab Spring” (PDF)
Camille Tawil, “Morocco’s Stability in the Wake of the Arab Spring” (PDF)
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 161-192.
Answer DQ 5
Week 12 (Apr 17-23): Viewslides for Week 12.
-- Case study: Morocco, Part 2.
-- How has the Arab Spring affected Morocco?
Read:
VishSakthivel, “Morocco’s Move in Mali.” (PDF)
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. 173-211.
Open this link:
Watch the film, “Babel.” (It provides the basis for Exercise 8 and DQ 8.)
Post Essay 6
Week 13 (Apr 24-30): View slides for Week 13.
Conclusions 1
-- What is the status of ethnic and religious minorities in North Africa today?
-- How monolithic are the Islamists?
Read:
Dyer, “Splitting Libya” (PDF)
Lynch, “Use Egypt military aid to force crucial reforms” (PDF)
Lynch. The Arab Uprising, pp. 193-256.
Answer DQ 6
Week 14 (May 1-7): View slides for Week 14.
Conclusions 2
-- Is it safe to assume that most Arabs would prefer military rule to domination by the Islamists (as in Iran, for example)?
-- On balance, what are the prospects for democracy in the Arab world?
Read:
Gary Sick, “The Obama Doctrine” (PDF)
“Peace Corps Volunteer Morocco” (PDF)
Marwan Bishara. The Invisible Arab, pp. 213-257.
Answer DQ 7
Final Examination: Available online May 8-12. (Not cumulative. It covers only the required readings for Week 8-14.)
Please take this examination no later than May 12
Academic integrity policy: As a student at a distance, you should know that violations of student academic integrity policy include any actions that attempt to promote or enhance the academic standing of any student by dishonest means (e.g., cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or academic misconduct). Students may be accused, charged, and penalized for any violations as appropriate. If you have any questions about the academic integrity process, please contact the Student Services Coordinator.
G. Disabilities: If you need accommodation for a disability, please contact Ann Smith, Coordinator for Students with Disabilities, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, or e-mail her at
Policy on Sexual Discrimination
Sexual Discrimination Reporting
The University of Maine is committed to making campus a safe place for students. Professor Holman fully supports this policy and wants this course to be as successful as possible for all students. Because of this commitment, if you tell any of your teachers about sexual discrimination involving members of the campus, your teacher is required to reportthis information to the campus Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention or the Office of Equal Opportunity.
Behaviors that can be “sexual discrimination”include sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, relationship abuse (dating violence and domestic violence), sexual misconduct, and gender discrimination. Therefore, all of these behaviors must be reported.
Why do teachers have to report sexual discrimination?
The university can better support students in trouble if we know about what is happening. Reporting also helps us to identify patterns that might arise – for example, if more than one victim reports having been assaulted or harassed by the same individual.
What will happen to a student if a teacher reports?
An employee from the Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention or the Office of Equal Opportunity will reach out to you and offer support, resources, and information. You will be invited to meet with the employee to discuss the situation and the various options available to you.
If you have requested confidentiality, the University will weighyour request that no action be taken against the institution’s obligation to provide a safe, nondiscriminatory environment for all students. If the University determines that it can maintain confidentiality, you must understand that the institution’s ability to meaningfully investigate the incident and pursue disciplinary action, if warranted, may be limited. There are times when the University may not be able to honor a request for confidentiality because doing so would pose a risk to its ability to provide a safe, nondiscriminatory environment for everyone. If the University determines that it cannot maintain confidentiality, the University will advise you, prior to starting an investigation and, to the extent possible, will share information only with those responsible for handling the institution’s response
The University is committed to the well-being of all students and will take steps to protect all involved from retaliation or harm.
If you want to talkin confidence to someone about an experience of sexual discrimination, please contact these resources:
For confidential resources on campus: Counseling Center: 207-581-1392 or Cutler Health Center: at 207-581-4000.
For confidential resources off campus: Rape Response Services: 1-800-310-0000 or Spruce Run: 1-800-863-9909.
Other resources: The resources listed below can offer support but may have to report the incident to others who can help:
For support services on campus: Office of Sexual Assault & Violence Prevention: 207-581-1406, Office of Community Standards: 207-581-1409, University of Maine Police: 207-581-4040 or 911. Or see the OSAVP website for a complete list of services at