INST 327Europe and the Middle East
Spring Semester 2010
Dr. Ahmet Yukleyen
Office: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Leavell Hall, Room 107
Office hours: Wednesdays, 12:00-2:00 pm
Email:
Phone: (662) 915 5733
Course Description
In the 21st century, the boundaries of Europe and the Middle East are being redrawn as disparate entities. This course aims to show that these boundaries have not been clear and in opposition to one another. We will do this by providing students with a general overview of basic themes and issues in the history, politics, and cultures of the encounters and exchanges between the Middle East and Europe
We will begin with briefly surveying the historical interaction in the Mediterranean region created through Al-Andalus, the Crusades, the Ottoman expansion, and colonialism. These events involved conflicts as well as cooperation through intellectual exchange and trade. The end of colonialism after the Second World War provided independence for Middle Eastern nations and inspired them to reach European standards of living through modernization.
In the 20th century the European Union promotes political stability and unity in Europe. Nevertheless, the expansion of the European Union has once again raised the question on the boundaries of Europe especially with regards to Muslim majority countries. In order to explore this, we will look at cases from the Balkans, Turkey, and Morocco. Moreover, globalization challenges regional identities through the constantflow of people and investments. Transnational networks (i.e. Islamic movements and Human Rights Watch groups), remittances, tourism, and media technology connect the countries on all sides of the Mediterranean.
The students will learn the history and current conditions of the interaction between European and Middle Eastern countries. They will appreciate the cultural diversity and intellectual exchange in the whole Mediterranean region.
Required Text:
Bulliet, Richard (2004) The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization (New York: Columbia
University Press).
Menocal, R. Maria (2002) The Ornament of the World (New York: Back Bay Books)
Reading Packet for INST 327 Europe and the Middle East(available at Copy Time, 407
South 11th Street, Phone: 662234 2679)
Requirements:
Attendance and Participation15%
Midterm Exam I20%
Midterm Exam II20%
Presentation15%
Final Exam30%
Schedule of Topics and Readings
Week 1 (Jan. 21):Introduction
Week 2 (Jan. 26, 28):Boundaries of Europe and the Middle East
How have Europe and the Middle East been constructed as regions?
Ballard, Roger (1996) “Islam and the Construction of Europe” in Shadid W.A.R. and P.S.
VanKoningsveld (eds.) Muslims in the Margin: Political Responses to the
Presence of Islam in Western Europe (Kampen, The Netherlands: Pharos)
Week 3 (Feb. 2, 4): Historical interaction in the Mediterranean
What have been the consequences of cooperation and conflict among the powers of the Mediterranean? How have ideas and people circulated in the region?
Barkey, Karen (2005)“Islam and Toleration: Studying the Ottoman Imperial Model”
International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society19(1/2), pp. 5-19.
Hassan, Ahmad Y. (2005)“Transfer of Islamic Technology to the West:Avenues of
Technology Transfer” in E. Ihsanoglu (ed.)Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal Civilization: Islamic Contributions(Istanbul: IRCICA) pp. 183-223.
Film: When the Moors Ruled in Europe
Week 4 (Feb. 9, 11):European Colonialism
What has been the impact of European colonialism in the construction of the Middle East? How has the orientalist perception of the Middle East emerged?
Said, Edward (1979) Orientalism (New York: Vintage) (Selected chapters).
Film: Edward Said “On Orientalism”.
Week 5 (Feb. 16, 18):Islam between Europe and the Middle East
What are the essentialist and contextualist approaches to Islam? Why has Islam become the boundary marker between Europe and the Middle East?
Bulliet, Richard (2004) The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization (New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press)
Film: Conversations with History: John L. Esposito
MIDTERM EXAM I (February 23)
Week 6 (Feb. 23, 25):Anthropology of the Mediterranean
Can Europebe considered a “culture area”? What are the similarities among the cultures and societies of the Mediterranean?
Gilmore D. David(1982) “Anthropology of the Mediterranean Area” in Annual Review
of AnthropologyVol. 11: 175-205.
Week 7 (March 2, 4):TheEuropean Union
What are the institutionsof the EU? What are the tensions within EU toward expansion? Is there an EU foreign policy toward the Middle East?
Mohsen, Khadija (2007) “Between Europe and the Mediterranean: What Fractures?”
History & Anthropology,18(3) pp. 249-258
Schäfer, Isabel (2007) “The Cultural Dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership:
A Critical Review of the First Decade of Intercultural Cooperation” History & Anthropology18(3) pp. 333-352.
Week 8 (March 9, 11):The European Union and European Identity
How does the EU shape European identity?
Gole, Nilufer (2005) “Europe—an Identity or a Project?” in Signandsight.com.
Heidi Armbruster, Craig Rollo and Ulrike H. Meinhof (2003) “Imagining Europe:
everyday narratives in European border communities” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 29(5) pp. 885–899.
Week 9 (March 23, 25):Turkey between Europe and the Middle East
How does Turkish culture and society connect Europe and the Middle East? Can Turkey be a bridge between Europe and the Muslim world?
Agai, Bekim (2003) “The Gulen Movement’s Islamic Ethic of Education” in H. Yavuz
and J. Esposito Turkish Islam and the SecularState: The Gulen Movement (Syracuse: SyracuseUniversity Press) pp. 115-130.
Ergun Yildirim and Husamettin Ozler (2007) “A Sociological Representation of the
Justice and Development Party: Is It a Political Design or a Political Becoming?” Turkish Studies 8(1) pp. 5–24.
Week 10 (March 30, April 1):EU-Turkey Relations
What are the reasons for or against Turkey’s EU accession?
Muftuler-Bac, Meltem (2000) “Through the looking glass: Turkey in Europe” in Turkish
Studies1(1) pp. 21-35.
Muftuler-Bac Meltem (1998) “The never-ending story: Turkey and the European Union”
inMiddle Eastern StudiesVol. 34 No. 4.
MIDTERM EXAM II (April 6)
Week 11 (April 6, 8): Europe and North Africa
Howwas the experience of cultural diversity and exchange in Moorish Spain? What are the contemporary implications of the Moorish past?
Menocal, R. Maria (2002) The Ornament of the World (New York: Back Bay Books)
Van Sertima, Ivan (1991) “The Moors in Europe: Influences and Contributions” Journal
of African Civilizations Vol. 11, Fall, pp. 9-24.
Film: When the Moors Ruled in Europe
Week 12 (April 13, 15):Morocco
How do the Moroccan society, politics, and culture reflect the interaction between Europe and North Africa?
Haddadi S. (2002) “Two Cheers for Whom? The European Union and Democratization
in Morocco”inDemocratizationVol. 9No. 1, pp. 149-169.
Cavatorta, Francesco (2007) “Neither Participation nor Revolution:The Strategy of the
Moroccan Jamiatal-Adl wal-Ihsan” Mediterranean Politics,12 (3), pp. 381–397.
Week 13 (April 20, 22):Multiple Modernities
What is the challenge of cultural pluralism in the Mediterranean?
Eisenstadt, Shmuel N. (2000) “Multiple Modernities” in Deadalus 129 (1), p. 1-29.
Seligman, Adam (1999) “Toleration and Religious Tradition” Society, vol. 36, no. 5
July/August pp. 47-53
Hefner, Robert (1988) “Multiple Modernities: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism in a
Globalizing Age” Annual Review of Anthropology 27, pp. 83-104.
Week 14(April 27, 29):Islamic Modernity
What are the sources of pluralism and toleration in Islam?
Eickelman, Dale (2000) “Islam and the Languages of Modernity” in Deadalus 129 (1),
pp. 119-135.
Gole, Nilufer (2000) “Snapshots of Islamic Modernities” Deadalus 129 (1), 91-117.
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