BORDERLANDS, HOLY LANDS:
A History of the Middle East Since 1800
History 081
University of Pennsylvania
Department of History
Fall Term 2011
Instructor: Dr. F. Kashani-Sabet
Office Hours:
Wednesdays, 1-3 or by appointment (at the offices of the Middle East Center)
Telephone: 215-898-6335
Office Location: 3340 Fisher-Bennett Hall, Suite 228
Email: fks@sas.upenn.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Salar Mohandesi – smmoha@gmail.com
Tamara Morsel-Eisenberg – mtamara@sas.upenn.edu
From the establishment of embassies to participation in the global economy, from military
engagements to peacetime negotiations, the Middle East has developed a complex relationship
with the outside world, particularly the West. This course covers the history of the 19th- and
20th-century Middle East by exploring the ways in which Middle Eastern states forged regional
alliances, pursued domestic reform, and carried out their foreign policy, especially vis-à-vis the
Great Powers. We will analyze various theories and goals of imperialism and determine the
effect of local and international politics on the shaping of the modern Middle East.
Our course will address a number of diverse topics, including territorial claims, religion, and
social issues such as the status of women and minorities. The readings will give students an
authentic flavor of Middle Eastern culture and society. The required texts are available at the
Penn Book Center, 130 South 34th Street (215-222-7600).
Students are required to participate in every lecture and recitation. Please keep in mind that
lectures do not duplicate the readings, but rather supplement them. In addition, students are
expected to have completed each week’s reading before the start of the recitation and to
participate actively in section. Other requirements include satisfactory performance on a
midterm exam, quizzes, and a take-home final.
GRADING: -- Section: 15%; * 3 Quizzes: 30 %; Mid-Term Exam: 30% and Take-Home Final
Exam: 25%.
* Students can choose either to take 3 quizzes worth 10% each OR 2 quizzes worth 15% each.
Your TA needs to know before the first quiz the arrangement you wish to make. Otherwise,
you will be responsible for all 3 quizzes.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
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NB:
William Cleveland & Martin Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East
Akram Khater, Sources in the History of Modern Middle East
Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran
Amos Oz, The Hill of Evil Counsel
Ghassan Kanafani, Men in the Sun and Palestinian Stories
(BB) means that readings are available through BLACKBOARD
(JSTOR) means the article is available through Penn Library Website Electronic
Resources
~ LECTURE SCHEDULE ~
Wednesday, September 7 – Introduction and Background
No Reading
September 12, 14 – The Ottoman Empire & Emergence of ‘Eastern Question’
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 37-61
BB: A French View of the Events
BB: al-Jabarti’s Chronicle of the French Occupation of Egypt
September 19, 21 – Reform in the Ottoman Empire
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 61-102
JSTOR: Butrus Abu Manneh, “The Islamic Roots of the Gulhane Rescript” (1994)
JSTOR: Selim Deringil, “There is no Compulsion in Religion: On Conversion and
Apostasy in the Late Ottoman Empire: 1839-1856” (2000)
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Rifa'a Tahtawi Reflects on Paris, Its People, Their Ideas and Lives in the
1820s
2. The Hatt-i-Serif Decree Initiates the Tanzimat, or Reform, Period in the
Ottoman Empire, November 3, 1839
3. Sultan Abdul Majid's Islahat Fermani Reaffirms the Privileges and
Immunities of Non-Muslim Communities in the Ottoman Empire, February
18, 1856
4. The Ottoman Government Decree Defines the Official Notion of the
"Modern" Citizen, June 19, 1870
September 26, 28– Foundations and Society of Qajar Iran
Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, 1-34
JSTOR: Kashani-Sabet, “Fragile Frontiers: The Diminishing Domains of Qajar Iran”
JSTOR: Kashani-Sabet, “Hallmarks of Humanism: Hygiene & Love of Homeland in
Qajar Iran” (2000)
2
BB: Justin Perkins, A Residence of Eight Years in Persia, pp. 143-150
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Treaty of Peace and Commerce (Treaty of Turkmanchai) 1828
2. Mirza Malkum Khan Satirizes Iran's Central Government and Religious Elite,
1880s
QUIZ #1 on Sept. 26, 2011
October 3, 5 – Economic Imperialism, Rebellion, and Pan-Islamism
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 103-132
JSTOR: Keddie, “The Pan-Islamic Appeal”
BB: Cromer, Modern Egypt, pp. 123-148
BB: Memoirs of Abbas Hilmi II, pp. 33-45
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Jamal al-Din Al-Afghani Answers Ernest Renan's Criticism of Islam, May
18, 1883
1. An Egyptian Khedival Decree Establishes a European-Controlled Public
Debt Administration, May 2, 1876
2. Convention on Free Navigation of the Suez Between the European Powers
and the Ottoman Empire, October 29, 1888
October 10, 12 – The Constitutional Movements of Iran & Turkey
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 133-148
Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, pp. 34-63
JSTOR: Sohrabi, “Historicizing Revolutions: Constitutional Revolutions in the
Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Russia, 1905-1908”
JSTOR: Asghar Fathi, “The Role of the ‘Rebels’ in the Constitutional Movement in
Iran”
JSTOR: Afsaneh Najmabadi, “Zanha-yi Millat: Women or Wives of the Nation?”
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. The Concession for the Tobacco
Monopoly in Iran, March 8, 1890
2. Articles in Iranian Magazines Emphasize the Link Between the Education of
Girls and the Advancement of Iranian Society, 1907, 1909
October 17, 19 – World War I, the End of Empire, and the Birth of Nation-States
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 149-173
Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, 63-97
BB: T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1997 Wordsworth Edition) pp. 9-99
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. The Husayn-McMahon Correspondence Negotiating Arab Kingdom in
Middle East, 1915
2. The Balfour Declaration, Stating the British Government's Support for a
Jewish Homeland in Palestine, and Discussions Leading to Issuing It in 1917
3. Division of the Ottoman Empire: The Treaty of Sèvres, August 10, 1920
4. Henry Morgenthau Recounts Aspects of Nationalist-Driven Ethnic
Cleansing of Armenians in Turkey, 1915
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5. The Zionist Organization's Memorandum to the Peace Conference in
Versailles Asks for Support for the Establishment of a Jewish State in
Palestine, February 3, 1919
6. American King-Crane Commission -- Popular Ideas of Nationalism in the
Middle East, 1919
October 24: Discussion of WWI continued and review for midterm
MIDTERM EXAM: Monday, OCTOBER 26th, 2011
October 31, Nov. 2 – Nationalism and Secular Politics in Iran & Turkey
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 175-192
Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, pp. 97-123
BB: Kashani-Sabet, “Cultures of Iranianness”
BB: “Twentieth-Century Darius,” TIME Magazine, April 25, 1938
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) Outlines His Vision
November 7, 9 – New Ideologies & Arab Politics: The Cases of Saudi Arabia &
Egypt
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 193-213
JSTOR: Israel Gershoni, “The Evolution of National Culture in Modern Egypt,” Poetics
Today, (Summer 1992): 325-350
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East
1. Taha Husayn Writes of Egypt, 1938
2. Hasan al-Banna Proclaims Egyptian Nationalism
QUIZ #2 on November 7th, 2011
November 14, 16 – The Emergence of Political Zionism
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 239-271
JSTOR: Mim Kemal Oke, “The Ottoman Empire, Zionism, and the Question of
Palestine”
JSTOR: Avi Shlaim, “The Debate about 1948”
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Leo Pinsker, a Jewish Intellectual, Proposes a “Jewish Homeland,” 1882
2. Ahad Ha-Am’s “The Jewish State”
November 21, 23 – Israel, Nasserism, and Arab Politics
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 301-344
JSTOR: Yehouda Shenhav, “The Jews of Iraq, Zionist Ideology, and the Property of the
Palestinian Refugees of 1948,” in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 31 (1999):
605-630
Amos Oz, The Hill of Evil Counsel
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East
4
1. President Harry Truman's Statement Supporting Jewish Immigration into
Palestine, October 4, 1946
2. The Arab Case for Palestine and the Case for a Binational State, March 1946
Happy Thanksgiving!!
November 28, 30 –Oil and International Politics
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 316-346
Kanafani, Men in the Sun
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Egyptian President Nasser Resigns from Office, 1967
2. Sadiq al-‘Azm, an Arab Intellectual, critiques the Arab State and Clergy
QUIZ #3 on November 28th, 2011
December 5, 7 – Iranian Revolution & Rise of Islamic Ideologies in the Middle East
Cleveland & Bunton, History of the Modern Middle East, pp. 367-379
Abrahamian, History of Modern Iran, pp. 155-196
BB: “The Khomeini Era Begins,” TIME Magazine, 12 February 1979
JSTOR: Ira Lapidus, “Islamic Revival and Modernity: The Contemporary Movements
and the Historical Paradigms,” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol.
40, No. 4. (1997), pp. 444-460.
JSTOR: Roxanne Euben, “Killing (For) Politics: Jihad, Martyrdom, and Political
Action” -- Political Theory, Vol. 30, No. 1. (Feb., 2002), pp. 4-35.
Khater, Sources in History of Middle East:
1. Iranian Intellectual Ali Shariati Examines Man From the Viewpoint of Islam
2. Ayatollah Khomeini Denounces the Rule of the Shah
3. American Consular Documents Reveal US Diplomats’ Assessment of
Revolution in Iran, 1978
4. Egyptian Writer Sayyid Qutb Articulates a New, Influential Vision of Jihad,
1964
5. Islamic Fundamentalist Usama Bin Laden Calls on Muslims to Take Up Arms
Against America, 1998
TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAM DUE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011 @ NOON
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
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