San Diego State University, Spring 2013
History 474: The Middle East since 1500
Professor Sandra Campbell
Thursday 4-6:40 PM, Com 105
Office: Arts and Letters 574
Office Hours: Wednesdays 7:00-8:30 PM, and by appointment (but never right before
classes)
Phone: (619) 594-2812
Instead of using email, please see me personally during office hours.
Course Goals: The Middle East is important for Americans to understand well, which
requires historical knowledge. This class will introduce students to some of the basic
historical events and processes that have shaped the Middle East and continue to have
relevance until today, including the Ottoman and Safavid States, the experience of
European encroachment and “defensive modernization”, the rise of nationalism and other
modern movements, and responses to the problems of modernity. Particular emphasis
will be placed on gaining an understanding of modern nationalism and how it contrasts
with the cosmopolitan culture of the Ottoman world, the rise of modern Islamic
movements, colonialism, and how larger historical forces have impacted individual lives.
This course is intended to give students the “big picture” for the central Middle
East in the past half-millennium. It should enable you to take your reading further into
the later 20th century (and the 21st century) with confidence that you can correctly assess
the accuracy of a given author’s arguments or presentation. You should also understand
the challenges faced by all non-Europeans in the age of the New Imperialism of the late
19th and early 20th centuries, and how WWI and colonialism have impacted the Middle
East with consequences that we are still witnessing today. You should also be able to
explain your understanding of this to others.
Note, however, that this is not a political science course and it should be
understood to compliment, not repeat, the other courses at this university that emphasize
the post-1950s era in the larger Middle East or the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Required Books:
William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East 3rd edition (a clear, simple,
well-organized textbook: this is your fundamental textbook).
James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: a History (a lively textbook, with some
marvelous cultural information integrated into it, and plenty of primary documents).
Waguih Ghali, Beer in the Snooker Club (a fabulous novel about some very literate,
alcoholic, and Anglophiliac young Copts, Muslims and Jews in Egypt).
Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet (a thoughtful exploration of cultural aspects
of life in modern Iran).
You are welcome to obtain these books in any manner you desire; they should all be
stocked at the bookstore. Any edition is acceptable for any of these.
This syllabus is subject to modification and change.
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San Diego State University, Spring 2013
History 474: The Middle East since 1500
Professor Sandra Campbell
Thursday 4-6:40 PM, Com 105
I also strongly recommend the acquisition of Arthur Goldschmidt’s Concise History of
the Middle East (this is almost in an “oral” format).
For those of you who have no previous exposure to the Middle East or Islam, I also
recommend Frederick Denny’s Introduction to Islam.
You should expect to take few enough other courses—3 or fewer—to be able to do well
in this one. DO NOT EXPECT TO PASS THIS CLASS IF YOU ARE OVERCOMMITTED. The reading load for this class is both heavy and crucial. Be
forewarned!!!
Course Requirements:
Your duties in this course will include reading, re-reading and summarizing your
books in a timely manner. Attendance is not graded but is generally not optional—
you will only know what you are supposed to do for the following class or the following
week by coming to class. You MUST also get the contact information for three other
members of class.
If you fall ill, you are required to stay home until you recover.
PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL ME IF YOU CANNOT MAKE IT TO CLASS unless you
miss more than two weeks, the midterm or the final.
Graded Materials and grading basis.
You will be graded on the basis of quizzes, midterm and final exam. To get an “A”, you
must read, re-read, summarize your readings, think about your readings, write clearly in
all work for the class. For your own benefit and that of others, you should participate
actively in class as a courteous member of the class community.
Reading quizzes—these include essays:
30%
Midterm:
30%
Final Exam:
40%
You are graded against your peers, as blindly as possible. Therefore I ask that you write
your name on the back side of the last page of your work, and your student ID on every
page.
Extra credit will be assigned for attending the talks/films sponsored by SDSU’s
Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies. (3 points class total for each event.) You must
sign in, and might be asked to report orally in class on what you heard.
GRADES: A = 90-100
B = 80-90
C = 70-80
D = 60-70
F = everything else, unfortunately.
A “C” is AVERAGE. An “A” is reserved for outstanding or excellent work. A “B” in
this course rewards very good, solid work.
This syllabus is subject to modification and change.
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San Diego State University, Spring 2013
History 474: The Middle East since 1500
Professor Sandra Campbell
Thursday 4-6:40 PM, Com 105
Papers and exams will be returned in a manner that is proportionately timely to how
many students I have. Regrettably, one can expect a slow turn around time in larger
classes.
Important Dates:
Jan. 31st is the last day to drop classes.
April 1st-5th is Spring Break.
The Final Exam for this class Thursday May 9th, 4-6:00 PM, in this classroom.
Rough Schedule of Topics and Reading. Further readings to be announced. THIS IS
NOT AN EXACT SCHEDULE. You must come to class to know where we are. Once
you have figured out what “topic” we are on, you should be perfectly able to navigate the
list of readings below, or in any edition of these textbooks.
However, since you are going to be asked to read the bulk of Cleveland and Gelvin,
you could just read Cleveland till page 75, then read Gelvin till page 75, then re-read
each, then go on to say p. 150, or any natural break. (Students did not receive
“schedules” in college in the past, yet we kept ahead on reading and coped perfectly
well.)
The following sections are not numbered by week, but rather by subject.
I.
Summary of Islamic Civilization before 1500
A. Pre-modern history of the Islamic Community. Who is where in the Middle East?
B. Early Islamic states and societies. Islamic practice, Islamic law.
Reading: Cleveland: 1-19; Gelvin, 15-26 (this is fun but also required).
Also read both authors’ acknowledgements. What are these men like? Where do they
work? How are they different in prose style, and how do their histories differ?
II.
Introduction to the Ottomans and Safavids
Reading: Cleveland: 37-57; Gelvin 1-7, 9-12 (and maps), 22-34. MAPS!!!!!
III.
The Beginning of Modernity in the Middle East. What is modernity?
Reading: Cleveland 57-81; Gelvin 35-47, 69-71. (Balta Liman document)
Read Ghali’s novel.
IV.
Tanzimat Reforms and the Nature of the Ottoman Empire/State
Reading: Cleveland, 81-102: Gelvin, chapter 4, 47-60, plus primary text documents
(Suleiman the Law-giver’s capitulation treaty with the French King Francis, Travel
accounts of Sir John Chardin).
Peruse Gelvin’s Suggested Readings section. What can you tell about Gelvin’s
interests? Which of these works would you most like to read?
This syllabus is subject to modification and change.
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San Diego State University, Spring 2013
History 474: The Middle East since 1500
Professor Sandra Campbell
Thursday 4-6:40 PM, Com 105
V.
Nineteenth-century Egypt and Iran; the Qajars; Defensive Developmentalism;
Imperialism
Reading: Gelvin 73-99; Re-read Gelvin, 1-11. Cleveland, 81-119; Re-read
Cleveland 57-119.
VI.
Islamic Movements (Wahhabism, Sudanese Mahdism, Sannusis) and Islamic
Modernism
Reading: Cleveland, 119-133; Gelvin 100-146; (Jamal Al-Din Al-Afghani “The
Three Qualities of Religion” and “Answer of Jamal al-Din to Renan”); Ghali, second
half, first reading.
Recap Assignment: Gelvin Documents.
1. Balta Liman: What is the context of this treaty? The date? Who is opening up
the Ottoman Empire to trade, and why? Does this document reflect an important
shift?
2. The Hatti-Sharif of Gulhane (1856) What is going on in this flowery
document? What background information do you need in order to understand it?
Is it important?
3. Huda Sha`rawi Memoir Excerpt: What are the roles of these two women?
Defend.
4. Al-Tahtawi’s Extraction: Who was al-Tahtawi? What role is he playing here
for Egypt? Why is he writing this? What is he saying? What does this piece
reflect?
VII. Ottoman and Iranian Reform and Development until WWI
Reading: Cleveland, 133-149; Gelvin, 73-87, 132-146;
Visual documents: Gelvin p. 112ff: Compare the two images of Darwish Sreet in
Damascus. Then compare these with the images of Port Said (Sa`eed) and Cairo.
How are these places different? List the differences. Look at all of these photos
carefully. What do the other pairs illustrate?
VIII. WWI and its impact on the Middle East
Reading: Cleveland, 149-170; Gelvin 171-185 first. Gelvin, 186-196. Ghali, second
half, first reading.
IX.
Ataturk, the End of the Ottoman Empire and the Foundation of the Turkish
Republic
Reading: Cleveland 171-192, (on Ataturk and Reza Shah)
Gelvin, pp. 223-246 (overview of 20th century developments, prelude). Review
Gelvin 189-192.
X.
The British Mandates and the rise of Zionism
This syllabus is subject to modification and change.
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San Diego State University, Spring 2013
History 474: The Middle East since 1500
Professor Sandra Campbell
Thursday 4-6:40 PM, Com 105
Reading: Cleveland p. 239-273; Gelvin 197-215; Read all of the documents, 217219. Ghali, Beer in the Snooker Club: first half—consider the question of how this
novel reflects aspects of the “colonial encounter.”.
In class: peruse Gelvin’s Suggested Readings pp. 220-221. Which works would
you like to read and why?
XI.
Iran from the Qajars to the Islamic Republic
Reading: Cleveland, chapter 20, pp. 423-450; Gelvin, 192-197, 278-289.
Ghali, Beer in the Snooker Club. Second half, in light of the colonial encounter.
XII. Egypt from 1882 to Nasser’s reforms
Reading: Cleveland chapter 11, 193-204 (but read to 215); Cleveland on Nasser
301-322, 323-344. Gelvin, 186-189, 197-205.
Ghali, Beer in the Snooker Club. Essay assignment on Ghali’s Beer.
XIII. Syria and Iraq (This topic is subject to change, however.)
Reading: Cleveland 193-215; Hafez al-Asad and Saddam Husayn, Cleveland’s
chapter 19, pp. 397-421.
XIV. Contemporary Issues and Movements in the Middle East: Gelvin 247-317.
The Final Exam for this class will involve essays on assigned questions as well as an
in-class test.
On essays, you are graded up to half of all points on your English, so please write
simple, clear sentences using vocabulary you know well. On no paper or assignment
should I be able to tell what your ethnic or religious affiliation is; this is a public
university, not a theology school.
The goal in this class is to give you a thorough grounding in the history of the
Middle East up to the 1950s and 60s so that you can intelligently figure out the yet more
recent past yourselves—and communicate your understanding to others.
Middle Easterners are often fascinating, warm, generous, thoughtful, ethical
people—they deserve that we should understand them, their cultures, their arts and their
history better. And that we should then do something with that understanding!
This syllabus is subject to modification and change.
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