HISTORY OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST
Period, region, and approach: This two-semester course surveys Middle Eastern history
in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the first semester of the course, we will be covering the
time period 1800-1914. In the second semester we will begin with the post-WWI era and
end with a discussion of current affairs in the region and how they connect with the issues
we studied over the previous two centuries. Geographically, this course will cover events
taking place in the Ottoman and Qajar empires, their successor states, and the regional
and international contexts within which these events occurred. Within a general political
framework, this course will investigate the major intellectual, cultural, social, and
economic trends of both this region and, when appropriate, from outside the region.
Course Objectives (The ones I’m setting for you, that is):
a) To better understand the history of this region in not only in its own terms but also in
relation to broader global contexts and what might be called ‘the era’ more generally.
b) To develop a better sense of change over time as it has developed in the Middle East
in the modern era.
c) To become more familiar with concepts such as ‘modernization’, ‘community
identity’, ‘discourse’, and other terms in their relation to historical study.
d) To identify and problematize the intellectual and historical paradigms that have been
influential in the Middle Eastern during this period.
e) To begin reading history texts more critically and distinguishing between different
narratives of the same historical events.
f) To develop a sense for viewing current political conditions in the region in a more
historical manner.
Evaluation: Each semester, students will be required to complete the following
coursework:
Midterm examination: 25% of final grade.
Final examination: 40% of final grade.
Attendance and participation in sections: 20%.
Completion of three (approximately 5-page) response papers: 15% (5% each).
Additionally, students may earn extra credit worth up to 10% of their final grade per
semester. This may be earned by writing a brief (approximately 10 page) paper
discussing a less commonly studied (at least in survey courses!) aspect of history,
including topics related to food, music, art, and literature. Topics must be approved
beforehand by instructor or teaching assistant.
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Required texts:
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William L. Cleveland, A History of the Modern Middle East (2nd Edition, 1999).
Erik J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History.
Hammond Atlas of the Middle East (revised edition, 1996).
Leyla Ahmed, A Border Crossing.
Course Reader.
Study Themes: For every week, I have written out “study themes” which typically ask
questions that I feel address important points raised in that week’s reading assignment. I
offer them to you as a prompt, in the hope that they may help you focus upon some of the
issues that I feel are important each week. Yet the ‘themes’ that I suggest are only, of
course, the tip of the iceberg. Look at them as a point of departure for thinking about
some of these issues, rather than as questions for which you must find answers at the
exclusion of everything else in the readings!. As part of your participation grade in
section, moreover, you will be asked to come up with some ‘Study Themes’ over the
course of the semester (how many times and what percentage this will count towards
your participation grade will depend upon the size of your section).
Week 1: An introduction to the course and the region
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“Introduction”, from Beaumont, Blake, and Wagstaff.
Study (19th century) map.
Study Themes Why do you think the authors of “Introduction” devote so much time
to discussing terminology like “Middle East”? To what factors would you ascribe the
cultural diversity of the Middle East?
Week 2: An introduction to Islamic history.
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Map Quiz (19th century).
An introduction to the region. Cleveland, 1-59; Hodgson (volume 1), 71-100;
Eickelman, “The Middle East Defined”, in The Middle East: An Anthropological
Approach, pp. 1-5, 14-21.
Study Themes: In how many different ways can ‘Islam’ be discussed and understood?
How do these different interpretations of ‘Islam’ differ from one another? Why do
scholars devoted to the study of the Middle East seem so preoccupied with issues of
definition and terminology? Have you noticed a similar concern in other history
classes you have taken?
Week 3: The Great Transmutation: Europe and the Middle East
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Hodgson, The Venture of Islam (Volume 3), 163-248; Napoleon in Egypt: AlJabarti’s Chronicle of the French Occupation, 17-166.
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Study Themes: How would you describe ‘the Great Transmutation”? What were its
origins?
Week 4: Orientalism and the Mystique of Islam.
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Rodinson, Europe and the Mystique of Islam, 3-83; Said, Orientalism, 1-73.
Study Themes: How did changes taking place in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries impact the Middle East? What is ‘the Orient”? Did European discourse
regarding ‘the Orient’ change over time? How do Rodinson and Said differ in their
treatment of these issues? Would you call Napoleon’s behavior ‘Orientalist’? Would
you say the example of Napoleon and the French officers in Egypt lends more support
to Said’s views on ‘Orientalism’ or Rodinson’s views on European ‘fascination’ with
Islam?
Week 5: Transformation in the Middle East: Selim III, Mahmud II, Mehmed Ali
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Zurcher, Turkey, A Modern History (11-51). Heyd, “The Ottoman ‘Ulema and
Westernization in the Time of Selim III and Mahmud II” (from Hourani and Wilson),
29-60.
Study Themes: What did the ‘reforms’ of Selim III, Mahmud II, and Mehmed Ali
consist of? What were the objectives of these reforms?
Week 6: Reform in Qajar Iran.
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Cleveland, 108-116; Keddie, “Religion and Society to 1800”, “Foundations of 19th
Century Iran” and “Continuity and Change under the Qajars”, in Roots of Revolution,
1-62.
Study Themes: What were the goals of and obstacles to ‘reform’ in Iran. How were
circumstances different in Iran from those facing the Ottoman Empire?
Week 7: The Tanzimat and responses to it.
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Zurcher, 52-79; Cleveland, 81-102; Dumont, “Said Bey—the Everyday Life of an
Istanbul Townsman at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century”, (from Hourani and
Wilson), 271-288. Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, 3-9; Ali Suavi,
“Democracy, Government by the People, Equality” (from Kurzman, Modernist Islam,
138-143); Namik Kemal, “And Seek Their counsel in the Matter” (from Kurzman,
144-148).
Study Themes: To what set of concepts and values does Cleveland’s idea of ‘dualism’
(p. 100) refer? How do our other readings from this week support or weaken this
conception?
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***FIRST MIDTERM EXAMINATION***
Week 8: Nationalism: Some theoretical approaches.
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Kohn, The Idea of Nationalism, 3-24; Gellner, Nations and Nationalism, 1-38;
Anderson, Imagined Communities, 1-46.
Study themes: How have conceptions regarding the origins of nationalism changed
over time? Pay attention to the chronology of these books.
Week 9: Nationalism and the Great Powers: The Balkans from the Greek Revolt to the
Congress of Berlin.
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Quataert, “Inter-communal co-operation and conflict”, from The Ottoman Empire,
1700-1922. Stavrianos, The Balkans Since 1453, 269-295; 339-412.
Study Themes: How does Quataert’s depiction of Ottoman history differ from that of
Stavrianos? Why might this be? How would you compare Stavrianos’ conception of
‘nationalism’ from those presented by Kohn, Gellner, and Anderson?
Week 10: Abdulhamid II and his era, the “Politicization of Islam”.
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Zurcher, 80-97; Karpat, The Politicization of Islam, 3-19; 20-47; 155-182; Cleveland,
117-128; Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, “Lecture on Teaching and Learning and
Answer to Renan”, (in Kurzman, 103-110). Akarlı, “The Tangled Ends of Empire and
its Sultan”, from Modernity and Culture.
Study Themes: In what ways did the Hamidian period differ from that of the
tanzimat? In what ways were policies adopted during the Hamidian era a continuation
of earlier policies? In what ways would you say phenomena like ‘Muslim
Modernism’, Islamic revivalism, and Abdulhamid’s ‘Islamist’ policies expressions of
the era we are studying?
Week 11: Constitutionalism in the Middle East, Constitutionalism and “Islam”
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Cleveland, 130-145; Edib, “Constitutional Revolution of 1908”, (from Memoirs of
Halide Edib, 252-272); Keddie, “Protest and Revolution” (from Roots of Revolution,
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70-78); Ahmet Agaev, “Islam and Democracy”, from Modernist Islam, 229-231;
Muhammad Husayn Na’ini, “Government in the Islamic Perspective”, 116-125.
Study Themes: Why do you think issues such as the ‘compatibility’ between ‘Islam’
and ‘democracy’ were of such concern to some intellectuals during this time? Was it
just a coincidence that constitutionalist movements developed in Iran and the
Ottoman Empire (as well as among Muslims in Russia, as in the case of Agaev)
simultaneously?
Week 12: Europe and the Middle East on the Eve of WWI
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Cleveland, 102-112; Cromer, Modern Egypt 169-199.
Study Themes: Compare Cromer’s attitudes towards Muslims and ‘Islam’ to those of
Napoleon and his party at the beginning of the century. What differences, if any, do
you see? If you see differences, to what factors would you ascribe them?
Week 13: Discussion of course themes and preparation for the final.
***FINAL EXAMINATION. END OF FIRST SEMESTER***
SECOND SEMESTER: The 20th Century.
Week 1: A Brief Introduction to the 20th Century
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WWI: Cleveland, pp.
Study map of modern Middle East.
Weeks 2 & 3: Transitions:
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Study Themes: How do the narratives presented in Dawn, Zurcher, and Cleveland
relate to issues of national identity? How do they relate to ‘nationalism’ as it was
presented in the texts we read last semester?
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Week 2
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Dawn, “From Ottomanism to Arabism: The Origin of an Ideology”, 122-147.
Zurcher, “Young Turks, Ottoman Muslims and Turkish Nationalist: Identity Politics:
1908-1938” (from Karpat, Ottoman Past and Today’s Turkey, pp. 150-179); Göçek,
“Decline of the Ottoman Empire and the Emergence of Greek, Armenian, Turkish
and Arab Nationalisms”, 15-84.
Week 3
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William Cleveland, The Making of an Arab Nationalist, 3-82.
Quiz on map of Modern Middle East.
Week 4: Turkey and Iran before WWII.
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Zurcher, 138-215. Cleveland, 172-188; Najmabadi, “Hazards of Modernity and
Morality: Women, State, and Ideology in Contemporary Iran”.
Study Themes: What does ‘modernization’ mean in the context of Turkey and Iran?
What similarities do you see in the modernization projects of the Pahlavi and
Kemalist states?
Week 5: Egypt before WWII
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Cleveland, 190-201; L. Ahmed, A Border Passage, 3-158; Taha Hussein, “The Future
of Culture in Egypt”; Hasan al-Banna, “Renaissance in the Islamic World”.
Study Themes: What economic, political, and diplomatic differences are there at this
time between Iran, Turkey, and Egypt? How do these different conditions impact the
range of options available to individuals and political movements in these countries?
Week 6: Zionism and the Palestinians in mandatory Palestine
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Cleveland, 233-264; Khalidi, “Mandatory Palestine”; Burke, 179-190.
Study Themes: What organizational and leadership differences were there between
the Zionists and the Palestinians during this time? What comparisons can you make
between the Zionist project and the modernization projects underway in Pahlavi Iran
and Kemalist Turkey at this time?
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Week 7: The French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon and the British Mandate in Jordan
and Iraq.
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Cleveland, 146-167; 201-225; 228-231; Gelvin, “(Re)Presenting Nations:
Demonstrations and Nationalism in Pre-Mandate Syria” (from Social Constructions
of Nationalism in the Middle East, pp. 99-124).
Study themes: How would you describe the mandatory regimes? What limitations
were imposed on their independence? How does Gelvin’s emphasis differ from that
of Cleveland?
Week 8: Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
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Cleveland, 225-231; 436-456; Burke, 91-99.
Study Themes: How would you compare the movement which developed around Ibn
Sa’ud with other successful movements (such as the Turkish nationalist movement)
we have studied this semester?
Week 9: Turkey and Iran since WWII
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Cleveland, 265-279; 279-292. Boroujerdi, “Gharbzadegi: The Dominant Intellectual
Discourse of Pre- and Post-Revolutionary Iran”; Ayatollah Khomeini, “Islamic
Government and Society”; Ali Shariati, “A New Understanding of Islam and Man”;
Study Themes: How would you compare the understandings of ‘Islam’ of Khomeini
and Shariati? How do they differ from that of Leyla Ahmed and Hasan al-Banna?
Week 10: Egypt: From Nasser to Mubarek.
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Cleveland, 293-335; 359-371; 381-384; Ahmed, 158-178; 299-307.
Study Themes: How did Egyptian policies and leadership styles change from Nasser
to Sadat, and then from Sadat to Mubarek?
Week 11: Iraq and Syria
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Cleveland, 385-409; Burke, 234-250; Picard, “Arab Military Politics”. Aflaq,
“Ideological Problems”.
Study Themes: How would you contrast political institutions as they have developed
in Iraq and Syria? How does the role of the military in Turkey differ from that in
Syria, Iraq, and Pahlavi Iran?
Week 12: Israel and the Palestinians
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Cleveland, 336-358; 372-381; 458-462; 483-499. Elon, “Politics and Archeology”
and “Israel and the End of Zionism”.
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Study Themes: What does Elon mean by “the end of Zionism”? Is a post-Zionist
Israel possible?
Week 13: Wrap-up discussions and review for final exam.
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Discuss major themes of course and specific questions related to course material.
How can we relate the themes we have discussed in this course to current political
problems in the region?
HAVE A WONDERFUL YEAR AND GOOD LUCK
IN ALL YOUR COURSES!!!
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