San Diego State University
Department of History
The Middle East Since 1500
HIST 474
Spring 2015
Professor Moshe Naor
Class Days: T-TH 11-12:15
Class Location: M 265
Office Hours: AL 384, TH 4-5
mnaor@mail.sdsu.edu
Course Description
The course will examine the major political, social, economic and cultural
developments in the Middle East and North Africa since 1516 to the current Arab
uprisings. The course will focus on the history of the Ottoman Empire, the post First
World War national states period and the era of Post-Colonialism. We will examine
subjects such as Arab Nationalism, Pan-Arabism, Pan-Islamism, Colonialism,
Political Islam, the impact of the Cold War and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, and the
status of minorities in Arab and Muslim countries.
Course Principles
The students are expected to attend all classes, show up on time and to have read the
assigned readings for each session. You can miss two classes without any
consequences. Every missed class not due to a verifiable medical or personal
emergency after that will result in a reduction of your final grade. Mandatory class
readings include the text book and the chapters and articles that are listed in the
syllabus. Primary sources: documents, texts, maps and visual sources will be placed
occasionally on the course blackboard website. The final take-home exam will cover
course materials presented in lectures, the text book, assigned readings and class
discussions. Make sure that your take-home exam is based on your original work.
Footnote your sources, indicate direct quotes, and avoid closely paraphrasing your
sources. Students with disabilities or who need special consideration are requested to
contact me as soon as possible.
Requirements and Grading
- Midterm take-home exam (March 10) - 30%
- Five-page book review (April 7) - 30%
- Take-home final exam (May 12) - 30%
- Attendance and active participation - 10%
Text Books
- William Cleveland and Martin Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, Fifth
Edition, Westview Press, 2013
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, Oxford University Press, Third
Edition, 2011.
Course Topics and Readings
Class 1 (Jan.22) – Introduction: The Middle East after the Arab Spring
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 1-11
Class 2 (Jan. 27) – East and West in the Medieval World
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 1-17
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 13-24
Class 3 (Jan.29) – The Emergence of the Ottoman Empire
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 18-33
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 25-32
Class 4 (Feb.3) – The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 53-74
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 33-68
Class 5 (Feb.5) – The Ottoman Empire and the Challenge of the West
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 75-108
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 69-99
Class 6 (Feb.10) – Arab Nationalism and the Young Turks Revolution
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 109-136
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 100-179
Class 7 (Feb.12) – The First World War and the Creation of National States
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 137-158
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 180-216
Class 8 (Feb.17) – Iran and the New Republic of Turkey
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 159-179
Class 9 (Feb.19) – Egypt, Iraq, Trans Jordan, and the British Mandate
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 179-200
Class 10 (Feb.24) – Syria and Lebanon and the French Mandate
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 201-220
Class 11 (Feb.26) – Yemen and Saudi Arabia in the Interwar Period
-Malcolm Yapp, The Near East since the First World War: A History, Pearson, 1996,
pp.188-206
Class 12 (Mar.3) – Origins of the Arab Israeli Conflict
-James L. Gelvin, The Israeli-Palestine conflict, Cambridge, 2005, pp.46-75
Class 13 (Mar.5) – No Class
Class 14 (Mar.10) – Mandatory Palestine
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 221-252
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 217-232
Class 15 (Mar.12) – The Arab Israeli War of 1948
-Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict 1881-1999,
New York, 1999, pp.184-258
Class 16 (Mar.17) – Turkey and Iran in the 50's and 60's
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 253-279
Class 17 (Mar.19) – Egypt, the Baath Revolutions and the Era of Pan Arabism
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 280-321
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 240-255
Class 18 (Mar.24) – Israel and the Palestinians, 1949-1967
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 322-344
-Rashid Khalidi, The Iron Cage, Beacon Press, 2006, pp.177-209
Class 19 (Mar. 26) – French Colonialism and the Battle of Algiers
-Benjamin Stora, Algeria, 1830-2000: A Short History, Ithaca, 2001, pp.1-28
- "The Battle of Algiers", film, 1966
Class 20 (Apr.7) – Six Days of War in June 1967
-Benny Morris, Righteous Victims, pp.302-346
-James L. Gelvin, The Israeli-Palestine conflict, Cambridge, 2005, 165-194
Class 21 (Apr.9) – No Class – Passover
Class 22 (Apr. 14) – Book Review Presentations
Class 23 (Apr.16) – Israel: After 1967
-David Engel, Zionism, Pearson and Longman, 2009, 157-188
Class 24 (Apr.21) - The Middle East and the Islamic Revolution in Iran
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 347-368
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 294-306
Class 25 (Apr.23) – The Arab-Israeli Conflict: From 1967 to Oslo
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, pp.283-292
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 441-463
Class 26 (Apr.28) – Political Islam
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 393-438
- Kepel Gilles, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam, London, 2006, pp.23-42, 205-236
Class 27 (Apr.30) - Political and Religious Radicalism
Documentary Film: The Gate Keepers. 2013
Class28 (May.5) – The Struggle within the Arab World
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 463-522
-James Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History, 266-282
Class 29 (May.7) – The Arab Uprisings
- Cleveland and Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East, 522-540
- Hamid Dabashi, The Arab Spring: The end of Postcolonialism, Zed, 2012, pp.155170