The Modern Middle East
Value 1.0
Prerequisites
Nil
Specific Unit Goals
A Course
This unit should enable students to:
T Course
This unit should enable students to:
Demonstrate investigation and
interpretation skills necessary to analyse
historical information and achieve
independence in researching
Communicate a logically developed and
focussed argument to convey historical
positions or ideas
Demonstrate knowledge, awareness and
understanding of the structure of societies,
cultural factors, ideologies, key events and
places associated with the development of
the Middle Eastern region
Recognise themes of change and continuity,
power, dissent, wealth, dispossession and
religion in the Middle Eastern region
Evaluate the significance of the Middle
Eastern region in world affairs and the
prospects for peace in the crisis areas
Demonstrate investigation and interpretation
skills necessary to solve problems of
evidence and achieve independence in
researching
Communicate a logically developed,
articulate and focussed argument to convey
historical positions or ideas
Demonstrate knowledge, awareness and
understanding of the structure of societies,
cultural factors, ideologies, key events and
places associated with the development of
the Middle Eastern region
Recognise themes of change and continuity,
power, dissent, wealth, dispossession and
religion in the Middle Eastern region
Evaluate the significance of the Middle
Eastern region in world affairs and the
prospects for peace in the crisis areas
Content
A study of this unit should include a selection of the following content areas. There is scope for some
areas to be treated in more depth than others. Topics for study will be guided by teacher expertise and
student interest.
A study of this course entails an overview of the Middle Eastern region during the modern period,
starting with the fall of the Ottoman Empire and into the twenty first century. It will assess the
influence and impact of numerous ideologies on the area including nationalism, imperialism,
modernisation, secularism, Zionism, Pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism. It explores these
concepts through a particular focus on Turkey, Egypt, the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Iran and Iraq.
Opportunities to study other countries in the region can be explored in assessment items.
Background to the Region
 Define the region of the Middle East as a cultural and a geographical entity (Arabic,
Islamic, Judeo-Christian)

The significance of religious influences (Islam -Sunnis and Shiites, Judaism and
Christianity) on the region
The Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
 The significance and collapse of the Ottoman Empire (the influence of nationalism in the
region and the rise of new nation states)
 The introduction of modernisation and secularism in the region (Turkey under Kemal
Ataturk)
 The impact of World War I and the emergence of the Mandate system
Palestine/Israel
 Religious claims to the territory of Palestine (Torah, Koran)
 The emergence of Zionism and its implications for the Middle East
 The role of Britain in the region (World War I, the Balfour Declaration)
 The Mandate (Arab responses, Jewish migration and activism, impact of the Holocaust)
 Partition and the 1948/1949 War
 The political implications of the creation of Israel on the Middle East (the 1949 armistice
and future strained relations)
Nasser and Arab Nationalism
 The rise of Nasser in Egypt and the implications of Pan-Arabism on the region
 The role of the Superpowers in the region (e.g. the Cold War, the Baghdad Pact, the Shah
and Mossadeq)
 The Arab-Israeli Wars, 1956, 1967, 1973
 The Oil Weapon
 The rise of Palestinian nationalism and the PLO
The Middle East in Transition
 The role of the UN (Resolution 242 etc)
 The Camp David Accords and the implications for the region
 The Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Iran-Iraqi War
 The War in Lebanon
 Saddam Hussein and the First Gulf War
 The Oslo Accords and the road to Palestinian Statehood
Middle East: A search for resolution?
 The rise and causes of Islamic Fundamentalism (e.g. beliefs, goals, tactics)
 September 11 and the War on Terror
 The Second Gulf War
 Prospects for Peace and Resolution in the region (the Occupied Territories, the role of the
UN, the dependence on oil)
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Relevant and effective strategies will focus on investigating and interpreting evidence in:
 Primary sources – e.g. diaries, posters, cartoons, letters, photographs, historical maps
 Secondary sources –e.g. biographies, texts, documentaries, film and historical novel
treatments of indigenous life and slavery
 Statistical data – e.g. maps, charts, graphs.
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Kinaesthetic activities, e.g. role plays and imaginative reconstructions of key events,
model making and visits to institutions, films, artistic interpretations or historic sites may
also be used to investigate and interpret evidence
Visits to relevant museums, galleries, the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, the Jewish
centre etc.
Guest speakers when available and appropriate.
Findings will be communicated through:
 Writing – e.g. essay writing, document studies, empathetic exercises
 Oral and aural activities –e.g. class discussions, debates, guest speakers, oral histories,
group work, quizzes
 ICT – e.g. web quests, spreadsheet analyses, computer games, PowerPoint presentations,
Internet searches.
See Teaching and Learning Strategies in the main document and the History Course
Framework for other teaching strategies.
Assessment Task Types
See pages 72-74 for assessment information
Student Capabilities
Student Capabilities
creative and critical thinkers
enterprising problem-solvers
skilled and empathetic communicators
informed and ethical decision-makers
environmentally and culturally aware citizens
confident and capable users of technologies
independent and self-managing learners
collaborative team members
Evidence could be in:
Goals
Content Teaching Assessment
and
Learning
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Specific Unit Resources
This list is not to be seen as comprehensive. It seeks to identify some useful resources and to give an
indication of the level at which students are expected to work. These resources include studentcentred resources and teacher references. These were accurate at the time of publication.
Books
Abrahamian, E.,
Aburish, S. K,
History of Modern Iran, Cambridge University Press,
2008
Nasser: The Last Arab, Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd,
2005
Alexander, A.,
Ali, Tariq
Andersen, R. R, Seibert,
R.F, and Wagner, J. G.,
Balfour, J. K.,
Blin, Ar. and Gerard C.
(Ed).,
Bunton, M and Cleveland,
W.,
Coughlin, C.,
Dershowitz, Alan
Downing, D.
Esposito, J. L.,
Ewans, M.,
Flower, R.,
Fouad Khater, Akram
Fromkin, D.,
Gelvin, J. L.,
Goldschmidt Jr, A. and
Davidson, L.,
Greer, V. & Darlington, R.
Held, C. C.,
Hourani, A. and Malise. R.,
Khalidi, R.,
Kinzer, S.,
Nasser (Life&Times), Haus Publishing Limited, 2005
The clash of fundamentalism: crusades, jihads and
modernity, Verso, 2003
Politics and Change in the Middle East (9th Edition),
Longman, 2008
Ataturk: The Rebirth of a Nation, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson History, 2001
The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to al Qaeda,
University of California Press, 2007
A History of the Modern Middle East, Perseus, 2009
Saddam: His Rise and Fall, Ecco, 2005
The case for peace: how the Arab-Israeli conflict can
be resolved, Wiley, 2005.
The Making of the Middle East, Raintree, Oxford,
2006.
Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, Oxford
University Press, 2003
Afghanistan: A Short History of Its People and
Politics, Perennial, 2003
Napoleon to Nasser: The Story of Modern Egypt,
Author House, 2002
Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East,
Wadsworh Publishing Company, 2010
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman
Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East,
Holt McDougal, 2009
The Modern Middle East: A History, Oxford
University Press, 2007
A Concise History of the Middle East, Westview Inc,
2009
Flashpoints: National & International Studies,
Heinemann, Victoria, 2003.
Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics,
Westview Press, 1989
A History of the Arab Peoples: Second Edition, Faber
and Faber, 2005
The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle
for Statehood, Oneworld Publications, 2009
Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds,
Lapidus, Ira M
Laqueur, W and Rubin, B.,
Lewis, B.,
Little, D.
Mango, A.,
Mansfield, P and Pelham,
N.,
Milton-Edwards, B.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc, 2009
A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge University
Press, 2002
The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary Hisotry of
the Middle East Conflict, Penguin, 2008
What Went Wrong?: The Clash Between Islam and
Modernity in the Middle East, Harper Perrenial, 2004
American Orientalism: The United States and the
Middle East since 1945, University of California Press,
2008
Ataturk The Biography of the Founder of Modern
Turkey, Overlook Press, 2002
A History of the Middle East, Penguin, 2004
Contemporary Politics in the Middle East, Polity
Press, 2006, UK
Milton-Edwards, B. &
Conflicts in the Middle East since 1945, Routledge,
Hinchclifee, P
London, 2001.
Minnis, Ivan
The Arab-Israeli conflict, Heinemann, 2001.
Nydell, M. K,.
Understanding Arabs: A Guide for Modern Times,
Intercultural Press Inc, 2005
Piggott, Leanne
The Arab-Israeli conflict: a timeless struggle, Science
Press, 2008.
Quataert, D.,
The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922 (New Approaches to
European History), Cambridge University Press, 2005
Sherbrok, D. & El Alami, D. Problems & Issues in Modern History, Oxford
University Press, Australia, 1997.
Spencer, W.,
Global Studies: The Middle East, McGRaw Hill
Higher Education, 2006
Taheri, A.,
The Persian Night: Iran under the Khomeinist
Revolution, Encouter Books, 2008
Takeyh, R.,
Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in
the Age of the Ayatollahs, Oxford University Press,
2009
Tripp, C.,
A History of Iraq, Cambridge University Press, 2007
Woolf, Alex
Fundamentalism, Wayland, 2003.
Audio-Visual
The Middle East
VHS, Gaumont, France, 1991.
A fundamental conflict
VHS, Antelope Films, 1990.
Websites
Avalon Project ‘The Middle East 1916-2001: A Documentary Record’ Yale
University
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/mideast.asp
Avalon Project ‘The Palestine Mandate’
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/
The+Balfour+Declaration.htm
Avalon Project ‘Balfour Declaration’ Yale University
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/balfour.asp
Australian War Memorial -Ataturk
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/ataturk.asp
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/ataturk_kemal.shtml
Wheeling Jesuit University/Center for Educational Technologies - ‘Global
perspectives: The Middle east’
http://www.cotf.edu/earthinfo/meast/MEhis.html
www.aljezeerah.com
Australian War Memorial
Encyclopedia: Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal), viewed 22
September, 2009,
http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/ataturk.asp,
2009.
The Avalon Project
The Avalon Project
The Middle East 1916-2001: A Documentary Record,
Yale University: Lillian Goldman Law Library, viewed
22 September, 2009,
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/mideast.asp,
2008.
The Palestine Mandate, Yale University: Lillian
Goldman Law Library, viewed 22 September, 2009,
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/palmanda.asp,
2008.
Internet Modern History Source Book
‘Middle East Since 1914’, Internet History
Sourcebooks Project, viewed 22 September, 2009,
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook54.html
, 2007.
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The State of Israel, viewed 22 September, 2009,
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA, 2008.
Wheeling Jesuit University
Global Perspectives: A remote sensing &
world issues site, ‘The Middle East’, viewed
22 September, 2009,
http://www.cotf.edu/earthinfo/meast/MEhis.ht
ml, 2002.
Shah, Anup
Global Issues: Middle East, viewed 22
September, 2009,
http://www.globalissues.org/issue/103/middleeast, 2009.
These were accurate at the time of publication.
Please see the Bibliography on page 31 of Part 1 of the course for further resources.