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The Middle East since 1945

Module description

This module deals with the history, culture and politics of the Arab World, Turkey and Iran after the Second World War. Its main aim is to study, in a general manner, the interaction between civil society and Islam, on the one hand, and the emergence of new ideologies, such as nationalism on the other. Moreover, Middle Eastern Societies are studied in the context of European rivalries, the Cold War and the onset of globalisation as defining characteristic s of a new world order. In this sense, modernity is understood to constitute a cluster of political, cultural and socio-economic developments which affected the internal dynamics of Middle Eastern history as well as the responses it elicited to meet the new challenges.

Module aims - intentions of the module

Students taking this module should develop the kind of broad picture of the history of the modern Middle East which will be essential to all those undertaking further graduate work, and of real value across Masters courses. In particular, the module aims to explore the analytic value of conceptual categories (such as modernity), the great variety of approaches to history (cultural, political, economic etc) and to introduce students to techniques of close-reading and documentary analysis which will be of broader value across their studies. These skills are then tested and explored in assessments and the module aspires to include a great deal of formative feedback so as to ensure that students are able to draw on their analyses of others’ histories in their own production of assessed work.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. gain a broad understanding of the history of the modern Middle East, including Turkey, Iran and North Africa.
• 2. identify and evaluate a variety of modes of historical practice.
• 3. make connections across discrete historical cases so as to identify the value and weaknesses of broad themes such as modernity and Pan-Arabism.
• 4. understand the place of historical analysis in research in both Humanities and Social Sciences branches of Middle East Studies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. appreciate cultures and historical contexts by heightening a sense of the past and the present as a shared human experience.
• 6. gain an awareness of the importance of using primary sources, on the one hand, and evaluating the contingent nature of secondary literature, on the other;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. demonstrate critical and analytical skills are developed through seminar discussion of theoretical approaches, primary texts and appropriate references, in addition to essay work; and
• 8. develop the ability to conduct a structured dialogue, address an audience and construct coherent arguments.

Syllabus plan

1. Iran, Religion, Revolution and Modernity
2. Turkey and Democracy, 1945-2000
3. Arabism, the Military and Modernity
4. The Arabian Peninsula: Oil and Modernisation
5. Yemen: Socialism and Territorial Unification
6. Palestine, Zionism and the struggle for independence and security
7. Libya: from Monarchy to Revolution
8. Democracy, Sectarianism and Political Development in the Sudan
9. Lebanon: Civil Strife and Liberalism
10. Social Transformation and Land Reforms
11. Civil Society and Urban Life
12. Middle Eastern Oil, the United States and the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Teaching is by two hourly seminars, once a week. Seminars provide the opportunity for detailed discussion of a particular topic. The tutor introduces each seminar. Students will be given guidance in the selection of texts for presentation purposes and in assessing the availability of core texts.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Cleveland, Wiliam L., A History of the Modern Middle East, Westview Press, 1994. Polk, William, The Arab World Today, Harvard University Press, 1991.

Choueiri, Youssef, Arab Nationalism, A History. Nation and State in the Arab World, Blackwell, Oxford 2000

Key words search

Middle East