Ethnography of the Middle East
| Module title | Ethnography of the Middle East |
|---|---|
| Module code | ARA2134 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Dr Ross Porter (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 10 |
|---|
Module description
In this course you will explore a range of themes animating the anthropology of the Middle East, from classic theories of tribal egalitarianism to the workings of statist ideology, and from revolutionary morality to everyday Islamic ethics. You will learn what is distinctive about anthropology as a discipline, its method, and how anthropologists who work in the region have approached questions of culture, difference, power, and value. Each week we explore a different anthropological concept through grounded ethnographic insights from the region.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the anthropology of the Middle East. This course is ideally suited for students with little or no background in anthropology and who seek to acquaint themselves with the discipline and acquire ethnographic insights into life in the region. Students intending to write a dissertation involving fieldwork will find in this course a range of useful tools.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate specific knowledge about a variety of peoples and cultures of the Middle East, in greater detail than the very general Level 4;
- 2. Challenge homogenizing and essentialist accounts of the region and its people, especially those of earlier Orientalists;
- 3. Show understanding of the relationship between representations of the Middle East and preconceptions, by applying detailed knowledge and basic ethnographic theory;
- 4. Identify different basic techniques in ethnographic fieldwork, such as participant observation, surveys, questionnaires, oral and life histories, and evaluate some of their uses in the Middle Eastern context;
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Analyse and critically assess academic texts dealing with the Middle East;
- 6. Articulate and develop a coherent argument embedded in relevant theory, applied to examples from the Middle East;
- 7. Distinguish between some basic methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks used in the study of the Middle East;
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 8. Demonstrate a capacity for independent study and work planning; and
- 9. Show an ability to make an analytical and thoughtful contribution to group discussion.
Syllabus plan
Week 1 Course overview
Week 2 Anthropologists and the Middle East
Week 3 Knowledge
Week 4 Culture
Week 5 States and subjects 1
Week 6 Reading week
Week 7 States and subjects 2
Week 8 Everyday resistance
Week 9 Revolution
Week 10 Islam and morality
Week 11 Responsibility
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 78 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 11 | 11 x 1 hour lectures, which develop and explain the themes of the week |
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 11 | Seminars will involve discussing question(s) relating to the themes of the week; students will be expected to play an active role and will sometimes be asked to explain/comment on texts |
| Guided Independent Study | 78 | Reading, class preparation |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay plans x 2 | 250 words each | 4-7 | Written |
| Seminar discussions | 1 hour per week | 9 | Oral |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 x Essay | 100 | 1,500 words each | 1-6, 7-8 | Written comments and mark |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 x Essays (1500 words each) | 2 x Essays (1,500 words each) | 1-6, 7-8 | Referral/deferral period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Abu-Lughod, L. 1986. Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society. California: University of California Press.
Abu-Lughod, L. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 104 (3): 783-790.
Armbrust, W. 2019. Martyrs and Tricksters: An Ethnography of the Egyptian Revolution. Princeton University Press.
Bayat, A. 1997. “Un-civil Society: The Politics of Informal People.” Third World Quarterly 18(1): 53-72.
Caton, S.C. 1990. Peaks of Yemen I summon: Poetry as Cultural Practice in a North Yemeni Tribe. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Clastres, P. 1989. Society Against the State. Zone Books.
Engelke, M. 2017. Think Like an Anthropologist. Pelican Books.
Graber, D. 2004. Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology. Prickly Pear Press.
Hirschkind, C. 2001. “The Ethics of Listening: Cassette?Sermon Audition in Contemporary Egypt.” American Ethnologist 28(3): 623-649.
Mahmood, S. 2001. “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival.” Cultural Anthropology 16 (2): 202–36.
Navaro-Yashin, Y. 2002. Faces of the State: Secularism and Public Life in Turkey. Princeton University Press.
Schielke, S. 2010. “Being good in Ramadan: ambivalence, fragmentation and the moral self in the lives of young Egyptians.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Society 15: 24-40.
Schielke, S. 2015. Egypt in the Future Tense: Hope, Frustration, and Ambivalence Before and After 2011. Indiana University Press.
Thomassen, B. (2012) “Notes Towards an Anthropology of Political Revolutions.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 2012: 54(3): 679-706 .
Wedeen, L. 1998. “Acting "As If": Symbolic Politics and Social Control in Syria.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 40 (3): 503-523.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 01/10/2004 |
| Last revision date | 15/05/2023 |
