Theorising the Middle East
| Module title | Theorising the Middle East |
|---|---|
| Module code | ARAM232 |
| Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor William Gallois (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 25 |
|---|
Module description
This module introduces you in a multidisciplinary Area Studies department to a broad range of key theorists and theories whose work has underpinned scholarship in the fields of Anthropology, Political Science, Sociology, Literary Studies, History, Philosophy and Gender Studies. In doing so it seeks to enable you, irrespective of disciplinary background, to make self- conscious choices as to the theoretical underpinnings of their own work and to promote forms of theoretically-aware and interdisciplinary work found in some of the most successful scholarship in Arab, Islamic and Middle East Studies.
The module is framed around the idea of bridging theory and practice, through the systematic study of the work of a broad canon of theoretical writings, the analysis of the use of such theory in key works from Middle East Studies, and the reflective selection and application of theories and concepts in your assessed work.
The delivery of the module is designed so that it can be accessed by two distinct groups: PGT Masters students who will take the module as a credit-bearing component of their degree programmes and PGR PhD and MPhil students who will be able to access course materials and use them as a means to developing the theoretical bases of their doctorates in their first year of study.
Module aims - intentions of the module
This module will be delivered in a series of filmed introductions to key theorists and their work, which will be accessed through a rich ELE site. These films will range from formal lectures, through interviews with experts from across disciplines at Exeter, to shorter interventions in which you and staff reflect on the value of particular theorists in their work.
You are expected to read at least two texts each week, one of which will be the work of theory and the other an example of the application of those theoretical ideas in a work of Middle East or Islamic Studies. These texts will form the basis of the weekly seminars in which theories, texts and their applications will be discussed.
Furthermore, the module will offer at least one ‘masterclass’ in which an invited speaker/visitor/fellow at the IAIS will lead a half- day workshop exploring the theoretical backdrop to their own work.
The module will also offer a planning session in which the use of theory in Masters dissertations will be explored.
In short, the module is designed to develop the advanced skills you will need to undertake an MA in Middle East Studies, especially to develop critical thinking at the highest level.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Critically analyze arguments by reading and discussing key texts in seminars;
- 2. Present concisely sophisticated arguments;
- 3. Explain difficult points to an audience also of non-specialists;
- 4. Identify key aspects of a philosophical and theoretical debate.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 5. Analyze arguments;
- 6. Criticize texts and question ideas
- 7. Introduce discussions,
- 8. Write well-argued essays.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 9. Construct and evaluate ideas,
- 10. Formulate and express ideas at different levels of abstraction,
- 11. Assess and criticize the views of others and to undertake an individual research project.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
- Ibn Khaldun: the birth of social science; universal history; ‘asabiyyah
- Marx: historical materialism; capitalism
- Weber – Linz: secularization; spirit; capitalism; patrimonialism; sultanism; authoritarianism
- Gramsci: hegemony; historicism; state and civil society
- Edward Said: Orientalism; post-colonialism; post-structuralism
- Habermas – Nancy Fraser: public sphere; communicative rationality
- Benedict Anderson – Anthony Smith: nationalism; ethnie; imagined communities
- Butler and Harraway: queer theory; performativity; masculinity
- Rentier states: rentierism
- Contemporary anthropological theory: the imaginary
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 22 | 11 x 2-hour seminars |
| Guided independent study | 60 | Reading for seminars |
| Guided independent study | 68 | Completion of course work |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small and large group discussions and analysis of texts | Weekly | 1-7, 9-10 | Oral feedback |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group project using the Hive in which students will need to demonstrate the ability to discuss, evaluate and reflect upon the theoretical perspectives they study | 20 | 10 minutes | 1-11 | Written and oral feedback |
| Essay | 80 | 2,750 words | 1-11 | Written and oral feedback |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group project using the Hive in which students will need to demonstrate the ability to discuss, evaluate and reflect upon the theoretical perspectives they study | Individual project using the Hive in which students will need to demonstrate the ability to discuss, evaluate and reflect upon the theoretical perspectives they study | 1-11 | August/September re-assessment period |
| Essay | Essay (2,750 words) | 1-11 | August/September re-assessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Abu-Lughod, Lila (1989) ‘Zones of Theory in the Anthropology of the Arab World,’ Annual Review of Anthropology 18: 267-206. Anderson, Benedict (1991) Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Appadurai, Arian (1996) Modernity at Large. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Beblawi, Hazem and Giacomo Luciani (1987) The Rentier State. New York: Croom Helm.
Davis, John (1988) Libyan Politics. Tribes and Revolution. Oakland: University of California Press.
Eickelman, Dale (1998) The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.
Fraser, Nancy (1989) Unruly Practices. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Gause, Gregory (2000) ‘The Persistence of Monarchy in the Arabian Peninsula: A Comparative Analysis,’ in Joseph Kostiner (ed.), Middle East Monarchies: The Challenge of Modernity. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Gershoni, Israel and James Jankowski (2009), Confronting Fascism in Egypt: Dictatorship versus Democracy in the 1930s.
Stanford: University of Stanford Press.
Göçek, Fatma Müge and Shiva Balaghi (eds) (1995) Reconstructing Gender in the Middle East: Tradition, Identity and Power.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Habermas, Jurgen (1981) The Theory of Communicative Action. Boston: Beacon Press.
Khalidi, Rashid (1991), ‘Arab Nationalism: Historical Problems in the Literature’, The American Historical Review 96(5): 1363- 1373.
Roy, Olivier (1994) ‘Patronage and Solidarity Groups: survival or reformation?,’, in Ghassan Salame (ed.), Democracy Without Democrats. London: I.B. Taurus.
Said, Edward (1978) Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.
Salame, Ghassan (1990) "‘Strong’ and ‘Weak’ States: A Qualified Return to the Muqaddimah" in Giacomo Luciani (ed.). The Arab State. London: Routledge.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
The online library
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 7 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 18/04/2017 |
| Last revision date | 02/06/2023 |
