HIST 216

History of the Middle East

Spring 2011

Instructor: Nadir Özbek

Class Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 9:30-10:45
Class Room: SOS Z21
Office: SOS Z13E
Office Hours: Tuesday: 13:00-15:00 and by appointment.

Course Contents:
This course will be an introduction to the history of the modern Middle East (West Asia and
North Africa). The course begins with an overview of the early history of the region and
nineteenth and twentieth century social and political transformations in the Middle East. We
move quickly to examine contemporary social and political issues in the Middle East from the
perspective of its recent history and will treat the region’s history within the broader context
of world history. We will focus on domestic developments in various states: Revolution in
Egypt, Iraq and the Gulf War, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the 1979 Revolution in Iran, and
the rise of political Islam in Algeria.
Format:
This is a lecture course, with ample time for discussion. Films will be shown on issues related
to social and political life in the Middle East. There will be a midterm exam during the
semester and a final examination.
Course Requirements and Grades:
You are expected to attend lectures, keep up with the readings, and participate in class
discussions. Your grade will be based on a mid-term exam, a final exam, and your
attendance/class participation. Exams may include questions from class lectures that are not
in your assigned readings. The format of these exams will be explained in more detail before
they are given. Students are expected to come to class having done the readings. Active
participation to class discussions and attention to the lectures are expected.
The following breakdown will determine your final grades.
Midterm exam: 40 %
Final exam: 40 %
Attendance: 10 %
Map Quiz: 10 %

Map Quiz:
There will be a map quiz during the semester. The quiz will test your knowledge about
Middle Eastern geography, countries, seas and geopolitical locations. The quiz is based on
your general knowledge, and a map exercise and tutorial will be made in the classroom.

Course Materials:
Textbooks:
Laychi, Azzedine. Global Studies: The Middle East. 13 ed. New York: McGrawHill, 2010.
A course-pack is available at the copy center.

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Class Schedule:
Week I-II: Introduction: The Middle East Theater of Conflict.
Readings:
(1) Halliday, Fred. The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics and Ideology.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. pp.1-17
(2) Layachi, pp.4-18
(3) Whitaker, Brian. Middle of Where? (Layachi, pp.206-207)
(4) Stewart, Dona J. Geography and the Middle East (Layachi, pp.208-210)
Film:
Bernard Lewis on the Middle East in Transition, Recorded Live at the 92ND Street Y in New
York City (September 9, 2004)

Week III: The 19th Century Ottoman Background

(5) Quataert, Donald. The Ottoman Empire, 1700-1922. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2001, pp.54-73

Week IV: World War I and the End of the Ottoman Order
Readings:
(6) Cleveland, William L., and Martin Bunton. A History of the Modern Middle East. 4 ed.
Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2009, pp.149-170
Film:
Blood and Oil: The Middle East in World War I, A Film by Marty Callaghan

Week V: Iraq and the Gulf War

Readings:
(7) Layachi, pp.70-81
(8) Kagan, Kimberly. The Future of Iraq: The Decline of Violence, the Rise of Politics (in
Layachi, pp.220-222)

Week VI: Arab-Israeli Conflict

Readings:
(9) Layachi, pp.82-96
(10) Mead, Walter Russell. Change They Can Believe In (in Layachi, pp.233-239)
Film:
Documentary: 50 Years War / British Empire in Color

Week VII: Review and Midterm Exam

Week VIII-IX: Egypt

Readings:
(11) Layachi, pp.43-53
(12) Slackman, Michael. Stifled, Egypt’s Young Turn to Islamic Fervor (in Layachi, pp.211-
214)
Film:
The Place I Call Home, A Film by Tamer Ezzat

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Week X: Lebanon
Readings:
(13) Layachi, pp.111-118
(14) Berti, Benedetta. “Electoral Reform in Lebanon (in Layachi, pp. 229-231)
Film:
Lebanon Summer 2006, A Film by Cedric Troadec

Week XI: Iran

Readings:
(15) Layachi, pp.54-69
(16) Abrahamian, Ervand. A History of Modern Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2008, pp.155-195
Film:
Letters from Iran: A Film by Nezam Manouchehri

Week XII: Algeria

Readings:
(17) Layachi, pp.27-37.
Film:
The Battle of Algiers

Week XIII: Review and Final Exam