GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST

Transcription

1 GEOGRAPHY OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST SPRING 2009 DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY UVM MW 6:15 7:30 pm 200 Lafayette Reecia Orzeck / Professor 212 Old Mill / Office Thursday 1-4:00 pm or by appointment / Hours reecia.orzeck@uvm.edu / DESCRIPTION Western representations of the Middle East generally portray the region as both fundamentally different from what lies beyond its borders and all but entirely homogenous internally (with Israel as the exception). Not only do representations like these obscure the similarities between different regions and the diversity within them, they also foreclose any consideration of how regions transform one another or are transformed by global processes. In the case of the Middle East, representations that emphasize the other-ness of the region conceal the role that the West has played and continues to play in shaping it. In this class, a historical-geographical perspective will bring the evolving relationship between the East and the West into view, affording us a critical perspective on both the region itself and the representations of it that we encounter in our everyday lives. We will spend most of the semester exploring the modern historical-geography of the Middle East, with special emphasis on the events that have had decisive effects on the region as a whole. Bracketing this exploration will be two modules devoted to discussing problems of knowledge and representation, a crucial task if we are to understand some of the controversies that have arisen over academic and media bias when it comes to this region. In the first module, we will discuss academic representations of the region, and in the second, entertainment and news media representations. We will not be able to address all of the countries or peoples of the region, nor all of the issues relevant to it, in this class. The final project is meant to allow students to explore an interest of theirs that has not been covered in the class, and to present the fruits of their research on this topic to their peers. REQUIRED READINGS E. H. Carr What is History? Marjane Satrapi Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Kylie Baxter and Shahram Akbarzadeh US Foreign Policy in the Middle East All other readings will be available as course reserves on the course s Blackboard site.

2 GEOG 196 / p.2 LEARNING OUTCOMES & EXPECTATIONS The primary goal of this course is to give students the historical-geographical perspective they need in order to think critically about the representations of the Middle East that they encounter in their everyday lives. The course s secondary goal is to help students improve their ability to communicate that thinking to others. Critical thinking requires two crucial inputs: information and the conceptual tools necessary for making sense of that information. For the most part, students will get these inputs from the class lectures and the readings. Students are therefore expected to attend lectures on a regular basis and to keep up with the readings. Note that class lectures will rarely repeat or synthesize the readings. Attending class is not a substitute for doing the readings and doing the readings is not a substitute for regular class attendance and good note-taking. If you cannot attend class on a given day, arrange to borrow notes from one of your classmates. Students are also expected to help create and sustain a classroom environment that is conducive to learning in all its forms. This means keeping distractions to an absolute minimum (by turning off cell phones and refraining from whispering, for example). It also means, more broadly, treating one another, yourselves, and me with respect. This is not a prohibition on classroom debate and disagreement, both of which are encouraged, it is a reminder that even during heated exchanges students will be expected to address each other constructively and collegially. In addition to consuming knowledge by doing the readings and attending lectures, students will also be expected to produce knowledge. Using materials to which they have been exposed in class as well as primary and secondary source materials that they have found on their own, students will be expected to develop their own analyses of representations of the Middle East, and to communicate these to me and to their peers. Students are expected to participate in all class activities geared towards improving their ability to access and analyze information, and towards helping them formulate and articulate their own arguments. Finally, students are expected to take responsibility for their education. This means seeking help if you are having any kind of difficulty with the course, with your course load, or with college life. Please feel free to see me during my office hours for assistance with course material. You are also welcome to see me if you are not sure how to locate the services that will help you address other challenges you may be facing. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, speak with any of the staff at the Center for Student Ethics and Standards (CSES) or have a look at their website: A handbook containing the UVM Code of Academic Integrity is also available through CSES. I urge you to get a copy of this document if you do not already have one. By January 28 th 2009, students who require any special assistance should be sure that both ACCESS and myself are aware of their needs. See the ACCESS website if you have questions about how UVM can accommodate you: By the same date, college athletes and students whose religious holidays are not accommodated by the UVM academic calendar should let me know when they will be absent from class because of their athletic or religious commitments.

3 GEOG 196 / p.3 EVALUATION ~ Attendance 15% Unannounced quizzes 5% each 25% Tests 5%; 10% 30% Position papers 10% 30% Group media analysis project: 5% 5% Written Report (1,000 20% Abstract due: 4/6 Presentations: 4/27 and 4/29 Report due: 5/1 by noon Attendance is mandatory. Students are permitted two free misses, after which they will be docked 3% of their final grade for every unexcused absence. Students with more than 6 unexcused absences will fail the course. The unannounced quizzes are meant to ensure that students are doing the readings and coming to class regularly. There will be four quizzes over the course of the semester, but students will be able to drop their lowest quiz grade. If you miss a quiz your grade will be recorded as 0/5. The first test will be a map quiz. It is meant to ensure that all students in the class have a basic familiarity with the region. The subsequent two tests will assess your understanding of the information and the concepts covered in the readings and in class. You will be able to bring a single sheet of paper with notes to class on the test days. The position papers are meant to encourage you to think actively and critically about what you are reading and to give you practice at making and defending an argument a basic skill in academia as in life. Of six position paper options, you must chose three. Papers should be between 400 and 500 words, typed and double-spaced. If you have to miss a class on which a position paper is due, arrange to submit your paper to the instructor beforehand. Late papers will not be accepted. The final assignment for this class is a group media analysis project. In groups of 5, you will conduct a comparative study of the media coverage of any event in the Middle East. Each group will select its own event as well as the media outlets to be compared. Groups are responsible for submitting an abstract that is subject to the instructor s approval, for carrying out the research, writing a report, and presenting their findings to the rest of the class.

4 GEOG 196 / p.4 CLASS SCHEDULE Part I: Problems of knowledge and representation: Academia Week 1 01/12 01/14 E.H. Carr, : The Historian and His Facts Stanley Fish Save the world on your own time Week 2 1/19 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday 1/21 E.H. Carr : Society and the Individual, 3: History, Science, and Morality, and 4: Causation in History Position paper 1 due 1/21: What is the role of politics in academic research and in the classroom? Week 3 1/26 Samuel Huntington Clash of Civilizations 1/28 Test # 1 Part II: A historical-geography of the Modern Middle East Week 4 Colonialism and Decolonization 2/2 Jean-Paul Sartre Colonialism is a System 2/4 --- Position paper 2 due 2/4: Does the film The Battle of Algiers endorse or upset Samuel Huntington s claim that the Islamic world and the West represent different cultures that are bound to clash? Week 5 2/9 Baxter and Akbarzadeh Introduction and 1: The Middle East in the Colonial Period 2/11 Edward Said Orientalism (excerpts)

5 GEOG 196 / p.5 Week 6 Israel and Palestine 2/16 President s Day Holiday 2/18 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : Great Power Influences, Zionism and the Middle East Benny Morris The Causes and Character of the Arab Exodus from Palestine or Nur Masalha A Critique of Benny Morris or Gabriel Piterberg Erasures Week 7 2/23 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : Israel and the Arabs at War 2/25 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : The Failure to Find Peace and the Role of the US Michael Ben-Yair The War s Seventh Day Position paper 3 due 2/25: Craft a statement suggesting a just settlement of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict that could have been presented before the United Nations either after the 1948 war, after the 1967 war, or today. Week 8 Iran and Iraq 3/2 Baxter and Akbarzadeh. Chapter 4: Islamism and the Iranian Revolution 3/4 Test # 2 Week 9 Spring Recess Week 10 3/16 Brian Whitaker Arabic under fire Virginia Tilley Putting Words in Ahmadinejad's Mouth 3/18 Marjane Satrapi Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Position paper 4 due 3/18: How does Persepolis confirm or contradict what you know about Iran either from sources like Baxter and Akbarzadeh or from the newsmedia? Week 11 3/23 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : Wars in the Persian Gulf 3/25 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : The Iraq Adventure and Arab Perceptions of the US

6 GEOG 196 / p.6 Week 12 Afghanistan 3/30 Baxter and Akbarzadeh : Proxy War: the Superpowers in Afghanistan 4/1 Lila Abu-Lughod Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Position paper 5 due 4/1: Write an op-ed piece about the French headscarf ban explaining whether or not you agree with it. Week 13 4/6 Library tutorial 4/8 Test # 3 Part III: Problems of knowledge and representation: The mass media Week 13 4/6 Group project abstracts due Film: Reel Bad Arabs 4/8 Jane Mayer Whatever It Takes Week 14 4/13 Edward Said Islam and the West 4/15 Greg Philo and Mike Berry Bad news from Israel (excerpts) Week 15 4/20 Group projects 4/22 Group projects Position paper 6 due 4/15: Design a short survey that will allow you to assess three friends understandings of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Discuss whether and how your findings differ from Philo and Berry s. Week 16 4/27 Group project presentations 4/29 Group project presentations Papers due by noon on 5/1