The Making of the Modern Arab Gulf (ARAM100)
This module description relates to the academic year 2012/3.
| Lecturer(s) | Dr James Onley |
|---|---|
| Module level | M |
| Credit Value | 30.00 |
| ECTS Value | 15 |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | None |
| Duration of Module | One Term |
| Total Student Study Time | 300 hours (including 11 x 2 hour lecture/seminars, remainder independent work) |
Aims
ARAM100 provides an in-depth historical understanding of Gulf Arab countries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It examines key issues in the politics and society of the region before the discovery of oil and focuses on different processes of state formation which affected the area in the 20th century. It is designed to highlight the multi-faceted nature of Gulf polities, and to provide a continuity/change perspective on themes of regional unity versus political fragmentation. It also aims at a critical understanding of past and present historiography on the region. This is a compulsory module for the MA in Gulf Studies.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Module-specific skills:
1. Demonstrate an ability to master analytical and conceptual tools which are appropriate to the study of this region, particularly in the context of the Middle East as area studies.
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of Gulf polities in the modern era through a critical evaluation of political, social and cultural trends.
Discipline-specific skills:
3. Demonstrate an ability to evaluate historical change through an understanding of primary and secondary sources produced by locals and outsiders.
4. Demonstrate an ability to learn how to handle historical materials under tutor guidance.
5. Demonstrate an ability to relate case studies from the region to conceptual and theoretical frameworks in order to foster original and innovative thinking.
Personal and key skills:
6. Demonstrate an awareness of task-demands, understanding of assignment requirements and organisation of time and resources.
7. Demonstrate an ability to carry out advanced bibliographical searches given the nature of primary and secondary sources available.
Learning/Teaching Methods
Learning and teaching methods may vary from time to time according to student numbers and background. Teaching sessions will normally include lecturing, class discussion and seminars focussing on individual presentations or on specific learning tasks. Emphasis will be placed on the evaluation of selected primary and secondary sources.
Assignments
Weekly 400-word "reaction papers" (based on assigned readings) and a 4,000-word essay. Feedback: written and oral comment (ILO 1-7).
Assessment
Ten 400-word "reaction papers" (worth 50%) and a 4,000-word essay (worth 50%). Feedback: written and oral comment (ILO 1-7).
Syllabus Plan
Week 1 - Introduction
Week 2 - The Pax Britannica, 1835-1971
Week 3 - Merchants and Trade before Oil
Week 4 - Tribalism, Political Elites, and State Formation
Week 5 - Informal Empire: The Early Modernisation of Bahrain
Week 6 - Formal Empire: Iraq from Ottoman Rule to Independence
Week 7 - Contested Borders: Iraq and Kuwait
Week 8 - Wahhabi Islam, the Al-Saud, and the Creation of Saudi Arabia
Week 9 - Oman: The Challenge of Political Fragmentation
Week 10 - The Politics of Cultural Diversity Amongst Gulf Arabs
Week 11 - The History of Oil
Indicative Basic Reading List
F. Anscombe, The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar (1997).
J. Crystal, Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar (1995).
T. Dodge. Inventing Iraq. The Failure of Nation-Building and a History Denied (2003).
H. Fattah, The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia and the Gulf 1745-1900 (1997).
M. Field, The Merchants: The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States (1984).
N. Fuccaro. Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf. Manama since 1800 (2009).
F. Heard-Bey, From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates (2004).
M. Herb, All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (1999).
F. Khuri, Tribe and State in Bahrain: The Transformation of Social and Political Authority in an Arab State (1980).
G. Fuller & R. Francke, The Arab Shi'a: The Forgotten Muslims (1999).
P. Lienhardt, Shaikhdoms of Eastern Arabia (2001).
J. Onley. The Arabian Frontier of the British Raj. Merchants, Rulers and British in the 19th Century Gulf (2008).
M. al-Rasheed. A History of Saudi Arabia (2010).
C. Tripp. A History of Iraq (2007).
R. S. Zahlan, The Making of the Modern Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (1998).
Indicative web based resources e.g. ELE:
The course will have its own page on Moodle.
Other resources:
AWDU (IAIS): http://as.exeter.ac.uk/library/about/awdu/
Gulf Research Centre (Dubai): www.grc.ae
