The Making of the Modern Arab Gulf (ARAM100A)
This module description relates to the academic year 2011/2.
| Lecturer(s) | Dr James Onley |
|---|---|
| Module level | M |
| Credit Value | 15.00 |
| ECTS Value | 7.5 |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | |
| Duration of Module | One semester |
| Total Student Study Time | 150 (22 classroom,128 independent study) |
Aims
ARAM100A is a 15 credit version of ARAM100 (worth 30 credits). It 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.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Module-specific skills:
1. 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. 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. An ability to evaluate historical change through an understanding of primary and secondary sources produced by locals and outsiders.
4. As this module is designed for students from different disciplinary background in the humanities and social sciences, they will learn to handle historical materials under tutor guidance.
5. They will also refine their 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. Refine awareness of task-demands, understanding of assignment requirements and organisation of time and resources.
7. 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 500-word "reaction papers" (based on assigned readings) and a 2,000-word essay. Feedback: written and oral comment (ILO 1-7).
Assessment
Five 500-word "reaction papers" (worth 10% each) and a 2,000-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 - No class (reading break)
Week 9 - Wahhabi Islam, the Al-Saud, and the Creation of Saudi Arabia
Week 10 - Oman: The Challenge of Political Fragmentation
Week 11 - The Politics of Cultural Diversity Amongst Gulf Arabs
Week 12 - The History of Oil
Indicative Basic Reading List
Fred Anscombe, The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar (1997).
Glen Balfour-Paul, The End of Empire in the Middle East: Britain's Relinquishment of Power in Her Last Three Arab Dependencies (1991).
Jill Crystall, Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar (1990, 1995).
Hala Fattah, The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia and the Gulf 1745-1900 (1997).
Michael Field, The Merchants: The Big Business Families of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States (1984).
Frauke Heard-Bey, From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates (1982, 1996, 2004).
Michael Herb, All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (1999).
Fuad Khuri, Tribe and State in Bahrain: The Transformation of Social and Political Authority in an Arab State (1980).
Graham Fuller & Rend Francke, The Arab Shi'a: The Forgotten Muslims (1999).
Peter Lienhardt, Shaikhdoms of Eastern Arabia (2001).
Rosemarie Said Zahlan, The Making of the Modern Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (1989, 1998).
