State and Society in the Gulf (ARAM111)
This module description relates to the academic year 2012/3.
| Lecturer(s) | Dr Marc Valeri |
|---|---|
| Module level | M |
| Credit Value | 15.00 |
| ECTS Value | 7.5 |
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Co-requisites | None |
| Duration of Module | One Term |
| Total Student Study Time | 150 hours (22 classroom,128 independent study) |
Aims
ARAM111 is a 15 credit version of ARAM111A (worth 30 credits). It deals with the relationship between state and society in the Gulf Arab States (Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman) at the end of the 20th and in the early 21st centuries. It covers a period of dramatic change in politics and society, and aims at providing a critical understanding of the area by analyzing continuities in state/society relations before and during the oil era. It is structured around main themes which provide a comparative perspective on the interaction between political and social actors across the region. These themes include state structures and institutions, ideologies of legitimation and resistance, and the formulation of societal responses to socio-economic and political change.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Module-specific skills:
(1) The acquisition of appropriate analytical and conceptual tools in order to understand the complexities and peculiarities of the Gulf States as political and social systems. In particular, an ability to evaluate the impact of modernisation through a critical re-assessment of notions of 'traditional' and 'modern' in the Gulf context.
Discipline-specific skills:
(2) An ability to relate to socio-cultural/political contexts by linking historical processes to present realities.
(3) An ability to engage with theoretical debates from different disciplinary fields in order to refine critical skills and to develop a multi-sided approach to research questions.
Personal and key skills:
(4) Refine awareness of task demands, understanding of assignment requirements.
(5) Skills of organisation of time and resources.
(6) An ability to carry out advanced bibliographical searches in the light of primary and secondary sources available (skills of finding, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources).
Learning/Teaching Methods
Lectures, seminars and class discussion may vary according to student numbers and background. Normally lecturing will underpin students' own preparation for presentation, seminar discussion, brainstorming and assignments.
Assignments
A 2,000-word essay: written feedback and mark (ILO 1-6).
Weekly 500-word "reaction papers" (based on assigned readings): direct feedback through seminar discussion, written comment and mark (ILO 1-6).
Assessment
Five 500-word reaction papers (worth 10% each) and a 2,000-word essay (worth 50%).
Syllabus Plan
Week 1. Introduction and module organisation. Historical background of the state-society dynamics in the Gulf monarchies (politics of oil and rent in the Gulf).
Week 2. Rulers and royal families.
Week 3. Political institutions.
Week 4. Religious references and actors.
Week 5. Opposition forces and reform movements.
Week 6. 'Asabiyya and tribalism: what relevance today?
Week 7. Gender and family.
Week 8. Minorities and national identity.
Week 9. Labour migrations and workers.
Week 10. The Gulf societies and the global: new debates and social dynamics.
Week 11. Towards post-oil states and societies?
Indicative Basic Reading List
The Middle East and North Africa 2010 [or 2011 version when available] (London: Routledge, 2009): chapters on Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE. This reference work, providing a descriptive account of the political histories of these states (as well as lots of information on the economy, and directories of political parties, media organisations, etc, plus a bibliography on each of these states) is always available in AWDU.
Aarts, Paul and Gerd Nonneman (eds.), Saudi Arabia in the Balance (Hurst, 2005).
Crystal, Jill, Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar (Cambridge University Press, 1995).
Davidson, Christopher, The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival (Lynne Rienner, 2005).
Davidson, Christopher, Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success (Hurst, 2008).
Davidson, Christopher, Abu Dhabi: Oil and Beyond (Hurst, 2009).
Dresch, Paul and James Piscatori (eds.), Monarchies and Nations: Globalization and Identity in the Arab States of the Gulf (I.B. Tauris, 2005).
Ehteshami, Anoushiravan & Steven Wright (eds.), Reform in the Middle East Oil Monarchies (Ithaca Press, 2008).
Foley, Sean, The Arab Gulf States: Beyond Oil and Islam (Lynne Rienner, 2010).
Fuller, Graham E. and Rend Rahim Francke, The Arab Shi'a: The Forgotten Muslims (Palgrave McMillan, 2001).
Gause, F. Gregory III, Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States (Council on Foreign Relations Press, 1994).
Herb, Michael, All in the Family: Absolutism, Revolution, and Democracy in the Middle Eastern Monarchies (State University of New York Press, 1999).
Hertog, Steffen, Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia (Cornell University Press, 2010).
Kapiszewski, Andrzej, Nationals and Expatriates: Population and Labour Dilemmas of the Gulf Cooperation Council States (Ithaca Press, 2001).
Khalaf, Abdulhadi and Giacomo Luciani (eds.), Constitutional Reform and Political Participation in the Gulf (Gulf Research Center, 2007).
Kostiner, Joseph (ed.), Middle East Monarchies: The Challenge of Modernity (Lynne Rienner, 2000).
Longva, Anh-Nga, Walls Built on Sand: Migration, Exclusion and Society in Kuwait (Westview Press, 1999).
al-Naqeeb, Khaldun H., Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula (Centre for Arab Unity Studies, 1990).
Niblock, Tim, Saudi Arabia: Power, Legitimacy and Survival (Routledge, 2006).
Nonneman, Gerd, 'Rentiers and Autocrats, Monarchs and Democrats, State and Society', in International Affairs, Vol. 77, No. 1 (January 2001), pp. 175-195.
al-Rasheed, Madawi, A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2002).
al-Rasheed, Madawi (ed.), Kingdom without Borders: Saudi Political, Religious and Media Frontiers (Hurst, 2008).
Teitelbaum, Joshua (ed.), Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf (Hurst, 2009).
Tetreault, Mary-Ann, Stories of Democracy: Politics and Society in Contemporary Kuwait (Columbia University Press, 2000)
Valeri, Marc, Oman: Politics and Society in the Qaboos State (Hurst/Columbia University Press, 2009).
Indicative web based resources e.g. ELE:
- The course will have its own page on Moodle;
- Students have access to Gulf States Newsletter (GSN) both electronically and via AWDU (IAIS);
- Human Rights Watch (Middle East) produces good reports on the Gulf states: http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-east/n-africa
Further case-specific readings will be indicated prior to the relevant sessions.
