Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ARAM187: The Middle East before 1945

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

This module examines major social and political themes in the history of the modern Middle East between 1800 and 1945

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. An understanding of the historical development of the Middle East during 1800-1945 from a continuity/change and comparative perspectives, particularly in the social and political fields. 2. At the end of the module the students will develop a multi-sided approach to the major themes of the history of the period. 3. In particular they will be able to critically discuss these themes through an evaluation of the different approaches to historical research within the field of Middle Eastern studies.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. An ability to work with primary sources under tutor guidance, and to evaluate these in the light of conceptual and theoretical debates. 5. An ability to engage with the cultural/political contexts within which historical literature was produced. An ability to understand themes and ideas of historical change from a multi-disciplinary perspective.
Personal and Key Skills	6. Independent study and group work, including participation in oral discussion 7. Ability to organise data effectively to produce a coherent written argument to a deadline.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Week 1 - Introduction / Middle Eastern Historiography
Week 2 - Local Actors (Old and New Elites)
Week 3 - Outside Actors (Imperialism Powers)
Week 4 - Communities, Tribes, and the State
Week 5 - The Ottoman Empire
Week 6 - No class (reading break)
Week 7 - The Turkish Republic
Week 8 - Egypt
Week 9 - Iran under the Qajars
Week 10 - Iran under the Pahlavis
Week 11 - Palestine and Zionism
Week 12 - The Gulf States before Oil

Teaching sessions will normally include lecturing and class discussion. Emphasis will be placed on the development of critical approaches to mainstream historical literature dealing with the period.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
22	278	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	22 hours	Classroom hours
Guided independent study	278 hours	Independent study

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).