Postgraduate Module Descriptor

ARAM210: Themes and Conflicts in Iranian History and Culture

This module descriptor refers to the 2020/1 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

Pre-Islamic Iran; devolved rule, religion and the nature of kingship
The Islamic conquest; Continuity and change; perceptions and significance
Invasions and resurgence from Seljuk to Timurid (c900 AD to 1450)
Sufism and the great Persian poets
The Safavids and the nature of Iranian Shiism
Nader Shah and the 18th century interregnum
The Qajars and the Constitutional Revolution; humiliation and liberalism
Reza Shah, the army and development
Writers and intellectual movements in the twentieth century
Mohammad Reza Shah, Mossadeq and Khomeini

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	11 x 2 hour seminars
Guided independent study	120	Readings for class
Guided independent study	40	Preparation of presentations
Guided independent study	118	Research and writing of 2 essays

Online Resources

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

ELE

Other Learning Resources

Encyclopedia Iranica (http://www.iranica.com/)