Module ARAM235 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
ARAM235: Contemporary History and Politics of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
The main objective of the module is to provide you with specialised knowledge and critical understanding of the main themes and dynamics in the contemporary history and politics of the Gulf monarchies and Yemen, at the domestic, regional and global levels. This module aims particularly at developing an understanding of processes of political and economic changes in these countries, and of the way these processes have shaped the existing political and economic realities of the broader Middle East. The course will thus equip you to analyse and make informed and critical evaluation of the contemporary politics and economy of the Arabian Peninsula.
A further aim of the course is to develop your analytical thinking skills as independent researchers and to develop intellectual ability to place issues discussed in a wider context, beyond common knowledge immediately available in the media, or conventional readings of the region’s politics and history.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Identify and critically assess the main themes and dynamics in the contemporary history, politics and economy of the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula, including the historical foundations of power and economic structures; the political and economic impact of oil; and the narratives of power and resistance. 2. Demonstrate an ability to use different analytical approaches and concepts towards the study of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula's contemporary history, and political and social systems. 3. Demonstrate an ability to locate, appraise and use main sources of information and data relating to the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Demonstrate an ability to draw from broader concepts in contemporary history, politics and political economy and to compare the Arabian Peninsula with other regions of the world. 5. Demonstrate an ability to connect political and economic factors and dynamics in their domestic-international linkages. 6. Demonstrate an ability to embrace a multi-disciplinary approach in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic. |
Personal and Key Skills | 7. Demonstrate an ability to analyse and assess academic texts and prevailing notions critically. 8. Demonstrate skills of reasoned and supported argumentation in writing. 9. Demonstrate skills of finding, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, the syllabus will cover all of the following topics:
- Introduction and Module Organisation
- How to Think about Legitimacy, Ideology, and Power
- Foundational Histories: Colonialism, Conquest, and Modern Statehood
- Imperialism and Capitalism in Arabia and the Indian Ocean in the 19th Century
- 20th-Century Political Movements, Uprisings and Rebellions
- The History of Oil and the Practice of Statecraft; Rentierism and its Critics
- Current Political and Economic Dynamics of Capitalism
- Islam and Politics in the Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula 1920-1990
- Contemporary Social and Political Movements (1990-Present) (the Arab Uprisings and Beyond)
- The Gulf in the Global Economy; Post-Oil Economies, and Business Elites
- Narratives of the Future: ‘Visions’, Revolutions, and Reforming Princes
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 | 108 | Essay (72 hours reading, 36 hours writing) |
Guided independent study | 80 | Weekly reading (10 x 8 hours per week) |
Guided independent study | 90 | Reaction notes (5 x 12 hours reading, 6 hours writing) |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Other Learning Resources
Gulf States Newsletter (GSN) and the Economist Intelligence Unit’s reports on the Gulf states, electronically;
The International Crisis Group’s reports at www.crisisgroup.org;
Human Rights Watch (Middle East) produces good reports on the states of the Arabian Peninsula: http://www.hrw.org/en/middle-east/n-africa
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Class discussions | Weekly, during class | 1-7; 9 | Direct verbal feedback in seminar |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 50 | 4,000 words | 1-9 | Written feedback (and verbal feedback during office hours, if needed) |
Reaction notes | 50 | 5 x 700 words | 1-9 | Written and verbal feedback |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay (4,000 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Reaction notes | Reaction notes (5 x 700 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Achcar, Gilbert. The People Want. A Radical Exploration of the Arab Uprising (London: Saqi, 2013)
Al-Rasheed, Madawi. A History of Saudi Arabia (Cambridge University Press, 2002; 2nd ed.: 2010).
Bishara, Fahad. A Sea of Debt: Law and Economic Life in the Western Indian Ocean, 1780-1950 (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
Hanieh, Adam. Money, Markets and Monarchies. The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Contemporary Middle East (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
Lacroix, Stéphane. Awakening Islam. The Politics of Religious Dissent in Contemporary Saudi Arabia (Harvard University Press, 2011).