Module POC2090 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POC2090: Violence, Conflict and Religion in the Middle East
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.
Module Aims
This module will:
1. Provide you with the basis for developing a systematic understanding of the current political and security challenges to the Middle East.
2. Develop an advanced understanding of the socio-political and historical processes, and major political, social, ideological and religious factors that have led, or contributed, to the current instabilities in the Middle East.
3. Introduce you to a variety of different theoretical perspectives to studying the region's politics and some of the principal academic debates surrounding the study of the region.
4. Enable you to practice your analytical and presentation skills in both written and oral form.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate an advanced understanding and awareness of the important political and security challenges in the contemporary Middle East; 2. develop an appreciation of the socio-political and historical process and factors that have led, or contributed, to the current instabilities in the region; 3. recognise some of the main concepts and debates surrounding the study of the Middle East, and discuss them in relation to the current events in the region; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. locate and engage with an array of material, involving web-based data, academic journals and news sources, in order to develop in-depth knowledge of particular issues; 5. formulate, articulate, and defend your own well-structured or reasoned arguments in the light of appropriate evidence; 6. abstract theoretical ideas and concepts to actual events and outcomes; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. formulate and present information and critical analysis, in both written and oral forms, in a coherent manner; 8. deliver presentations to peers; 9. understand assessment criteria, engage in critical yet constructive peer-evaluation and produce feedback and suggestions for improvement; 10. use ICT as a tool for accessing appropriate resources; 11. work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
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:
1. Introduction to the module: “What is going on in the Middle East?”
2. Drawing a line in the sand? 100 years since Sykes-Picot: the deal that changed the Middle East
3. Making of the Modern Middle East: Nationalism
4. Conflict and Violence: Ethnicity, Identity, and Religion
5. Legacy of Colonialism and Foreign Meddling
6. Economic Challenges
7. Violence, Conflict, and Religion: the case studies
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 | 128 | 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 & Teaching activities | 11 | Lectures and discussion facilitated by the convenor |
| Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities | 11 | Seminars guided by questions and readings assigned by the convenor |
| Guided independent study | 37 | Reading and preparing for seminars |
| Guided independent study | 36 | Research and preparation of student-led seminar |
| Guided independent study | 15 | Researching and Preparing for examination practice |
| Guided independent study | 40 | Researching and Preparing for unseen examination |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
Al-Jazeera-www.english.aljazeera.net
Institute for the Study of War- http://www.understandingwar.org/
Other Learning Resources
Syria: Reckoning (2013, Aljazeera)
ISIS: "Islamic" Extremism? (2014, Mojtaba Masood)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peer reviews of presentations | 5 minutes | 1-6, 9 | Oral |
| Examination practice sessions | 300-500 words | 1-7,11 | Oral |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 65 | 35 |
...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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student-led Seminar | 35 | 15 min per student | 1-10 | Verbal and Written |
| Examination | 65 | 1.5 hours | 1-7,9-11 | Written |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student-led Seminar | Presentation Report (1000 words) | 1-7, 9,10 | August/September assessment period |
| Examination | 1.5 hours | 1-7, 9-11 | August/September assessment 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.
Cammett, M. (2015) A Political Economy of the Middle East. Boulder: Westview Press
Dalacoura, K. (2011) Islamist Terrorism and Democracy in the Middle East. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press
Fawcett, L. (ed) (2009) International Relations of the Middle East, Oxford: Oxford University Press
Halliday, F. (1996) Islam and the Myth of Confrontation: Religion and Politics in the Middle East, London: I. B. Tauris
Halliday, Fred (2005) The Middle East in International Relations: Power Politics & Ideology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Kamrava, M. (2011)The Modern Middle East: A Political History Since the First World War. London: California University Press Ltd.
Milton-Edwards, B. (2006) Contemporary Politics in the Middle East. Cambridge: Polity
Said, E. (1978) Orientalism, New York: Vintage Books.
