Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA1036: Histories of the Middle East, 600-1800 C.E.

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The primary aim of this module is to provide an introduction (including for those of you with no prior background) to the complex history of the Middle East utilising a variety of sources and providing relevant social and historical context. An important secondary aim (which is indispensable for fulfilling the primary aim) is to help you become aware of and begin to appreciate the multi-faceted nature of Middle Eastern polities. The module also aims to provide you with an introduction to the major themes, issues, and events in Middle Eastern history. This context will help you to appreciate how historians interpret the past and the nature of scholarly debate about different interpretations of that past, allowing you to participate with confidence in these debates, as well as providing you with a sound basis for your future studies.

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. demonstrate your knowledge of some key themes, issues, and events in modern Middle Eastern history 2. identify and explain in your own words (orally and in writing) major themes, issues, and events in Middle Eastern history
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. demonstrate understanding of how history is written and to appreciate that history is only the attempt to represent and explain the past, it is not the past itself 4. read history critically 5. discuss and debate different historical explanations of past events. 6. respect different points of view about the past
Personal and Key Skills	7. think critically about issues and events. 8. examine the motives underlying human action

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 to all of the following topics:

Lecture - Studying the Middle East and Islamic history
Seminar - Historiography and periodisation
Lecture - The pre-Islamic Middle East
Seminar - Source analysis and material remains
Lecture -The rise and expansion of Islam
Seminar - Intellectual history and histories of religions
Lecture - The Umayyad and Abbasid empires: religion and daily life
Seminar - Social history
Lecture - Al-Andalus: identity and community
Seminar - Secondary sources
Lecture - Islamic thought: philosophy, politics, science and art
Seminar - Varieties of history
Lecture - The Crusades and the history of the west in the Islamic world
Seminar - Orientalism
Lecture - The Ottoman empire: trade and economy
Seminar - Economic history
Lecture - Imperial history
Seminar - Historiography of empires, nations and nationalism
Lecture - Islam and the connected worlds of the Middle East and Asia
Seminar - Transnational history
Lecture - Gendered histories of the Middle East
Seminar - Gender history

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 and Teaching activity	11	11 x 1 hr lectures covering the topics listed in the syllabus plan
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity	11	11 x 1 hr class discussions of pre-assigned reading
Guided independent study	38	Reading for, and reflecting on, seminars
Guided independent study	30	Completing essay proposal based on research of the literature
Guided independent study	60	Preparing for and completing summative assignments

Online Resources

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