Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA2162: Political Economy of Development in the Middle East

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

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The list of topics for the class sessions are as follows:

  • General presentation of the module and group formation.
  • The question of development; Rich and poor states in the Middle East.
  • Human Development, income and wealth distribution.
  • The oil market; OPEC and OAPEC.
  • Oil and economic development: the rentier state and beyond?
  • Water in development and conflict in the MENA region.
  • Population and labor migration in the MENA region.
  • Regional integration in the Arab world.
  • Political and economic liberalization in the MENA region.
  • Globalization and the Middle East.
  • Middle Eastern economies: beyond oil and gas?

Learning and Teaching

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
221280

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled learning and teaching activities136.5 hours of lectures and 6.5 hours of convenor-facilitated student discussions regarding materials covered in lectures
Scheduled learning and teaching activities96 hours of group presentations and 3 hours of class discussion regarding presentations
Guided Independent Study33Reading for class (approximately 90 pages of material across 3 readings per class)
Guided Independent Study95Preparing for assignments through researching, planning and writing essays

Online Resources

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

The corresponding ELE page is located here: http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=46.

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 assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Class discussionDuring lectures and seminars1-6, 8,9Direct 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.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Group presentation (x2)5015-20 minutes + 1000 word document summarizing main points (1 document per group)1-9Written
Essay502500 words1-7,9Written
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 assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Group presentation (x2)Presentation to module convenor. See re-assessment note below.1-9August/Sept re-assessment period
EssayEssay (2500 words)1-7, 9August/Sept re-assessment period

Re-assessment notes

For the purposes of re-assessment, the number of presentations depends on how many were missed (i.e. 2 presentations missed means 2 separate presentations that must be re-assessed). If it is an individual rather than a group who needs to undertake a re-assessed presentation, then the presentation should be 7-10 minutes in length (rather than 15-20 minutes) and the document summarizing the main points should be 500 words (rather than 1000 words). 

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).

Ayubi, Nazih. Over-stating the Arab State: Politics and Society in the Middle East(London: I.B. Tauris, 1995).

Hanieh, Adam. Lineages of Revolt. Issues of Contemporary Capitalism in the Middle East (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2013).

Henry, Clement, and Robert Springborg. Globalization and the Politics of Development in the Middle East (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, 2nd ed.).

Richards, Alan, John Waterbury, Melani Cammett and Ishac Diwan. A Political Economy of the Middle East (Oxford: Westview, 3rd edition updated, 2013).

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Arab Human Development Reports. Available at: (http://www.arab-hdr.org/).