Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA3140: The Kurds: History and Politics

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

Module Aims

This module will introduce you to the social and political history of the Kurds, the largest stateless nation and the largest group in the Middle East after Arabs, Persians and Turks. They have begun to play a prominent role in the complex politics and social transformation of the Middle East, which are difficult to understand without a grasp of the Kurds’ long and complicated history. The module aims to give you an understanding of the social and political history of the Kurds in relation to the global context, and to help you analyse their political organisation and the evolution of the society from a range of perspectives. The module will encourage you to critically examine the social and political history of the Kurds, considering issues of social organisation, nationalism, political party formation, identity and religion, migration, diaspora, and mobility, gender, political economy, regional and international relations.

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 a detailed understanding of the political historical developments of the different parts in Kurdistan in a global context. 2. Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the social and economical transformation of Kurdistan and Kurdish society since the late 19th century 3. Demonstrate objective analysis of the Kurds interaction with the dominant states of the region.
Discipline-Specific Skills	4. Discuss and analyze historical material. 5. Apply a multi-disciplinary approach in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of a particular ethno-national group. 6. Distinguish between a range of methodological approaches as well as variety of genres, i.e. historical, political or anthropological and sociological texts, (auto)biographical writings and fiction.
Personal and Key Skills	7. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment. 8. Analyze and assess literature and various resources critically 9. Engage in independent study in group or individually

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:

The Historiography of the Kurds and Kurdistan

The Kurds between two empires (the Ottomans and the Safavids)

Kurds and Kurdistan in the first World War

Kurdish nationalism and the question of identity

Religious identities and politics in Kurdistan

The Kurdish national movement and the states (Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria)

Kurds, actors of Middle-Eastern Regional politics

The Diasporisation of the Kurdish People

The Kurdish political movement and transformation of gender roles

Kurdistan, war, and the global economy

War and the transformation of society in Kurdistan

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	22	Classroom hours (11 x 2 hours seminars)
Guided Independent study	55	Weekly Reading and class preparation 5 hours x 11
Guided Independent study	20	Reading and writing up of book review
Guided Independent study	25	Project (15 hours researching/coordinating; 10 hours writing/preparing presentation)
Guided Independent study	28	Essay (18 hours reading, 10 hours writing)

Online Resources

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