Undergraduate Module Descriptor

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

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

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 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 activity1111 x 1 hr lectures covering the topics listed in the syllabus plan
Scheduled Learning and Teaching activity1111 x 1 hr class discussions of pre-assigned reading
Guided independent study38Reading for, and reflecting on, seminars
Guided independent study30Completing essay proposal based on research of the literature
Guided independent study60Preparing for and completing summative assignments

Online Resources

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