1. HIS 365: HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE EAST
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4 credit hours
Tuesday and Thursday 1:45-3:25, Old Main 313
Instructor: Dr. John Dechant
Email: jdechant@franklincollege.edu; Cell phone: (812) 345-3165; Skype ID: john.dechant1
Office: Old Main 334; Office Hours: Tues. 12:30-1:30, or by appointment
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Course Description:
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The Middle East is subject to a number of misconceptions and stereotypes. Many in the West
believe that its history is one of perpetual turmoil, and its people inherently intolerant, violent,
and “backward.” In reality, the Middle East is a much more complex place. As with the history
of any region, the Middle East has had its ups and downs, witnessing overlapping states of peace
and war, tolerance and persecution, prosperity and poverty, intellectual achievement and brain-
drain, all of which took place as a result of particular social, economic, political, and historical
circumstances.
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The purpose of this course is to therefore introduce and survey the major events, figures, and
religious, social, and intellectual developments of the Middle East from c. 600-present.
Although the temporal and geographic limits of the course make it in a sense an introduction to
Islam, it is not a world history of Islam; a majority of the world’s Muslims live outside of the
Middle East—which for this class is the region from Egypt to Iran, Turkey to Saudi Arabia—
while the region continues to be home for a number of non-Muslim groups that will also receive
some (although less) attention over the semester (Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and others).
While the course covers roughly 1400 years of history, we will be summarizing large stretches of
time in order to allow us to focus on the times, events, and issues most important for
understanding current events in the Middle East.
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Learning Targets:
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Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
-outline the basic history of the region over the time period of the course, with a focus on the
early and modern periods;
-name the major figures, dynasties, and events in early and modern Middle Eastern history;
-define the basic tenants, beliefs, and practices of Islam and its sects;
-summarize some of the cultural and scholarly achievements of the people of the region;
-explain the ways in which modernity (and in particular, Western modernity) has
revolutionized human societies in general and the Middle East in particular;
-discuss the ways in which Muslims have responded to Western imperialism and dominance;
-describe the similarities and differences between Traditionalists, Modernists, and Islamists;
-break down some of the stereotypes and misconceptions commonly held about Islam in the
West today.
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2. Required Texts:
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Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr., and Aomar Boum. A Concise History of the Middle East. 11th ed.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2015. (Available for $10.99 as an ebook at https://
westviewpress.com/books/a-concise-history-of-the-middle-east-eleventh-edition/)
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Khater, Akram Fouad. Sources in the History of the Modern Middle East. 2nd ed. Boston:
Cengage Learning, 2011. (Available for $28.99 as an ebook at ichapters.com)
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All other required readings will also be posted on the course page on Moodle.
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Class Content, Requirements, and Exams:
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The class will be a combination of both lectures and discussions. Both will be supplemented the
readings. To facilitate discussion, for every class labeled below as CDR (“class discussion
readings,” which will be on most Thursdays and the occasional Tuesday), you must submit two
to three questions about that day’s readings to the instructor via email no later than 5 p.m. of the
day before the class meeting. The instructor will cull through the questions and decide which
ones to offer for discussion, lecturing on an issue or offering his own questions if necessary.
Therefore, you must come prepared to answer questions and talk about the readings.
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All students are required to write two 5 page book reviews on a scholarly monograph related to
the topic of this course. I will provide a list of suggested works, while all other books not on that
list must be submitted for approval no later than two weeks before their due date. Our class text
books may not be used.
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This class will have an in-class midterm and a final, which will consist of multiple choice
questions, short identifications and essays, which you will be able to select from a number of
options. In week three of the course, you will also have a short map quiz.
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Students are strongly encouraged to stay up to date with current events from the Middle East
over the course of the semester, and to bring any questions they may have about the news to
class. While the course is laid out chronologically, the instructor will make reference to current
events throughout the course. If a major news story breaks, time will be set aside to discuss it,
and students can expect current events-based extra credit questions on exams. The following are
recommended media outlets that tend to do a good job covering news from the region: The New
York Times, www.bbc.com/news, www.aljazeera.com, and www.juancole.com.
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Altogether, this course will involve learning a large number of new names and terms. The
instructor will distribute study guides comprising lists of key names and terms throughout the
semester. Instead of consulting Google or Wikipedia for definitions, students are encouraged to
consult more reputable resource such as the glossary in Goldschmidt’s A Concise History of the
Middle East or The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, which is available online via the library website.
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3. Method of Assessment and Grading Policy:
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Class attendance and participation (including submission of CDR questions): 25%
Map Quiz: 5%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Book Reviews: 15% each
Final Exam: 20%
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-Students are expected to be present for every class, except of course for legitimate excuses.
-If a student shows improvement over the semester, the latter performance will weigh out the
earlier performance.
-Barring a truly legitimate excuse, the instructor will not accept late assignments; if the student
cannot make it to class on the day when an assignment is due, she or he must either email the
assignment to the instructor by class time or else have a classmate submit it. Truly legitimate
excuses include a real health emergency or a the death of a close relative; they do not include
having a cold or stomach virus.
-Criteria for Grading Exams and papers:
A: Product is well-written, making good use of evidence, and supports the thesis
B: Product has merit, no significant flaws, but not outstanding merit
C: Product is done conscientiously but has significant flaws
D: Product handed in, but the student obviously did not try to do the assignment properly
F: Product not received, or the product was plagiarized or contains plagiarized material
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Plagiarism:
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Franklin College defines plagiarism as: “the use, whether by paraphrase or direct quotation, of
published or otherwise recorded materials or the unpublished work of another person without full
and clear acknowledgment [emphasis mine].” It includes cutting and pasting phrases from a
website without attributing their source. Unintentionally reproducing someone else’s work is in
most cases still plagiarism. If a student is determined to have engaged in plagiarism—following
the process for such an investigation outlined in the student handbook—a first time offender can
expect an F for the assignment in question, if not further penalties. A repeat offender can expect
to be expelled from the college. Students have options for appealing such decisions. For a more
in-depth discussion of the matter, see pp. 11-13 of The Key: A Guide to Student Life 2015-2016,
available at: http://franklincollege.edu/current-students/student-handbook/
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Class Schedule:
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Week 1: Introduction, Geography, and the pre-Islamic Middle East
Thurs., Feb. 4: Goldschmidt, Chapters 1 and 2
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Week 2: Muhammad, the Qur’an, and Beginnings of Islam
Tues., Feb. 9: Goldschmidt, Chapter 3
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4. (Online) Afsaruddin, “Recovering the Early Semantic Purview of Jihad and
Martyrdom”
Thurs., Feb. 11: CDR (Online) Sells, selections from Approaching the Qur’án
(Online) Selection of hadith
(Online) Donner, “Appendix A: The umma Document”
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Week 3: Expansion, Conversion, and Sectarian Division
Map Quiz: Tuesday, February 16
Tues., Feb. 16: Goldschmidt, Chapter 4
Thurs., Feb. 18: CDR (Online) Tabari, account of the death of ‘Uthman
(Online) Shaykh al-Mufid, account of the martyrdom of Husayn
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Week 4: From Caliphal Empire to Commonwealth; Pre-Modern Social History
Tues., Feb. 23: Goldschmidt, Chapters 5, 6, and 8 (to p. 119)
Thurs., Feb. 25: CDR (Online) Ibn Battuta, selections from the Rihla
(Online) Lapidus, “The Golden Age: The Political Concepts of Islam”
Proposals for books not on the list due no later than Thursday, February 25
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Week 5: “The Golden Age”; Sufism; Islamic Law
Tues., Mar. 1: Goldschmidt, Chapter 7
Thurs., Mar. 3: CDR (Online) Rumi, selections from the Masnavi
(Online) Ferdowsi, “The Tale of Sohrab"
(Online) Walbridge, “The Institutionalization of Disagreement”
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Week 6: Islamic Law (con’t); Gender Dynamics; Gunpowder Empires
Tues., Mar. 8: CDR (Online) Tucker, In the House of the Law, pp. 22-77, 179-186
Thurs., Mar. 10: Goldschmidt, Chapter 8 (p. 119 to end), Chapter 9 (to p. 140)
First Book Review due Thursday, March 10
Week 7: Gunpowder Empires (con’t); the Question of Decline; Midterm
Tues., Mar. 15: CDR (Online) McNeill & Waldman, pp. 344-352, 373-391
(Online) Chardin, Travels in Persia, Chapter XII
(Online) Hodgson, “The Great Western Transmutation”
Midterm on Thursday, March 17
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Week 8: Western Imperialism and Responses
Tues., Mar. 22: Goldschmidt, Chapters 9 (p. 139-end), 10, and 11
Thurs., Mar. 24: CDR Khater, Readings 3.2 and 3.5
(Online) Dabashi, “Two Clerical Tracts on Constitutionalism”
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Week 9: Spring Break: Mar. 26-Apr. 3
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5. Week 10: The Beginnings of Arab Nationalism; World War I
Tues., Apr. 5: Goldschmidt, Chapters 12 and 14
Thurs., Apr. 7: CDR Khater, Readings 4.3, 4.8, 4.9, 5.3, 5.4 (to p. 164), 5.6
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Week 11: World War I (con’t); Postwar Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia
Tues., Apr. 12: Goldschmidt, Chapter 13
Thurs., Apr. 14: CDR Khater, Readings 4.5, 5.1, 6.3, 9.3
(Online) McNeill & Waldman, pp. 431-449
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Week 12: Zionism and the Beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; 1950’s
Tues., Apr. 19: Goldschmidt, Chapters 15 and 16
Thurs., Apr. 21: CDR Khater, Readings 4.1, 4.4, 5.4 (p. 164-end), 5.8
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Week 13: 1950’s-1970’s; the issue of Terrorism
Tues., Apr. 26: Goldschmidt, Chapter 17
Thurs., Apr. 28: CDR Khater, Reading 6.2
(Online) Pape & Feldman, Cutting the Fuse, Chapters 1 and 2
Proposals for books not on the list due no later than Thursday, April 28
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Week 14: 1979-2001; Islamist Movements
Tues., May 3: Goldschmidt, Chapters 18 and 19
Thurs., May 5: CDR Khater, Readings 7.3, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.1, 8.4
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Week 15: 2001-Present; Summing Things Up
Tues., May 10: Goldschmidt, Chapters 20 and 21
Thurs., May 12: (Online) The Amman Message (www.ammanmessage.com, in the side bar,
click and read “Three Points of the Amman Message,” and then scan through “Grand
List of Endorsements of the Amman Message and its Three Points”)
Second Book Review Due Thursday, May 12
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Final Exam: Tuesday, May 17, 1:30 pm
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