Middle East Studies

(From the course taught by Dr Robin-Edward Poulton at Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Richmond)

80% of Arabs are Muslims, but 80% of Muslims are not Arabs. The largest Muslim populations by country are: Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, NigeriaÉ The first Arab country, Egypt, is therefore only 7th in the list. Nevertheless, the political bias of international affairs is weighted towards the Middle East and we therefore offer a course called:

CONTEMPORY SOCIETY AND POLITICS IN THE ARAB WORLD

By focusing on the "Arab World" we are deliberately sidelining the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Our purpose is to teach students about the Middle East as a whole, avoiding irreconcilable political positions. We will be constantly aware of the many non-Arabs and non-Muslims in this vast region, but our course will focus on the Arab World. The 22 Arab countries and their 330 million people keep us pretty busy.

This course is largely research-based and it will demand plenty of active student participation. The culminating action of the course will be a full-day meeting of the model UN Security Council (there is no Final Exam). Participation will be compulsory for all students since it will be graded.

At the start of the course, each student will choose (or be allocated) two countries, and in pairs. They will act as ambassadors for their countries during the semester. In any discussion during the semester, students should be aware of the position of their countries on the issue in hand. They need to read up about their country and read speeches made by their ambassadors at the United Nations. At the end of the semester, each student will represent his/her country in the model UNSC debate: each student will therefore know their country's position on a range of issues, .... but they will not know (initially) the theme for the UNSC debate in November.

Throughout the semester, we shall turn at random to students and ask what "their country" thinks about this or that issue. So if we are discussing (for example) the Palestinian refugee camps of Beirut or the management of the Tigris and Euphrates river basins in Iraq, we shall not ask "Ben" or "Kelly" what they think, rather we shall ask them - as ambassador - "what is your government's position on this issue." In this way, students will be forced to act and think as political scientists, rather than as students.

Students will also work in groups to lead discussions, and to analyze coverage of the Middle East in the foreign press. Each students will choose one foreign news source (s)he will monitor throughout the semester, and all students are expected to follow the US press and answer questions on newspaper and magazine articles concerning the Arab World. Each student will compile a press dossier that will be submitted at half-term, and at the end of the semester for grading. The press dossiers will enrich group work, joint research and discussions. Groups will lead discussions based on the readings, and will present one country case study. Each student will bring information to the table, and everyone will participate in the presentations. Grades will be awarded for these group efforts, and also for short writing assignments during the semester.

The compulsory reading is limited to three books, and this also reduces the cost to students.