History of The Modern Middle East-Fall 15

HIST 3670
THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST (1750-1979)

Fall 2015
MR 4:00-5:15
Keating 219
Dr. Ebru Turan
Dealy Hall, R 630
Email: turan@fordham.edu
Phone: 718.817.4199
Office Hours: MR 12:00-2:00 or by appointment
Course Description:
This course surveys the history of the Middle East from the late eighteenth century to the
Iranian Revolution (1979), concentrating on political, cultural, and intellectual currents and
transformations. It is divided into two sections. The first part reviews developments in the
Ottoman Empire and Iran in the nineteenth century by focusing on the growing power and
influence of the West, the nationalist movements, and the modernizing efforts undertaken by
regional rulers to stand up to the challenge of the West. The second part of the course explores
the major political, social, and ideological changes in the region in the twentieth century,
following the dissolution of the old imperial orders and establishment of European colonial rule
after WWI. Topics to be discussed in the latter section include national struggles for
independence and processes of decolonization, regional and international political dynamics
within the context of the Cold War, ideological trends, such as Arab nationalism, socialism, and
political Islam, and Arab-Israeli conflict.
Course Requirements:
1 Attendance is mandatory and will be taken at every class meeting. You are expected to come
to class prepared, having done all assigned readings, and actively participate in class
discussions. You do not have to bring the textbook to class but must have the primary source
document ready at hand.
2 There will be a map quiz, a midterm, three short paper assignments, and a final exam. You
cannot take the exam at another time if you miss class on that day.
3 Paper assignments: You are required to submit THREE 2-3 page-long papers analyzing a
primary source assigned in the readings. Questions will be posted on BLACKBOARD for each
document to help you write the paper. You are free to choose which document to write on, but
papers should be submitted on the day we discuss that document in class. If more than one
document is listed for a class, write only and only on ONE document. See the PAPER
GUIDELINES SHEET (attached to the syllabus) for more details on writing your
paper. Papers that do NOT comply with the format requirements will be REJECTED, so are
electronic submissions. No exceptions. I prefer that you use double-sided printing.
4 I do not allow the use of laptops, tablets, iPads, smartphones, or any other electronic devices
in the classroom. Unless you have a disability, you must take notes by hand.
5 A note on the paper assignment and academic Integrity: Plagiarism is a serious offense and
will not be tolerated in this class. I strongly recommend that you visit the university website
@http://www.fordham.edu/Audience/handbooks.shtml#6 to learn more about the universitys
policy on academic integrity. Plagiarism will lead to a grade of F not only for the paper
assignment but the entire course.

6 Email policy: You can certainly reach me by email, but I will only read and respond to them
until 8 pm. Further, I will only read and answer those emails that have:
A subject line which explains what this email is about
An address line which shows for whom it is written (Please no HIs or HEYs!)
A signature line which indicates by whom it is written
7 Bathroom policy during exams: You are NOT permitted to go to the bathroom during the
exams.
Grading:
Map Quiz: 5%
3-Papers: 10 % each, 30 % total.
Midterm: 20 % total.
Final exam: 25 %.
Attendance, attention, participation, and appropriate comportment in class (i. e., no sleeping,
no cell phones, no texting, no daydreaming, etc.): 20%
Readings:
The textbook is William L. Cleveland and Martin Bunton, A History of the Modern Middle East,
(Westview Press, 2009) (Fourth Edition). It is available at the university bookstore for purchase.
You can also have access to it through the library website at http://www.library.fordham.edu/.
Please search the E-Journals & Books Portal with using the title of the book.
Primary sources are available either through library electronic reserves (password: turan) or
Fordham University Islamic History sourcebook online.
PART ONE
Week One:
September 3: Introduction: Peoples, Cultures, and Geography of the Middle East
Week Two:
September 9: Historical Background: The Ottomans and the Safavids
Readings: Cleveland, 1-56
September 10: Source Discussion: The Status of Jews and Christians in Muslim Lands, 1772
CEThe Answer Of The Shaikh Hasan Al-Kafrawi, The Shafiite [Professor of canon law in Cairo,
d. 1788 CE] (@ http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1772-jewsinislam.asp)
Lecture: Forging a New Synthesis: The Pattern of Reforms, 1789-1849
Readings: Cleveland, 57-80.
Week Three:
September 14: Source Discussion: Muhammad Ali's Tax Inspectors
(@http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?action=read&artid=14)
Lecture: The Ottoman Empire and Egypt During the Era of the Tanzimat
**September 17: NO CLASS**
Week Four:
September 21: Source Discussion: Decrees from the Ottoman Tanzimat: The Gulhane
Proclamation (1839) and An Ottoman Bill of Rights (1856) (both are on e-reserves)
Lecture: Egypt and Iran in the Late Nineteenth Century
September 24: Source Discussion: The Earl of Cromer:
Why Britain Acquired Egypt in 1882, (1908) (@
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908cromer.asp)
Lecture: The Response of Islamic Society
Week Five:
September 28: MAP QUIZ (study the Middle East Map and Middle East Capitals @
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/MidEast.html) (15 minutes)
Source Discussion: Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Lecture on Teaching and Learning and Answer to
Renan, (on e-reserves)
October 1: Lecture: The Era of the Young Turks and the Iranian Constitutionalists
Week Six:
October 5: Source Discussion: The Young Turks: Proclamation for the Ottoman Empire, 1908
(@ http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908youngturk.asp)
Lecture: World War I and the End of the Ottoman Order
October 8: Midterm
Week Seven:
October 12: Columbus DayUniversity Closed
October 15: Midterm Review
PART TWO
Week Eight
October 19: Source Discussion: Anonymous, Announcement to the Arabs, Sons of Qahtan;
Sherif Husain of Mecca, Territorial Demands Made on the British Government.
Lecture: Authoritarian Reform in Turkey and Iran
October 22: Source Discussion: Mustafa Kemal Atatrk: From Speech to the Assembly,
October, 1924 (Mustafa Kemals arguments against the party wanting to maintain the
Caliphate, pp. 438-449)
Lecture: The Arab Struggle for Independence I: Egypt, Iraq, and Transjordan from the Interwar
Era to 1945
Week Nine:
October 26: Source Discussion: Sati al-Husri, Muslim Unity and Arab Unity, in Haim, 147155.
Lecture: The Arab Struggle for Independence II: Syria from the Interwar Era to 1945
October 29: Lecture: The Palestinian Mandate and the Birth of the State of Israel
Week Ten:
November 2: Source Discussion: The Belfour Declaration (1917), (@
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/balfour.asp); The British Governments White Paper on
Palestine (1939) (on e-reserves)
November 5: Lecture: The Middle East in the Age of Nasser I: The Egyptian Base
Week Eleven:
November 9: Source Discussion: Jamal Abdel Nasser, The Philosophy of the Revolution, in
Haim, 229-233
Lecture: The Middle East in the Age of Nasser II: The Radicalization of Arab Politics
November 12: Lecture: Israel, the Arab States, and the June War
Week Twelve:
November 16: Source Discussion: Statement by President Nasser to Arab Trade Unionists
(@ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/nasser1.html)
Lecture: Israel and the Palestinians from 1948 to the 1970s
Readings: Cleveland, 345-367, 382-389
November 19: Source Discussion: Palestinian National Council, The National Charter (1964,
1968), (on e-reserves)
Lecture: Changing Patterns of War and Peace: Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s
Week Thirteen:
November 23: Source Discussion: President Anwar Sadat's Address
to the Israeli Knesset (@
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/sadat_speech.html)
Lecture: The Consolidation of Authoritarian Rule in Syria and Iraq: The Regimes of Hafiz alAsad and Saddam Husayn
November 26: ThanksgivingUniversity closed.
Week Fourteen:
November 30: Lecture: Authoritarian Reform in Iran
December 3: Lecture: The Iranian Revolution and the Resurgence of Islam
Week Fifteen:
December 7: Source Discussion: Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran in Imperialisms Clutches (1964)
(on e-reserves)
December 10: Review
PLEASE READ!
HIST 1750: Islamic History and Culture
Hand-out for the Paper Assignments
Take the paper assignments seriously. They will affect your grade 20%. Each will be graded out
of 10 points. Papers that do not comply with the paper formatting requirements listed below
will be REJECTED!!!
When you write your papers, you must pay attention to the following points:
Write only and only on ONE document.
Your papers should be no less than 2 pages and not more than 3 pages in length. Papers
should be typed with 12-point font, double spaced with 1 margins on both sides.
YOUR PAPER SHOULD ONLY HAVE YOUR NAME AND THE TITLE ON IT. DO NOT
INCLUDE OTHER INFORMATION (i.e. Course name, instructor name, etc, etc).
The paper must have a title that gives specific information about the document and
preferably relates to your argument.
DO NOT LEAVE EXTRA SPACE BETWEEN THE PARAGRAPHS.
DO NOT USE ANY QUOTATIONS.
NO FOOTNOTES.
You are not allowed to use OUTSIDE sources [NO WIKIPEDIA], lecture notes, or textbook
material in your essays. Thus: Do not cite secondary readings or class notes. Do not
include paragraphs from your class notes. Your papers should focus exclusively on the
primary source.
The argument should be stated in the introduction.
Include a brief conclusion summarizing your key points.
For each primary source, I will give you questions. The questions are posted only after
the lecture that is linked to that document (i.e,, 2-3 days before the paper is due). So
please do not ask me to post the questions for a document to be discussed later in the
semester.
These questions are provided only to help you analyze the document. They are not
meant to be an outline for the paper. Your paper should not look like a summation of
responses to my questions. You must develop your own argument and your own
outline.
Avoid simply reproducing the information given in the text in a summarized form.
Instead, draw up an outline which represents your own line of argument. When you
create your outline, ask yourself, What am I trying to really say in this paper? and
formulate it in such a way that the organization of the paper will lead the reader to
your conclusions.
Make sure that you proofread your papers for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and
sentence structure errors before turning them in.

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HIST 3670

THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST (1750-1979)

assignment but the entire course.

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