Modern Middle East / Spring 2009 Seth Ward Page 5

COURSE SYLLABUS

RELI 3220- -40 / HIST3220-40 Modern Middle East

Spring Semester 2011

3 credits

Meets non-Western certification for A&S

Online: Asynchronous Delivery (no required weekly time to be on-line or phone in)

SI Sessions: Sunday afternoons from 2-3 (Mountain Time) using the live chat feature in the course shell

Instructor: Seth Ward
Phone(s): 307 -766-WARD (9273). (T/W/Th)
Mobile: 303-981-7561 (8 am-9 pm) / E-mail(s):
E-Voicemail:1.518.691.8457 (24 hrs)
E-Fax:801.665.6880. (24 hrs)
Office(s): ROSS HALL 136 / Office Hours: Tu 2:45-4:00 p.m.
Th 9:45-10:50 a.m. or by appointment. (Phone, or live computer link possible).
Virtual Office Hours: 24/7 in ECampus.
SI Leader: Amanda Desereé King
307-851-5007 (8 am- 9 pm).
E-Mail: / Office Hours: Monday evenings from 5-7 at the Book and Bean, and by appointment
SI Sessions: Sunday afternoons from 2-3 (Mountain Time) using the live chat feature in the course shell.

Sections in this syllabus:

TEXT(S) AND READINGS

COURSE REQUIREMENTS/ASSIGNMENTS

COURSE OUTLINE

CRN and Section Guide

NOTE: There is also a Campus Classroom section of this course. The first two CRNs are for the on-campus version. This syllabus is primarily for the Online-UW version of the course.

There is no practical difference between the HIST and RELI sections, or between the Campus and Online UW courses in terms of basic structure and requirements, except of course that the Online UW sections are asynchronous and Online, rather than having classroom meetings.

CRN 30951 / RELI 3220-01 / Campus Tu/Th
CRN 30979 / HIST 3220-01 / Campus Tu/Th
CRN 31207 / RELI 3220-40 / Online UW
CRN 31209 / HIST 3220-40 / Online UW

Prerequisites: Prerequisite: RELI 1000, six hours of history or international or consent of instructor. Contact Instructor via email: .

Course Description (from the General Bulletin):

RELI 4500. Special Topics in Religious Studies. Presents from semester to semester a variety of important topics in the academic study of religion. Prerequisite: RELI 1000 or consent of instructor. (A maximum of 12 credits from various Reli4500 courses may be applied towards graduation).

HIST 3220. History of the Modern Middle East. 3.Surveys the Middle East from 1700 to the present. Emphasizes the demise of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of domination by European colonial powers, transformations in political, social, religious and cultural life, the rise of nationalist movements, the influence of oil, the growth of Islamist political groups and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Prerequisites: 6 hours of history or international studies.

Disability Statement:

If you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let the instructor know as soon as possible. You must register with, and provide documentation of your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, room 330 Knight Hall.

Objectives/Outcomes/Standards:

The course objective is critical interpretation and analysis of the history, traditions, religion and contemporary situation in the countries of the Middle East, in northern Africa, Western Asia, SE Europe, and adjoining areas as appropriate. Student outcomes include familiarity with the historic, traditional and diplomatic source materials and a major academic research project, judged by academic standards of undergraduate academic research papers in the humanities.

TEXT(S) AND READINGS

Modern Middle East / Spring 2009 Seth Ward Page 5

Arthur, Jr. Goldschmidt, Lawrence Davidson,A Concise History of the Middle East, Westview Press; 8th edition 2005. 576 pages. ISBN:978-0813342757.

Itamar Rabinovich and Jehuda Reinharz, Israel in the Middle East: Documents and Readings on Society, Politics, and Foreign Relations, Pre-1948 to the Present (Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry), Brandeis; 2 edition, 2007, 650 pages,

ISBN:978-0874519624.

Alan Dowty,Israel/Palestine (Hot Spots in Global Politics),Polity; 2008, 276 pages,

ISBN:978-0745642437.

Mordechai Nisan:Minorities in theMiddleeast: A History of Struggle and Self Expression.JeffersonNC: McFarland & Company, 2002, 351 pages.

ISBN:978-0786413751.

There will be a recommended list of four to six books for weeks 11-12.

Students also should have access to the Qur'an. This can be through online versions. The precise translation does not matter but I recommend Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation and commentary, yet any unabridged translation will be suitable. Here are a few Qur'an websites:

http://www.hti.umich.edu/k/koran/
http://www.oneummah.net/quran/quran.html

COURSE REQUIREMENTS/ASSIGNMENTS

n the following, a “page” is normally 200-300 words.

Attendance, Participation, Discussion Sections, and other Classroom Assignments

1.  Regular Attendance:Regular attendance in the online course is expected.Informed Participation:Informed participation in “virtual” classroom discussions is required.

2.  “Classroom Assignments”:Online Courses include various reviews of readings, responses, and discussion topics for electronic posting in course discussion sections.

3.  Give ‘em Stars:There areGREATYoutubeson all sorts of things relevant to the Modern Middle East. Identify a video clip you would like to share with your classmates, and provide a shoret essay (200-400 words) about why it is important—your own essay, not something copied from the internet!.Keep a running tab and at the end, we will have a vote.

4.  Field Experience:All students will be required to submit a “field experience report.” This can be a tour to various places (in or out of town) relevant to the course organized by the instructor; or attending a lecture or performance or other activity relevant to the class themes.It will be due at the end of the term. Agenericdescription might give you some ideas:http://uwyo.edu/sward/termproject/Field%20Exercise.htm. (It is “generic” in that the ideas are not specifically designed to fit into this course and may have to be adapted somewhat).

5.  Current Events:Opportunityto discuss current events inside the course.

Four Short Research Papers

These papers should betwo-two anda half pages(400-750 words) but can be longer if you want,

1.  Very Short Research Project(VSRP): Minireports on topics (examples given at end of syllabus).

2.  Check/Compare the Textbook.One to two pages.

3.  Document Paper. One-two pages. The paper should show a careful reading of a document or primary text. The Document paper will normally be one chosen from the Rabinovich Reinharz reader.

4.  Open topic:can be a work of literature, music, art or architecture, popular culture; book review; contemporary issue essay.

Term Project

The Term Papermay be on any relevant topic with instructor’s approval. It may expand on a subject from one of the short papers or classroom exercises, with the following steps:

1.  initialstage:short description(2-3 sentences), plus informal list of potential primary and secondary resources.

2.  Intermediate stage:progress reportshowing adequate progress in formulating research questions, thesis statement and paragraph, discussion of bibliography showing evidence of reading, quotations etc., including a brief review of a book relevant to the project (180 words!), and main pointss of organization and significance.

3.  Final stages:finish research and writing, get input from Instructor and classmates, and submit the final draft topeer review.

4.  Submit:Submitthe Term Project in electronic format, together with a peer review report, summary, and presentation aid (designed to simulate oral presentation in a classroom).

5.  Symposium:The last weeks of the course will be a symposium based on term projects, with project presentations (simulating the oral presentation of classroom courses), discussion of papers and presentations.

ASSESSMENTS and EXAMS

1.  “Two Best:”Briefly assess the Symposium as a whole; select about 5 papers to compare and contrast. You must identify the two best papers and why they are the best. (In discussing the two best papers, do not chose your own, and please consider that there is no implied comparison to the quality of your own work).

2.  Course/Self-Assessment exercises:At the conclusion of the course, review the course in the light of the goals you had for the course and whether you achieved them. You should include an assessment of revisions you might make in your own Term Project, or what you might have expressed more clearly; you can discuss your other submissions as well. If you wish, or have been asked to do so, you may submit a revised version of all or part of your Term Project with this assignment.

3.  Quizzes and Exams:The classroom version of this course has three reviews, three quizzes and a final exam to assess acquisition of the material. Do not be upset if all these types of assessment are not used in this online course.

Grading Standards:

Grade is roughly equally based on (1) attendance and informed participation; (2) Term Project (of which the paper is the most important component); (3) Written exercises, classwork etc.; and (4) any quizzes and exams. The Symposium section of the course should be considered part of the Final Exam.

COURSE OUTLINE

Here is a PROVISIONAL list of the weeks and topics. (page numbers may be different as the most recent editions have not yet been checked).

This term, the units start on Sunday morning and run to Saturday night.

However, the "Due Dates" are Tuesday nights to give you a little more time to complete the units.The first unit will be “due” later than that; to allow for things to settle the first week of the course.

Unit / Target / Submissions and Quizzes[1] / Classroom exercises etc.
Intro to the History of the Middle East
1 / Jan 11-15
/ Intro to Middle East History, and the Course
CH 1-105 Intro to the region / VSRP exercise introduced.
2 / 16-22 / Islam, Political History.
CH 107-167 Empires and Europeans
CH 11: Westernizing Reform169-184 / Discussion of short projects.
3 / 23-29 / CH 12: Rise of Nationalism 185-202
CH 13: Roots of Arab Bitterness, 203-221
CH 14 Modernizing Rulers. 223-249 / SUBMIT VSRP by
25 JAN 11:59 p.m. / Select topic for
Check Compare paper
4 / Jan 30-Feb 5 / CH 15 251-267: Egypt.
CH: 16. 269-290
CH 17: 291-327
5 / Feb 6-12 / CH 18: 329-366
CH 19: 367-396
CH 20: 397-418 / SUBMIT Check/Compare by 8 Feb 11.59 pm.
Israel/Palestine
6 / Feb 13-19 / Dowty pp. 1-104 / RR (parallel texts)
Please read the whole book, then select two chapters of interest to you.
Please prepare for the discussion by doing the brief exercise[2]
Please prepare two documents relevant to the chapters
you chose in Dowty from RR[3]
One document will be for a “Document paper”
/ REVIEW TU
QUIZ TH 19 Feb.
(not sure as of this writing about how quiz will work in this online UW course.) / Select Dowty chapters,
Israel documents.
7 / Feb 20-26 / Dowty 5,6 (105-161) / RR / SUBMIT Doc Paper, by
22 Feb 11.59 pm. / POST IN eCompanion:
Initial term project idea.
Thur. Feb 24
8 / Feb 27-Mar 5 / Dowty 7-9 162-228) / RR
Minorities in the Middle East.
9 / Mar 6-12 / Nisan. Classroom exercise about minorities. / SUBMIT Open Topic Paper by 8 Mar 11.59 pm.
Spring Break
10 / Mar 20-26 / Nisan. Minorities / SUBMIT “progress report” for for final paper, (recommended: Research Preparation Exercise with 180 word Book Review.[4]
SUBMIT 22 Mar 11.59 p.m.
11 / Mar 27-Apr 2 / The Future / Engaging Recent Books on Middle East Issues / REVIEW
TU 31 March
QUIZ TH 1 April.
12 / Apr 3-9 / CH 419-448 Modern Middle East History / First Draft of Paper ready for peer review
Peer Review Exercise.
SUBMIT TO PEER(s) by
5 Apr. 11.59 p.m.
13 / Apr 10-16 / Papers Due. Student Presentations / SUBMIT Term Project by
12 Apr. 11.59 pm.
14 / Apr 17-23 / Student Presentations, peer assessment
15 / Apr 24-30 / Student Presentations
Finals
Week / SUBMIT: Assessment exercises, Field experience by Sat. 7 May 11:59 p.m.

Course Requirements Online Course:

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION:

Regular Attendance: Regular attendance at class sessions is required. In the online course, “attendance” means logging into the course, and posting in discussion sections. Instructor (and TA or administrators) can monitor time spent inside the course by unit or date, and list the number of postings by students by discussion section. Students often chose online courses for flexibility, and students in general may post early or late without negative impact (with the exception of sections and assignments related to the term project), if the instructor is aware of the reasons, and the overall attendance/participation achieved is in line with class expectations. Part of the final grade is an index value based on quantitative measures of the number of discussions in which a student posted, the total number of discussion postings, and patterns of time spent in the course, esp. by groups of units. In the past, I have been unable to grade each and every discussion section individually; sometimes you will be asked to post something both in a discussion section and in a dropbox basket in part for grading purposes.

In organizing the course I try to create an environment that is close to the classroom experience, in terms of the intellectual give and take of the classroom discussion within an asynchronous framework (that is, the discussion is not “live”—participants post and respond to posts as convenient. Check in early and often, and participate as much as you can.

DROPBOX:

Several exercises are for the Dropbox; these will be graded individually. Please contact the instructor if you have problems finding the correct basket.

Online and classroom

Attendance/Participation Policy:

University sponsored absences are cleared through the Office of Student Life.

Academic Honesty:

The University of Wyoming is built upon a strong foundation of integrity, respect and trust. All members of the university community have a responsibility to be honest and the right to expect honesty from others. Any form of academic dishonesty is unacceptable to our community and will not be tolerated [from the UW General Bulletin]. Teachers and students should report suspected violations of standards of academic honesty to the instructor, department head, or dean. Other University regulations can be found at: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/legal/universityregulations.htm .

Networks and Photogallery: Please consider joining http://facebook.com and linking to your instructor or classmates, forming a group, posting a digital photo in a meet the students section of the course shell, or other networking options. This is optional of course, but networking is part of our society (most students have MySpace or Facebook pages) and should be part of your education as well.