HISTORY 9D: THE HISTORY OF THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST

MWF 10-10:50, Haines 118

Instructor: James L. Gelvin, 7377 Bunche Hall
[email protected]
Office Hours: M 11:30-1:30, W 11-12, and by appointment.

The purpose of this course is to trace the broad sweep of Middle Eastern history from the period
of Late Antiquity to the present day, and to situate that history within its global context.

There are a number of ways this course might be taught. One way would be to do it
chronologically, starting with the period of Late Antiquity and ending up at the present day. This
involves tracing 1,500 years of history, and because this course meets about thirty times for fifty
minutes each time, this means that I could cover fifty years in each class, giving one minute to
each year. Since there is a difference between a historian and a gazetteer, I have decided against
this approach. Another possibility would be to recognize the fact that some years are more
important than others (say, AD 622 is more important than AD 621) and devote two or even three
minutes to the most important years and skip those in which nothing of note happened. This would
involve making narrative choices (which is, after all, what the job of a historian is all about). But
as long as I am making choices, I might as well go a bit further. So, I have designed this course
with the following things in mind:

1. There are things you want to know and things I want you to know. Sometimes they are the
same, sometimes different. For example, I am devoting one full session to the Israel-Palestine
conflict, giving it far more attention than it deserves (take my word for it). I do this by popular
demand. People also probably want to know—and should know—how ISIS, and for that matter
Syria and Iraq, came to be, so I’ll tell you. For my part, I think everyone should know why the
tanzimat was an epochal event in Middle Eastern history (don’t worry if you don’t know what the
tanzimat even is—you will) and why there are Shicis and Sunnis, so I’ll discuss those things also.
I’ll keep the arcane stuff to a minimum: I realize that only a few of you would remember the
difference between an Umayyid and Abbasid twenty minutes after the final exam anyway.

2. I assume most of you are taking this course because you are interested in the historical roots of
the contemporary Middle East (setting aside the fact that a large number of you are taking this
course because you need a GE course before you graduate and this one fits into your schedule, or
because you or your ancestors come from the region and you think you know it all already). You’re
in luck: I am a historian of the modern Middle East, so your (presumptive) interests and my
interests coincide. There is a strong focus on the modern period and the lineages of the modern
period in this course. As a matter of fact, I am interested in the pre-modern and early-modern
periods only so far as they contribute to my understanding of the modern period. Sometimes the
contributions the pre-modern and early-modern periods have on the modern period are direct,
sometimes they are evolutionary, sometimes they are purely symbolic. If you want to learn about
the earlier periods of Middle Eastern history in more detail, I suggest you take 105A and 105B
(you should take them anyway).
3. It is for this reason that it would be a waste of time for those of you who took my 105C—or
plan to take it this Spring—to take this class. Sure, you’ll probably get an A, but is that the reason
why your parents had to take out a second mortgage to pay for your college education?

4. Since no historian or geographer can really define the boundaries of the Middle East to the
satisfaction of any other historian or geographer anyway, and since the Laws of History (note the
capital L and capital H) are only valid if they can be applied universally, I shall take a “global
history approach” in this course. We shall discuss concepts like “modernity” and “world systems
theory.” You will also learn that the same invention that enabled the French to expel the British
from (almost all of) the European continent in 1453 enabled the Ottomans to put the Byzantine
Empire out of its misery the same year, and why it is that the American Civil War and the discovery
of the Comstock Lode in Nevada are the most important economic events in the history of modern
Egypt and Iran, respectively. That’s just the way I do history.

5. Many of the topics that you will discuss in your sections deal with contemporary
controversies—are the Middle East and the “West” clashing civilizations, what really drives the
Saudi-Iranian competition, what effect did the division of the region into separate states at the end
of World War I have on political loyalties, etc. Sometimes the topics relate directly to the lectures
of the week before, sometimes they do not. I have chosen the topics and readings carefully to get
you to think critically and historically. Take your discussion sections seriously.

6. A couple of alerts:
a. There will be NO sections on Thursday, September 26, or Friday, September 27. All sections
will meet starting the week of September 30.
There will be no sections Thanksgiving week, November 25-29.
All sections will meet the final week of class (December 2-6).
b. My chief means of communication with you outside of class is via email. If I can’t reach you
by email, I can’t remind you of due dates or any changes in readings/assignments. The moral of
the story: Make sure you inbox is not full. After all, I cannot contact you to tell you that your
emails are bouncing back if I can’t reach you via email.
c. You might think that since I wrote the textbooks, you can blow off class and catch up by doing
the readings. That would be a big mistake.
d. PLAGIARISM: “The wages of sin is death”—The Bible

PASSING OFF SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK AS YOUR OWN IS PLAGIARISM.

That someone can be a fellow student, a professor, or an author. Words that are not
your own must be placed within quotation marks and footnoted; ideas that are not
your own must also be footnoted (two exceptions to the rule about footnoting ideas
that are not your own: the textbooks and lectures for this class). Changing a few
words in a passage copied from a book is plagiarism. Footnoting a passage that is
quoted but not placed in quotation marks or attributed in some other way to its
source is plagiarism. While I encourage students to study together and (God forbid)
discuss the class and the essays/exams among themselves, the moment pen touches
paper (or fingers touch keypad) discussion ends and plagiarism begins.
One special reminder: I am a professional historian. I make my living
reading and comparing texts. Do not think you can get away with it. I'm better
 at this than you are, and the expression “living hell” does not begin to describe
what your life will be like when I catch you.

REQUIREMENTS:

1. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.”----Woody Allen

Students are expected to show up to every discussion section prepared to discuss the readings for
that week.
2. Students are expected to bring with them to their discussion sections a written critique of the
readings for that week. Your critiques should be no longer than two paragraphs—less than a
double-spaced page. It should include a brief—very brief—summary of the arguments presented
in the reading(s). The rest should be discussion of the readings (analysis, a weighing of the
arguments, etc.). The critiques are to be handed in at the end of the discussion section. Your TA
is under no obligation to accept late critiques except under extraordinary circumstances. An
example of an extraordinary circumstance is double bypass surgery. An example of what is not
an extraordinary circumstance is traffic delays on the 405. Please note:
-----Critiques are not summaries. If I wanted summaries, I would ask for summaries.
-----In your brief summations of the articles, I want you to tell me what the articles say, not
what they are about:
What an article is about: “The author discusses Russian involvement in the Syrian civil
war. (This, btw, is an example of a good topic sentence to begin your critique. If you don’t know
what a topic sentence is now, don’t worry. You will.)
What an article says: “The author says that the Russian bombing of Aleppo was a war
crime.”
-----If what you hand in is just a summary or if your TA thinks you are “phoning it in,”
he/she has the option of not giving you credit for your critique. Think about the material before
you write.
All three discussion section categories—attendance, participation, and your written
summaries—will be used to calculate 20% of your grade.
LEST THERE BE ANY MISUNDERSTANDING: Attendance at section is
mandatory, not voluntary.

2. In addition to the readings assigned for discussion section, there are readings assigned from
James L. Gelvin’s masterful The Modern Middle East: A History. Be sure to get the 4th edition.
In addition to the fact that I get 4½¢ more in royalties for each copy I sell than I do for the 3rd
edition, the book has been extensively rewritten. I not only updated it, I rethought much of it
(that’s what historians do).

3. Students are also expected to read three other books:

a. James L. Gelvin, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know.
b. Zahra Hankir: Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab
World.
c. Rifaca Rafic al-Tahtawi, An Imam in Paris.

4. Students are required to write two six-page papers. The first paper will be about the Tahtawi
book; the second will be about the Hankir book. PLAN YOUR READING ACCORDINGLY. I
shall distribute questions to be answered in the papers ten days to two weeks before the date the
papers are due (which you can find below). Each paper counts for 20% of your grade.

5. There is a final examination that will count for 40% of your grade. The exam will either be
take-home or in-class, depending on the vote of the majority of students present when the vote is
held.

6. Students are responsible for reading all the documents contained in The Modern Middle East:
A History. They may be necessary for your papers and, believe me, are fair game for the final
examination.

7. The two papers and, if a take home, the final examination must be submitted to Turnitin when
you hand them in. If you don’t, I shall assume the worst and act accordingly. On the other hand,
it is not necessary to submit your weekly discussion papers to Turnitin.

8. Questions about grades should be addressed to the TA who graded it, not to me. The reader is
free to lower grades of any student they feel is playing the odds and therefore wasting their time.
Getting into law school is your responsibility, not ours.

9. Any student cracking their knuckles or any other part of their body will be asked to leave the
classroom. No, I’m not kidding.

1. September 27: Introduction

Gelvin, The Modern Middle East: A History (henceforth, “Gelvin”), Introduction

I. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 4:
Roderic H. Davison, “Where is the Middle East?” Foreign Affairs (July 1960),
http://www.jstor.org/stable/20029452.

2. September 30: The World of Late Antiquity (1)

Gelvin, Chapter 1.

3. October 2: The World of Late Antiquity (2)

4. October 4: Muhammad and the Rise of Islam

II. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF OCTOBER 7-11:
(Is It All About Civilizations? And Do Civilizations Go Bump in the Night?)
1. Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?,” Foreign Affairs, Summer
1993:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&ur
l=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww.polsci.wvu.edu%2Ffaculty%2Fhauser%2FPS103%2FReadings%2FH
untingtonClashOfCivilizationsForAffSummer93.pdf&ei=Vl4vUpd3qIGLAruygYgH&usg=AFQj
CNHy5tIq9yzd4hLvg6sUHQHrTArAFg&sig2=snW-
ZO9Bxp5q7t7_oU48Yg&bvm=bv.51773540,d.cGE

2. Jack F. Matlock, Jr., “Can Civilizations Clash?” Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society, September 1999:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3181955.pdf?casa_token=qAs2VQ70D5kAAAAA:yKKAhiYR
qlWL0NY_pnE522EQZtsvd0_7hHKHj1HW7jXOCVd6qmaHjNRK1p_YwVvFnPXpe0mBCsJx
mPohhonxkjG3ONjL4WtrPfeTY4WG5TcsN_0aQ4I.

5. October 7: Traces of the Past in the Present (I)

6. October 9: Traces of the Past in the Present (II)

7. October 11: Turks, Mongols, and Crusaders

III. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF OCTOBER 14-18:
1. Vali Nasr, “Old Blood Feud Drives the Mideast’s New Power Play,” Los Angeles Times (27
August 2006), http://articles.latimes.com/2006/aug/27/opinion/op-nasr27.

2. . F. Gregory Gause III, “Beyond Sectarianism: The New Middle East Cold War,” Doha:
Brookings Doha Center (22 July 2014), http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2014/07/22-
beyond-sectarianism-cold-war-gause, pp. 5-15.

8. October 14: Rise of “Gunpowder Empires”

Gelvin, Introduction to Part I, Chapter 2.

9. October 16: Gunpowder Empires

10. October 18: The World System

Gelvin, Chapter 3.

IV. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF OCTOBER 21-25:
1. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “Islam is a Religion of Violence,” Foreign Policy, 9 November 2015,
https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/09/islam-is-a-religion-of-violence-ayaan-hirsi-ali-debate-
islamic-state/.

2. Manal Omar, “Islam is a Religion of Peace,” Foreign Policy, 9 November 2015,

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/09/islam-is-a-religion-of-peace-manal-omar-debate-islamic-
state/.

3. Zachary D. Kaufman, “Islam is (Also) a Religion of Peace,” Foreign Policy, 4 August 2016,
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/08/04/islam-is-also-religion-of-peace-humayun-khizr-khan-
trump/.
11. October 21: The Shifting Global Balance of Power
Gelvin, Chapter 4.

12. October 23: Defensive Developmentalism

Gelvin, Chapter 5.

13. October 25: Imperialism

Gelvin, Chapter 6.

V. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 1:
1. Evliya Chelebi, Seyahatanamé 1 & 2 in Gelvin MME

2. The Travels of Sir John Chardin into Persia and the East-Indies in Gelvin MME.

14. October 28: The Great 19th Century Transformation (I)

Gelvin, Chapters 7, 8.

15. October 30: The Great 19th Century Transformation (II)

Gelvin, Chapters 9, 10.

16. November 1: The First World War

Gelvin, Introduction to Part III.

VI. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 4-8:
(From Subjects to Citizens)
1. “The Hatt-i Sharif of Gulhane,” Gelvin, 148-9.

2. “The Islahat Fermani,” Gelvin 150-4.

3. Huda Shaarawi: “A New Mentor and Her Salon for Women,” Gelvin 158-160.

4. Rifaca Rafic al-Tahtawi, The Extraction of Gold or an Overview of Paris (extracts), Gelvin,
160-1.

5. Muhammad cAbduh, The Theology of Unity, Gelvin, 161-2.

6. Namik Kemal: Extract from the Journal Hürriyet, Gelvin, 163-4.

7. “The Supplementary Fundamental Laws of 7 October 1907,” Gelvin, 164-7.

NOVEMBER 4: FIRST PAPER DUE

17. November 4: The Origins of the State System (I): Stage-building by Decree.
 Gelvin, Chapter 11.

18. November 6: The Origins of the State System (II): State-building by Revolution and
Conquest
Gelvin, Chapter 12.

19. November 8: The Israel-Palestine Conflict

Gelvin, Chapters 13, 14.
John Green, “Conflict in Israel and Palestine: Crash Course World History 223,”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wo2TLlMhiw.

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11-15: NO CLASS ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11 AND FRIDAY,

NOVEMBER 15

VII. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11-15:
1. Robin Wright, “How the Curse of Sykes-Picot Still Haunts the Middle East,” The New Yorker,
30 April 2016, http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-curse-of-sykes-picot-still-
haunts-the-middle-east.
2. James L. Gelvin, “Obsession with Sykes-Picot Says More about What We Think of Arabs
Than History,” The Conversation, 12 May 2016, https://theconversation.com/obsession-with-
sykes-picot-says-more-about-what-we-think-of-arabs-than-history-58775.

20. November 13: The Contemporary Era: An Overview

Gelvin, Introduction to Part IV.
Gelvin, Chapter 15.

VIII. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 18-22:
“10CAIRO64, EGYPT'S EMERGENCY LAW AND ITS BROAD USES” (WikiLeaks)
http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/01/10CAIRO64.html.
“CORRUPTION IN TUNISIA: WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE” (WikiLeaks),
http://www.scribd.com/doc/47285437/CORRUPTION-IN-TUNISIA-WHAT-S-YOURS-IS-
MINE-Wikileaks.
“Cable 08ALGIERS787, THE HARRAGA: GIVE ME DIGNITY OR GIVE ME DEATH”
(WikiLeaks), http://wikileakscablegate.blogspot.com/2011/02/viewing-cable-08algiers787-
harraga-give.html.
Damascus Declaration, 2005, http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-
1/syriablog/2005/11/damascus-declaration-in-english.htm.
Interview with Abul Ila Al Madi, Founding Member of Egypt's Wasat (Center) Party (2005),
http://carnegieendowment.org/2008/08/20/interview-with-abul-ila-al-madi-founding-member-of-
egypt-s-wasat-center-party/fga7.

21. November 18: The Middle East, 1945-2010 (I)

Gelvin, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, Chapter 1
22. November 20: The Middle East, 1945-2010 (II)
Gelvin, Chapter 16.

WEEK OF NOVEMBER 25: NO SECTIONS

23. November 22: The Middle East, 1945-2010 (III)

Gelvin, Chapter 17.

24. November 25: The Arab Uprisings and the Birth of the New Middle East
Gelvin, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, Chapters 2, 3.

NOVEMBER 27-29: THANKSGIVING VACATION—NO CLASS

IX. READINGS FOR DISCUSSION SECTIONS

WEEK OF DECEMBER 2-6:
James L. Gelvin, The New Middle East: What Everyone Needs to Know, Chapters 4-6.

DECEMBER 2: SECOND PAPER DUE

25. December 2: The New Middle East (I)

26. December 4: The New Middle East (II)

27. December 6: Review