Middle Eastern and North African Studies I
The course contains first semester studies in Middle Eastern and North Africa studies.
Within the framework of this course, the student acquires knowledge about the history of the Middle East and North Africa and the three largest religions in the region; Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The course also introduces the student to the region's contemporary political and economic landscape.
All teaching and examination is web-based, without physical meetings on campus. The lectures are given in real time, with indirect interaction with the teacher and the other students. Language of instruction is English.
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Course structure
Modules
The Middle East: Religion and Early History, 7.5 credits (ECTS)
This course gives an overview of the historical cultural, socio-political and economic developments in the Middle East and North Africa from approximately 1800 BCE to 1500 CE.The course covers the rise of monotheism amid other religious traditions and especially the relationship to the emergence of the three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), their history, tenets of belief, holy scriptures, rites and central doctrinal groupings.
Middle Eastern Modern History: 1500-1920, 7.5 credits (ECTS)
This course provides an overview of the modern history of the Middle East, from the decline of the Abbassid and Seljuk emirates to the Rise of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I.It adopts both a chronological and a thematic perspective, in order to outline the most relevant dynamics that the regions included in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, with a particular focus on political and legal structures, socio-economic transformations and relations with emerging European empires such as Russia, the Habsburgs, Portugal, Britain, France, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Contemporary Middle Eastern history: 1820-2020, 7.5 credits (ECTS)
This course charts the evolution of Middle Eastern societies impacted by the expansion of European imperialism into the region starting from the early 19th century to the present.This course provides an overview of the contemporary history of the Middle East and North Africa, from the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the subsequent rise of a new global order under Euro-American direction after World War I, the Cold War and then the Arab Spring of 2011.
Politics and Development in the Middle East, 7.5 credits (ECTS)
This course provides an introduction to the current landscape of the Middle East and North Africa’s political economy.The course explores the geographic conditions, demography and cultural politics that shaped the last century of transformation in the region. It covers current societies from the perspective of research using gender as a medium of analysis, with particular focus on women's rights in the course of economic change since World War I.
The course also deals with the region's contemporary socio-economic experiences with structural changes taking place since World War II and then again, after the Cold War. With the rise of the oil industry during the Cold War a particular area of focus, the course considers the conditions for political and economic development in the Middle East and how various factors impact the forms of labor, social organization, and state formation emerging in the region over the last century of change.
Teaching format
All teaching and examination is web-based, without physical meetings on campus. The lectures are given in real time, with indirect interaction with the teacher and the other students. Attendance is mandatory.
Course planning and resources
Course information, details and literature list for each module during Autumn 24 can be found in the learning platform Athena.
Please note that only registered students have access to downloadable resources as a PDF document in Athena.
Assessment
For more detailed information, please refer to the course description.
Examiner
Isa Blumi
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Schedule
The schedule will be available no later than one month before the start of the course. We do not recommend print-outs as changes can occur. At the start of the course, your department will advise where you can find your schedule during the course. -
Course literature
Note that the course literature can be changed up to two months before the start of the course. -
Course reports
Course_report_ABMCG1-AB05_ABMGF8_AU23.pdf Course_report_ABMCG1_AU23.pdf Course_report_ABMCG1-AB01_ABAG01-AB10_ABMGF4_AU23.pdf Course_report_ABMCG1-AB06_ABAGO3-AB05_ABMGF9_AU23.pdf Course_report_ABMCG1-AB03_ABAGO5-AB03_ABMGF6_AU23.pdf -
Contact
Do you have questions about the courses in Middle Eastern and North Africa's Languages and Cultures?
Student Councelor:
exp.asien@su.seDirector of Studies:
Martin Säfström
Phone: 08-16 29 43
