Day: April 13, 2021

PART ONE
In no more than 500 words each, define the following terms:

clash of ignorances; totalizing; Shia; neocolonialist

One third of your definition needs to explain the meaning of the term and if possible, who coined the term in what context. The other two thirds should discuss the significance and importance of the term(s).

Length: 2 pages. Use a 12 pt font double spaced with standard 1 inch margins.

PART TWO
A Senator has hired you as a consultant because she was unhappy with her response at a town-hall meeting when a questioner repeatedly challenged her that all Middle Easterners hate us and our freedoms. She has asked for a policy briefing she can use to more effectively respond to these types of construction of the people of the Middle East. Your familiarity with the region and your expertise allow you to address the issues both from scholarly and Middle Eastern perspectives.

In your 3 to 5 page (1500 words MAX) briefing use at least TWO secondary and TWO primary texts from the “Historical text” readings assigned for the class. DO NOT QUOTE EXTENSIVELY FROM THESE TEXTS, rather the policy briefing requires you to synthesize and specify the exact issues/problems. Then how can this issue be addressed from the texts we have read: explain Author A argues xyz and Author B supported/contested these positions arguing abc et cetera. What is the difference in approach on this issue between academic texts and biographical writing we have read. What are the consequences of position abc are versus those of position efg et cetera…

You might compare the historic changes in governance in two countries. You could also write from the experiences of people from the Middle East. You can reference only ONE person from the documentaries or videos used in the course; others have to be from the readings.

Then recommend how specifically the Senator should speak about this topic. Remember, the Senator is comfortable giving long answers but likes to be detailed yet precise. Also remember to provide her with sound bites that she can emphasize to increase press coverage and retention of ideas amongst her listeners.

[One last note, the Senator is also an avid Pink Floyd fanfor extra credit what song would you say speaks to the issue at hand and for extra extra points pick a verse (translated) from music from the Middle East that might be useful to get the points across. ;)]

Length: 3 to 5 pages. Use a 12 pt font double spaced with standard 1 inch margins.

Note: NO outside sources should be used only the sources I have given you.

These are the text required to write the essay. Not all of them should be used. But they are what we discussed in class. The historical texts are used for part 2 where we have to use 2 Primary and 2 Secondary readings. I have uploaded them as (Historical Texts) and separated them as primary and secondary. Here is a list of the names of the all of the readings. I added 2 more secondary reading to the file section, they are not in the list.

List :
Huntington, Samuel P. The clash of civilizations? in Dittmer, Jason, and Joanne P. Sharp. 2014. Geopolitics: an introductory reader pp 181-190. [Originally published in Foreign Affairs 72 no. 3 (Summer 1993): 22-49]

Said, Edward W. The clash of ignorance in Dittmer, Jason, and Joanne P. Sharp. 2014. Geopolitics: an introductory reader pp 191-194

Eickelman, Dale F. The Middle East and Central Asia: An Anthropological Approach, Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001. pp 1-44. Chapter 1: Anthropology, the Middle East and Central Asia. Chapter 2: Intellectual Predecessors: East and West.

Keshavarz, Fatemeh. Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007. Ch. 1 Introduction: What Does the Elephant Look Like? pp: 14-25

Compact of Medina (Dustur al-Madinah)

Al ibn Ab lib. “Letter to Malik Ashtar” In Shah-Kazemi, Reza. Justice and Remembrance: Introducing the Spirituality of Imam Ali, London: I.B. Tauris. 2006. pp 219-236

Berkey, Jonathan Porter. The Formation of Islam : Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Ch 26. From medieval to modern Islam.

Ahmed, Leila. A Border Passage: From Cairo to America–a Womans Journey, New York: Penguin Books, 2012. pp 93-134. Ch. 5 Harem.

Hassan al-Banna, Toward and Effective Reform

Owen, Roger. From the Revolutionary Overthrow of Dictatorships to the Struggle to Establish a New Constitutional Order. In Gerges, Fawaz A. The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. pp 257-272

HISTORICAL TEXTS: Hussein-McMahon Letters; Sykes-Picot Agreement; Balfour Declaration

Ha-Harut; Arab Womens Committee Interview 24 March, 1938;

Ben-Moshe, Danny. Israel at fifty: the cultural war in the pages of Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post, 1998. In Amin, Camron Michael., Benjamin C. Fortna, and Elizabeth Brown Frierson. The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook for History, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp 284-290

Al-Ghoul, Asmaa. A Rebel in Gaza: Behind the Lines of the Arab Spring, Los Angeles, CA: Doppel House Press, 2018. pp 140-153 ch. 32: Death Comes Unannounced; 33: The Hannibal Protocol;  34: A Million-Dollar Death; 35: Those Who Won the War.

Steinberg, Guido. Wahhabi ulama and the state in Saudi Arabia, 1927 in Amin, Camron Michael., Benjamin C. Fortna, and Elizabeth Brown Frierson. The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook for History, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. pp 57-61

Sharif, Manal. Daring to Drive : A Saudi Womans Awakening, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2017. pp. 52-65 and 167-210; ch 4: Mecca under Siege 11: Driving while Female; 12: In the Kingdom of Saudi Men.

Algar, Hamid. Wahhabism: A Critical Essay. pp 5-30.

Gerges, Fawaz A. The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. pp 353-379. 16 Saudi Internal Dilemmas and Regional Responses to the Arab Uprisings