Module Identifier IP34920  
Module Title THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Mr James R Vaughan  
Semester Semester 2  
Course delivery Lecture   16 Hours (16 x 1 hour)  
  Seminars / Tutorials   8 Hours (8 x 1 hour)  
Assessment Semester Exam   2 Hours   70%  
  Semester Assessment   Essay: 1 x 2000 words   30%  
  Supplementary Exam   Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.    

Learning outcomes

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

- Describe and analyse the key factors which made the Middle East a region of such central strategic importance over the twentieth century.
- Identify and critically discuss the major events and trends in the rise of nationalism and the decline of imperialism in the Middle East.
- Demonstrate through discussion and coursework an understanding of the historical origins and development of the modern state system in the Middle East.
- Describe the changing roles of the post-11945 Superpowers in the Middle East.
- Display through discussion and coursework an understanding of the nature of the Cold War in the Middle East.
- Discuss and evaluate the internal dynamics of the Middle Eastern regional politics.
- Critically assess the impact of the State of Israel on the international relations of the Middle East.

Brief description

This module aims to introduce students to the international history of the Middle East in the Twentieth Century, with particular emphasis on the end of empire, the Cold War and the role of Israel.

Aims

This module aims to provide students with a broad survey of events in the Middle East over the course of the twentieth century, from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire to the end of the Cold War and the impact of the 1990-91 Gulf War. It seeks both to enable students to understand both the region's central importance in world politics during the century and to introduce students to the key factors affecting international relations within the region.

To that end, the module will be divided into four thematic sections: First, students will be given an understanding of the regional clash between different forms of imperialism and nationalism during the period; second, students will be introduced to the role of the Superpowers during the Cold War decades; third students will be given an understanding of the Middle Eastern balance of power from the perspective of internal regional divisions; fourth, students will examine the nature of the role played in the region by the State of Israel since its creation in 1948.   

Content

The module is divided into four thematic sections:
A. Empire and its Limits
B. Cold War
C. Regional Dimensions
D. Israel and the Arab World

A. Empire and its Limits
The First World War and the End of the Ottoman Empire
Statebuilding: The Western Powers and the Middle East in the Inter-War Years
Nasser and the rise of Arab Nationalism
The Suez Crisis: Causes and Consequences

B. The Cold War
The Soviet Union and the Origins of the Cold War in the Middle East
Propaganda and the Cultural Cold War in the Middle East
The Rise of American Power in the Middle East
The End of the Cold War and the Realignment of the Middle East

C. Regional Dimensions
"Progressives" and "Traditionalists". Pan-Arabism and the Arab Cold War
The Struggle for Regional Dominance in the 1970s-80s

D. Israel and the Arab World
The Creation of the State of Israel
"1967": The Six Day War and its Consequences
Peace Processes: Israel and the Arab States 1976-1994
Israel and the Palestinians 1964-1993

Summary lecture: Regionalism, nationalism and internationalism: the Middle East in the Twentieth Century   

Transferable skills

Students have the opportunity to develop, practice and test a wide range of transferable skills that help them to understand, conceptualise and evaluate examples and ideas. Throughout the module, students should practice and develop their reading, comprehension and thinking skills, as well as self-management. In seminars students enhance and develop their analytical skills and practice listening, explaining and debating skills. Essay writing encourages students to practice independent research, writing and IT skills and the examination will test these skills under time constraint conditions.

Reading Lists

Books
Albert Hourani, Philis S Khoury & Marcy C Wilson (eds). (1993) The Modern Middle East. London: I.B. Taurus
Deborah J Gerner (ed). (2000) Understanding the Contemporary Middle East. London: Lynne Rienner Publishers Inc.
Roger Owen. (1992) State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East. London: Routledge