SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1CULTURES OF THE MIDDLE EAST
Montclair State University
Fall, 2006 Mondays 5:30-8:00 P.M.
Dr. M. L. Cairoli
Office Hours: Mondays 5:00-5:30, 8:00-8:30, Room 437 Dickson Hall. E-mail: cairolil@mail.montclair.edu.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Through this course students will gain a broad understanding of cultural patterns in the Middle East and of the theories and methods cultural anthropologists use to study the region. This course challenges students to develop a deeper and more meaningful view of the Middle East than is provided them by the media and popular American conceptions of the region. The new, and specifically anthropological, perspective they develop will allow them to independently assess and make judgements about current political events in the region.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. 2002. New York: Oxford University Press. (referred to as Esposito in the course outline)
Bowen, Donna Lee and Evelyn A. Early, eds. 2002. Everyday Life in the Muslim Middle East, Second Edition. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. (referred to as "B&E" in the course outline)
Satrapi, Marjane. 2003. Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. Pantheon.
Readings on BlackBoard Reserve. Several articles and book chapters are assigned and are available on Blackboard. These are listed in the syllabus individually and noted as “BB”.
Readings posted on Blackboard (external links).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
The grade for this course is based on 2 exams. The second exam is a cumulative final exam. The exams cover all information discussed in class (some of which is shown in film format) and assigned reading materials. The exams are weighted evenly:
EXAM #1 50%
EXAM #2 50%
Students are required to attend all the lectures and read assigned reading materials prior to attending class. (See attached “Course Requirements” for details.)
I follow the university procedures for assigning letter grades. I have posted the grading policy on Blackboard.
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Date |
Topic |
Assignment
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9/11 |
Intro to the Middle East |
Maps and handouts |
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9/18 Intro to M.E./Anthropology Held, 3-13, 236-264 (BB); B&E pp. 24-35; |
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9/25 |
Ethnicity |
Held 94-120 (BB); Dinarzad’s Children (BB) 1-20, Esposito 169-180. |
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10/2 |
Kinship |
B&E Ch. 5, 10, 11 |
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10/9 |
Kinship, con’t |
B&E. Ch. 12, 13 |
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10/16 |
Gender
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B&E Ch. 9, 14, 16
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10/23 |
EXAM #1 |
(Islamic art following exam) |
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10/30 |
Discussion of Persepolis
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Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood ; “Islamic Revolution in Iran” (BB) WRITTEN QUESTIONS DUE |
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11/6 |
Islamic Orthodoxy |
B&E Ch. 24, 26; Esposito 1-86. |
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B&R Ch. 3, pp. 58-63, 69-79, 84-89; B&E Ch. 27, Ch. 28 |
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11/13 |
Variation in Islamic Practice |
B&E Ch. 27; Esposito 87-116.
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11/20 |
Islam Con’t |
Esposito 116-166; “Muslim Ethics”(BB) 181-196. |
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11/27 |
Cities and City Dwellers
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“Population Growth, Urbanization and the challenges of Unemployment” (BB); B&E Ch. 20. |
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12/4 |
The Countryside, Rural inhabitants, migration |
“Haddou, a Morocccan Migrant” (BB); B&E Ch. 7, 8, 35 |
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12/11 |
EXAM #2 (PARTIALLY CUMULATIVE) |
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THIS SYLLABUS IS ALWAYS SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION ! I will make changes in the assignments as we proceed. Changes will be posted on Blackboard in the weekly announcements. You are responsible for staying informed by checking Blackboard and by contacting fellow students.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
BLACKBOARD
All documents for this course are available on Blackboard (except for map hand-outs). Students are required to keep up with changes in class assignments by attending class and by checking Blackboard for any postings. Please be certain to check Blackboard before coming to class each Monday.
EXAMS
YOU NEED A PENCIL AND ERASER TO TAKE ALL EXAMS IN THIS COURSE!!!
All exams are multiple-choice exams. These include true false, fill-in-the-blank, matching questions and map identification questions. Every exam includes specific questions on the readings assigned – even if we do not go over those readings during class time. Each exam also includes map questions.
The final exam is cumulative – it covers the material not yet tested, but also includes general questions from the earlier part of the semester.
The dates for these exams are listed in the course outline
THERE ARE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS OFFERED IN THIS COURSE. (see below).
READING ASSIGNMENTS
Students are assigned approximately 30-50 pages of reading each week and are responsible for completing all reading for the course. Students are expected to be able to discuss class readings during the class period. All reading assignments are tested on the exams – including those that we have not discussed. It is necessary for students to complete the assigned readings.
DISCUSSION PANELS
Students are expected to come to class ready to discuss all assigned materials. To facilitate discussion, each class will include a discussion panel. Students will earn up to five additional points added to the final grade for participation in a panel. The panels work as follows:
Each week, ten students will be assigned to discuss the reading materials. At the start of the class, these students will come to the front of the room, where they answer and ask questions about the reading material assigned that week. Since all students will have read these readings, students who remain seated will be able to participate in the discussion, and ask the students on the panel questions. But the students on the panel will be the main discussants. The panel will last 15-20 minutes at most.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance is taken each week in class. At the end of the semester, I will add up to five points to the final grade for student attendance. That is, students who have attended every class will gain extra points, those who missed only one or two classes will gain extra points as well. No points will be deducted for poor attendance –however: Please remember that this class is held once weekly, so that missing one lecture period is equivalent to missing two to three lectures in another course. A student who misses three classes has missed 25% of the course material, and so on. My experience shows that students who do not attend these classes cannot pass the exams.
EXAM ATTENDANCE
As stated above, there are no make-up exams in this class. A student who misses an exam will receive a grade of 0. If a serious situation prevents a student’s attendance at an exam, the student will be required to provide documentation (such as a letter from a medical doctor, a court officer, etc.) explaining the absence. This will be handled on an individual basis.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In the case of inclement weather, check the university website for cancellation of classes. Also, check Blackboard, in case I have independently cancelled. If a class is cancelled, we will pick up where we left off on the following week. (For example, if class were cancelled on September 12, the readings that would have been due on that day would be due when we meet again, on September 17.)
STUDENT PROGRESS
I strongly encourage students to speak to me during office hours if they have any concerns. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER. I do not give extra-credit assignments to individual students. Anyone requiring special accommodations should speak with me immediately.
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
As you can see, this is a class of one hundred students. With such a great number of students in the class, many individuals begin to feel that they are invisible and that their actions will have no effect on those surrounding them. Actually, this is not true at all – despite the large number of people in this room, no one is actually invisible. Those around you are quite well aware of what you are doing, and surprisingly, I, the teacher, can see you from the front of the room. While I may not know your name, I do begin to recognize many faces and I CAN SEE YOU from the front.
With this in mind, please take into consideration the following classroom etiquette issues.
1. Please do not make use of your cell phone during the class period. Please keep your cell phone in your bag throughout the class session. This is particularly important during exams.
2. Please do not use personal computers during the class, except for class note taking. Using computers during class for other purposes disturbs those surrounding you. It is distracting to those around you.
3. Students who are in the class are expected to remain seated until the class is finished. Once you have decided to attend the class lecture and discussion, please do not leave your seat until the teacher has closed the class. Please do not leave the class during a film, even if you have determined that you, personally, are not interested in the film. Leaving the class early disturbs all others in the class. You will notice that the doors creak and then slam when a student leaves the room. This really disturbs film viewing for the other students.
4. Please do not use the class period to catch up with a friend. This is very impolite to those surrounding you.
5. Please sit in the first 12 rows of the classroom to mitigate the acoustical problems in the room.