Course Title: Modern Middle East History            Office Hours: Thurs 2:30-3:30, by Zoom

Instructor: Juan Cole                  Telephone: 763-1599; e-mail: jrcole (umich domain)

This course introduces students at the graduate level to the contemporary historiography of the modern Middle East. We will consider and discuss recent pathbreaking monographs on the impact of climate change, historiography, slavery, gender, colonialism, nationalism and peace movements as a way of considering not only the contours of the region's modern history but the tools and concepts now being deployed to unpack them.

Grading is based upon class attendance and active participation in the discussion, showing firm grasp of the reading matter, active participation at the class Discussion tab at Canvas, and three short 7-page (typed double-spaced) analytical explorations of one or more of the readings in the class (these are not book reviews and comparison and contrast is encouraged). Attendance is obligatory and missing a seminar class is very serious and should only occur in case of an approved emergency.

Required texts:

Al-Qattan, Najwa, When Mothers ate their Children: Wartime Memory and the Language of Food in Syria and Lebanon, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 46, Iss. 4, (Nov 2014): 719-736.

Cole, Juan, ed. Peace Movements in Islam. London: IB Tauris. 2021. [Electronic Resource at Myrlyn.]

El Shakry, Omnia. The great social laboratory : subjects of knowledge in colonial and postcolonial Egypt. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. 2007.

Karamursel, Ceyda. “The Uncertainties of Freedom: The Second Constitutional Era and the End of Slavery in the Late Ottoman Empire.” Journal of Women’s History, Volume 28, Number 3, Fall 2016, pp. 138-161.

Mikhail, Alan. (2016). “Climate and the Chronology of Iranian History.” Iranian Studies, 49:6, 963-972.

Powell, Eve Troutt. (2012). Tell this in my memory : stories of enslavement from Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Empire. Palo Alto, California : Stanford University Press. Online at Mirlyn

Satia, Priya. Time's Monster. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press. 2020. [Electronic Resource at Myrlyn.]

Tanielian, Melanie S. (2018). The charity of war : famine, humanitarian aid, and World War I in the Middle East. Stanford, California : Stanford University Press. Online at Mirlyn.

White, Sam. (2011). The climate of rebellion in the early modern Ottoman Empire. New York : Cambridge University Press. [Electronic Resource at Myrlyn.]

Lecture Topics

Aug. 29             Orientation

(Begin History blogging or micro-blogging in preparation for last class).

Sept. 5             Environmental History I

White, Climate of Rebellion, chaps. 1-5
Mikhail, Alan. (2016). “Climate and the Chronology of Iranian History.” Iranian Studies, 49:6, 963-972.

Sept. 12             Environmental History II

White, Climate of Rebellion, chaps. 6-end

Sept. 19             British Empire History I

Satia, Time's Monster chaps 1-3

Sept. 26             British Empire History II

Satia, Time's Monster, chaps 4-6

Oct.3             Slavery I

Powell, Tell this in My Memory, chaps. 1-3
Karamursel, Ceyda. “The Uncertainties of Freedom: The Second Constitutional Era and the End of Slavery in the Late Ottoman Empire.” Journal of Women’s History, Volume 28, Number 3, Fall 2016, pp. 138-161

Oct. 10             Slavery II

Powell, Tell this in My Memory, chaps. 4-end

FIRST PAPER DUE Oct 10

Oct. 17             FALL BREAK

Oct. 24             Colonial Egypt I

El Shakry, Great Social Laboratory, 1st half

Oct. 31             Colonial Egypt II

El Shakry, Great Social Laboratory, (Second half)

Nov. 7             Levant and Famine in the Great War

Tanielian, The Charity of War, first half.

SECOND PAPER DUE APRIL 1

Nov. 14             Levant and Famine in the Great War, II

Tanielian, The Charity of War, second half.
Najwa al-Qattan, When Mothers ate their Children: Wartime Memory and the Language of Food in Syria and Lebanon, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 46, Iss. 4, (Nov 2014): 719-736.

Nov. 21             Peace History I

Cole, Peace Movements in Islam, chapters 4, 5, 6, 7

Nov. 28             Peace History II

Cole, Peace Movements in Islam, chapters 8, 9, 10, 11

Dec. 5             Historians in the World: Digital Platforms, Public Intellectuals and Journalism beyond the Academy

Presentation of Blogs and Group Discussion

THIRD PAPER DUE Dec. 12

Academic Integrity Policy: History 241 follows the academic integrity guidelines set forth by the College of LSA and the History Department. Students should familiarize themselves with both of these documents, which explain the standards of academic integrity and clarify the prohibited forms of academic misconduct. Students in History 241 should utilize the Chicago Manual of Style Online for all issues of source citation, along with any specific guidelines provided in the course assignments. Clarifying the disciplinary standards of research ethics and source citation is part of the educational mission of this course, and students should consult the faculty instructor and/or GSI regarding any questions. The penalties for deliberate cases of plagiarism and/or other forms of academic misconduct are a failing grade on the assignment. Cases that the instructor judges to be particularly serious, or those in which the student contests the charge of academic misconduct, will be handled by the office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. All cases of deliberate academic misconduct that result in formal sanctions of any kind will be reported to the dean's office, as required by LSA policy, which also ensures due process rights of appeal for students.

Syllabus online here: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/syl664.htm

Return to Juan R.I. Cole Syllabi.

WebMaster: Juan R.I. Cole