Dr. Daugherty, UH 218
Office hours: M-W, 12:00-1:20; T-R, 1200-12:50, or by appointment.
Tel: 961-3078 (warning: voice mail infrequently checked)
E?mail (preferred; checked several times daily): wijid@comcast.net or daughewi@mail.armstrong.edu.

ACCEPTANCE: Students are responsible for the contents of this syllabus; continued enrollment in this course constitutes awareness and acceptance of all requirements and policies discussed herein.

OVERVIEW: This is a broad introduction to the history, politics, economy, and social issues of the Middle East, Islam, and US policy toward the region. The course will look at the key states in the region and some central regional themes.

TEXTS: The Middle East (9th ed), by the Congressional Quarterly; Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, by Gerner and Schwedler.

HONOR CODE: All sections of the AASU Student Honor Code and Code of Conduct will apply to this class. Under the Honor Code, plagiarism, cheating, facilitating academic dishonesty, and fabrication in any form or manner are forbidden. Additional restrictions or instructions given in class on any individual assignment, whether verbal or written, will also fall under the Honor Code. Absence from the class when any additional instructions are given is not a valid excuse if a violation of the instructions result in an Honor or Conduct Code violation. Students will also be required sign each examination, which acknowledges that the student has followed the Honor Code and any additional restrictions/instructions given in class.

HONOR VIOLATION POLICY: I will accuse no student of violating the Honor Code unless I can prove beyond a doubt that the student is guilty. At that time, the student will be dropped from the class and his or her name will transmitted to the Dean of Student Affairs along with the proof, for a formal hearing before the Honor Court. Although the Honor Code permits a professor an option to handle the transgression in an "informal" manner vice submitting the case to the Honor Court, I will not do so. Before the Honor Court, I will urge that the student receive the maximum penalty possible, to wit: an F for the semester, suspension from school for one year, and the findings of the Court to be made a permanent part of the student's record.

REQUIREMENTS: (1) You will be required to write three papers for this course. The subjects of the papers are discussed at the end of this syllabus. Because you know the general subject matter of the papers and their due dates on the first day of class, you will have more than ample time for research and writing. Therefore, late papers will not be accepted and will receive a grade of 0 - late being defined as one minute past the date/time the paper is due. THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS AND NO EXEMPTIONS. (2) You will be given a Map Quiz on the fourth day of class, graded on a Pass-Fail basis. A score of less than 80% will constitute failure and will result in a loss of 50 points from your final overall point score.

CLASS PARTICIPATION and EXTRA POINTS: The minimal accepted level of class participation includes attending class regularly, arriving at class on time (habitual lateness is disrespectful to classmates and professor alike), being prepared for class by reading the assigned material, staying awake, taking notes, and looking interested. Students may earn 10 to 30 extra points towards their final grade, based on my judgment of the value of that participation, by asking questions and engaging in discussions. Often, even a modest amount of additional participation will be sufficient to elevate a grade one full letter. Conversely, it will be a serious mistake to leave the impression that you don't care about this class, if for no other reason than that's probably the same extent to which I'll care about your grade. As such, I reserve the right to reduce a final grade by one letter grade for participation that falls short of the minimal accepted level.

ABSENCE POLICY: You are permitted four unexcused absences, an ample number for minor illnesses, family needs, or special occasions. On the fifth unexcused absence, you will be dropped from the course with a WF. "Excused" absences are granted in advance for only for legitimate causes (e.g., school-sponsored athletic event or trip), but not for purely personal convenience reasons. The burden is on the student to request the excused absence prior to the class that s/he wishes to miss. If the request is not granted, the student is then expected to be in class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain the class notes and any instructions for papers from one of your classmates.

SYLLABUS: The first half of the course will focus on three countries or issues: Israel and the Palestinains, Iran, and Iraq because of the significant effect they have not only on the region, but on literally the rest of the world. The second half will explore the remaining Middle East countries highlighting their current governments and roles in regional and international affairs.

I. THE MIDDLE EAST AS A GEOGRAPHICAL REGION
II. ISRAEL, THE PALESTINIANS, AND THE ARABS
III. IRAN AND THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION
IV. IRAQ: OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO 2004
V. MODERN EGYPT
VI. JORDAN
VII. TURKEY
VIII. THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND GULF STATES
IX. THE MAHGREB STATES (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya)

PAPERS: As this is an upper division course, the papers are to be of a compositional and grammatical quality suitable for an advanced English course, including proof-reading and spell-checking. Papers that haven't been given the due attention regarding composition, proofing, and spell-check will be viewed as indicative a lack interest in the course on the part of the student and will be penalized regardless of quality of the substance.

Papers are to be conform to the guidelines handed out separately. You may NOT use the texts assigned for the class as sources for your work, but they will serve as excellent starting points for your research. You may, if you wish, augment your sources in Papers 1 and 2 with newspaper articles but you may NOT replace a journal article with a newspaper (or news magazine) story. You may use newspaper/newsmagazine articles as well as books and journal articles for Paper 3.

Paper One (100 points): Select two journal articles on the same Middle East issue (your choice of topics -- political, economic, social, military, cultural), and write a 5-7 page paper that explains the issue and compares the two articles. This paper is due by 11:00 on 24 February.

Paper Two (100 points): Read a complete book on any aspect of the Middle East and write a 5-7 page report with your own critical analysis included. This paper is due by 11:00, 31 March.

Paper Three (200 points): Write a 6-10 page paper on one of the following issues as it pertains to the Middle East as a region or to one or more individual countries: 1.) The role of women in Islamic society. 2). The politics of water scarcity. 3.) Potential for democratization of authoritative governments or dictatorships.
4.) American foreign policy towards a country or a regional issue at a given point in time. 5.) The tensions between religion and secularism in modern Turkey, Israel, or Egypt. 6.) The politics of oil.
7.) Lebanon and the civil war of 1975-1990. 8.) How tribal allegiances influence modern Middle East politics. 8.) Land policies and politics. 9.) The challenges of modernization. 10.) Challenges to the traditional family and/or tribal structure(s). This paper is due by 11:00, 27 April.

GRADING: Your course grade will be determined by the aggregate scores on the three papers each of which will be worth 100 points. A = 360-400 pts; B = 320-259; C = 280-319; D = 240-279.

ADDITIONAL READINGS:

Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace Bernard Wasserstein, Israelis and Palestinians
Bernard Lewis, The Middle East Kenneth M. Pollack, The Persian Puzzle
Monte Palmer, The Politics of the Middle East Bill and Springborg, Politics in the Middle East
Roger Owen, State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Middle East

SELECTED JOURNALS:

Foreign Affairs Foreign Policy British Journal Of Middle Eastern Middle East Report Middle East Journal Middle East Policy
Middle East Report Middle East Quarterly Middle East Studies
Middle East Studies Arab Studies Quarterly Arabica
Israel Affairs Israel Studies Journal Of Palestine Studies
Iranian Studies Diplomacy and Statecraft Orbis

Peacekeeping And International Relations
Washington Report On Middle East Affairs
Studies Critical Middle Eastern Studies
International Journal Of Middle East Studies
British Journal Of Politics And International Relations
Australian Journal Of International Affairs
International Affairs (Royal Institute Of International Affairs)
Journal Of International Affairs
Journal Of The British Institute Of International Affairs
European Foreign Affairs Review
Palestine - Israel Journal Of Politics, Economics And Culture
Pacifica Review: Peace, Security And Global Change
Peace And Conflict
Journal Of Conflict Resolution
Peacekeeping And International Relations
Harvard International Review

WEB-BASED SOURCES TO FOLLOW DURING THE SEMESTER

The Washington Post Middle East Page
The New York Times Middle East Page
The CIA World Fact Book (Go to www.odci.gov And Look Under "Library and Reference"
Federation of American Scientists (www.fas.org)
National Security Archives (www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/)
University of Texas Middle East Center
The Gulf 2000 Project
Islamic Studies Pathway
Government of Israel - Ministry of Foreign
English language newspapers from a number of Middle East countries are available on www.refdesk.com/paper.html.