Northern
Fall 2008 Dberna@niu.edu
815-991-5341 (home)
815-753-1022 (office)
Office Location: Zulauf 411
Office Hours: TTH
TTH
There is no such thing as a
Palestinian people. It is not as if we
came and threw them out and took their country. They didn't exist.
–
Golda Meir
The question is what shall we do to
enter the world state? We need to force
what our enemy would not have. This
force should be superior to technology and weapons. Our balancing force is the newly born and
awakened Islam that is prepared to make sacrifices throughout the world and our
Islamic Republic will survive if it’s backed by global force.
– Ayatollah Khomeini
Oil is too important a commodity to be left in the
hand of the Arabs
– Henry
Kissinger
I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days,
five weeks or five months, but it won’t last any longer than that.
– Donald Rumsfeld
People say to me, you [the Iraqis] are not the Vietnamese, you have no
jungles and swamps to hide in. I reply
let our cities be our swamps and buildings our jungles.
– Tariq Aziz
Course Description:
This course is an advanced seminar in Middle Eastern
politics and will provide the student a broad-based understanding of the
diverse socioeconomic and sociopolitical systems of the
Grading:
7 short papers: 70%
Participation: 30%
Regular attendance is mandatory and will be taken at the beginning of each class. Any student arriving late to class after attendance is taken will be marked absent; there will be no exceptions. More than 2 absences will result in a five-point reduction on final grade for each additional absence. Please note that a significant number of absences will result in a failing course grade. The best way to perform well in this course is to attend and prepare for each class.
Guidelines on Grading:
F in Course: Failing to turn in less than 4 papers and/or missing more than 9 classes.
D in Course: When the student misses more than 7 classes and/or turns in less than 4 papers. OR significantly participates, misses 0 classes, and hands in no papers.
C in Course: When the student misses 5-6 classes, participates some, and/or turns in no less than 5 papers. OR turns in all 7 papers and shows little effort or improvement.
B in Course: When the student misses 1-4 classes, participates, and/or turns in no less than 6 papers. OR turns in all 7 papers, misses 1-2 classes, and does NOT participate.
A in Course: When the student misses ONLY 0-3 classes, significantly participates, and turns in ALL 7 papers.
Paper Requirements:
For each of the 7 papers, you are expected to critically
evaluate five of the semester’s readings.
Each weekly paper should be between 4-6 pages and consist of two
sections. First, a brief overview of a
single reading or several readings, here you are expected to sum-up the
author’s major arguments and findings.
Secondly, critically evaluate what you have read and you may be as
critical as you wish. You are encouraged
to use previous readings as a starting point for your criticism and you are
welcome to bring in ANY outside source. No student is allowed to hand in more than
one paper per week. This means that
if you wait until late-October to start your papers you will run out of time.
The following questions may help you to think of what to include in your papers:
1) What are the main hypotheses (or arguments) in the week’s reading(s)?
2) How does this week’s reading fit together (if there is more than one reading per week)?
3) How does the week’s readings relate to past readings?
4) What does this week’s reading add to the literature? Does it critique it?
5) What have you taken from the readings?
6) What are the implications of the topics covered in the readings?
7) According to the readings what are the causes of terrorism?
8) According to the readings what are the consequences of terrorism?
9) According to the readings why do the terrorists do what they do?
10) What are your critiques?
Academic dishonesty on papers will not be tolerated and will result in an automatic F on the assignment without the opportunity to re-do or re-write the assignment for replacement credit.
Required Text(s):
Husain, Zohiar. 2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. 2002. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. ISBN: 9781588260208
Keddie, Nikkie.
2006. Modern
AbuKhalil, As’ad.
2004. The
Liam Anderson and
Gareth Stansfield. 2004. The Future of
Levitt, Matthew. 2007. Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. ISBN: 0300122586
Palmer-Harik, Judith. 2005. Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism. ISBN-10: 1845110242
Liam Anderson and
Gareth Stansfield. 2004. The Future of
Rick Fawn and
Raymond Hinnebusch. 2006. The
Method of Teaching:
Instruction in this course
will follow a Socratic format. A
thorough exchange of ideas among students on various current events, weekly
readings or lecture topics is expected.
Student Learning
Objectives:
After successfully completing this course, students will be able to:
Additional
Information:
Extra Credit: Under NO circumstances will extra credit assignments
be given to any student attempting to raise his/her final grade.
Students with Disabilities:
Plagiarism Policy: According to the NIU Undergraduate Catalogue
“Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material
from books, magazines, or other sources without identifying and acknowledging
them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism
on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course
involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university.” If you intentionally plagiarize on any paper
I will give you an F on that paper.
Religious Observance: If classes or assignments coincide and
conflict with your religious observance, please let me know ASAP so that you
can be accommodated.
Undergraduate
Writing Awards: The Department of Political Science will recognize,
on an annual basis, outstanding undergraduate papers written in conjunction
with 300-400 level political science courses or directed studies. Authors do
not have to be political science majors or have a particular class standing.
Winners are expected to attend the Department’s spring graduation ceremony
where they will receive a certificate and $50.00. Papers, which can be
submitted by students or faculty, must be supplied in triplicate to a
department secretary by February 28th. All copies should have two cover
pages-one with the student’s name and one without the student’s name. Only
papers written in the previous calendar year can be considered for the award.
Department
of Political Science Web Site: Undergraduates are strongly encouraged to
consult the Department of Political Science web site on a regular basis. This
up-to-date, central source of information will assist students in contacting
faculty and staff, reviewing course requirements and syllabi, exploring
graduate study, researching career options, tracking department events, and
accessing important details related to undergraduate programs and activities.
To reach the site, go to http://polisci.niu.edu.
August 26: Course
Introduction
Topic One: History of
the
August 28: Introduction to Middle Eastern Politics
Husain, Zohiar. 2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
Chapters: 1-6
“An Overview of Islam”
“Islamism and Islamic Revivals”
“Revolutionary Islamists”
“Traditionalist Islamists”
“Modernist Islamists”
Topic Two:
International Institutions
September 2: Chapter
8
“OPEC, PAPEC, and the OIC: Institutionalizing Pan-Islamism”
Husain, Zohiar. 2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
Topic Three: The
Arab-Israeli Conflict
September 4: Chapter Seven
“Arab-Israeli Conflict”
Husain, Zohiar. 2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
September 9-11: Hamas
Levitt, Matthew. 2007. Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. ISBN: 0300122586
Entire Book
Topic Four: The
Foreign Policies of Middle East States
September 16: Chapters 1-3
“Introduction: The Analytical Framework”
“The
“The Impact of the International System on the
Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. 2002. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. ISBN: 9781588260208
September 18-23: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 12
“The Foreign Policy of
“The Foreign Policy of
“The Foreign Policy of
“The Foreign Policy of
“The Foreign Policy of
“The Foreign Policy of
Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. 2002. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. ISBN: 9781588260208
Topic Four:
September 25: Chapter Nine
“The Islamic Revolution in
Husain, Zohiar. 2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
September 30 –
October 2
Keddie, Nikkie.
2006. Modern
Entire Book
Chapter 13
Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. 2002. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. ISBN: 9781588260208
Topic Four:
October 7:
AbuKhalil, As’ad.
2004. The
Entire Book
October 9-14:
Robert Sullivan. 1970.
Pages 436-460
John Bradley. 2005. Al-Qaeda and the House of Saud: Eternal Enemies or Secret Bedfellows. The Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pages 139-152.
Rachel Bronson. 2005. Rethinking Religion: The Legacy of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship. The Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pages 121-137.
Chapter 9
Raymond Hinnebusch and Anoushiravan Ehteshami. 2002. The Foreign Policies of Middle East States. ISBN: 9781588260208
October 16: Movie Palestinians and Suicide Terrorism
Topic Five:
October 16-21
Liam Anderson and
Gareth Stansfield. 2004. The Future of
Entire Book
October 23-28
Rick Fawn and
Raymond Hinnebusch. 2006. The
Entire Book
October 30: Open
Topic Six: The Bush
Doctrine and the
November 4: Chapters
Ten and Eleven
“
“Perceiving Islam:
The Causes and Consequences of Islamophobia in the
Husain, Zohiar.
2006. Global Islamic Politics. Longman Press. ISBN: 0321129350
November 6-11
Jonathan Monten. Spring 2005. The Roots of the Bush
Doctrine: Power, Nationalism, and Democracy Promotion in
David Hastings Dunn. 2006. A Doctrine Worthy of the Name? George W. Bush and the Limits of Pre-Emption, Pre-Eminence, and Unilateralism. Democracy and Statecraft. Pages 1-29.
Francois Heisbourg. A Work in Progress: The Bush Doctrine
and its consequences. The
Audrey Kurth Cronin: 2002. “Behind the Curve: Globalization
and the International Terrorism” International
Security. Pages 30-58. (Project Muse)
Stephen Walt: 2002. Beyond bin Laden:
Reshaping U.S. Foreign Policy. International Security. Pages
56-78 (Project Muse)
November 13: Movie
Topic Seven:
November 18-20
Palmer-Harik, Judith. 2005. Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism. ISBN-10: 1845110242
Topic Eight:
Women and Ethnic Minorities
November 25
Nazila Ghanea. 2004. Human Rights of Religious Minorities and of Women
in the
Robert Olson. 2006.
Relations Among
Joshua Walker. 2006.
December 2-4: Islamic Women
Valentine M. Moghadam. 2002. Islamic Feminism and its Discontents:
Toward a Resolution of the Debate. Signs.
Pages 1135-1171.
Shahrzad Mojab. 2001. Theorizing the Politics of Islamic Feminism. Feminist
Review. Pages 124-146.
Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer. 1992. Islam, Women, and Politics: The
Demography of Arab Countries. Population and Development Review. Pages
33-60.
John Smith. 1979. Women in Islam: Equity, Equality, and the Search for
the National Order. Journal of the
Leila Ahmed. 1986. Women and The
Advent of Islam. Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Pages 665-691.