Fall 2004
Dr. Usha Sanyal

Dana 302

Tuesday-Thursday 1.20 - 2.40 p.m.

Office Hours: Tuesday 12.00 to 1.00 p.m. and by appointment

The Middle East has occupied the center of attention for U.S. policymakers for over half a century. Its crises have a direct impact on our economic and political security. This course provides an introduction to the political systems of the Middle East with a specific focus on six countries: Egypt, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. In the last twenty-five years, these countries have been the center for many of the major conflicts in the region: the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, the Gulf War of 1991, and the current conflict in Iraq.

At the end of the course, students should 

• be able to identify the major political, economic, and strategic features of the Middle East map
• be familiar with the historical development of various Middle Eastern countries
• have a basic understanding of Islam as a religion and the phenomenon of Political Islam
• have a basic understanding of the political development of the region as a whole and identify the major themes of colonial independence, authoritarianism, and democratization as they apply to the Middle East.

Graded Components and Their Value

Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 30%
Class Participation: 10%
Class Presentation of Research Paper: 5%
Research Paper: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Current events: 5%

Grading Scale

(1) Exams

There will be a midterm exam and a final exam. Both exams will include an essay (or essays). Other features could include term definitions and a map. The final exam will be partially comprehensive, asking you to compare specific countries.

Note: Make-up exams will only be permitted for a valid reason--serious illness, family emergency, or school-related event. This can only be granted once. The make-up exam will be different from the class exam.

A student who fails to take the final exam will receive an F for the course grade. Exam schedules cannot be moved up just in order to allow a student to get home early!

(2) Class Participation

Ten percent of your course grade is determined by class participation. Depending on your performance you may receive a grade from A to F. A student who never volunteers an answer and whose answer, when called upon, indicates that he or she has not done the reading or is not paying attention will receive an F for his/her participation grade. Simple attendance of the course (while required) will not suffice to receive a good grade on this aspect of the course.

Please ask questions, even "stupid" ones (there's no such thing as a dumb question), raise issues, and participate in discussion! You'll earn participation points for doing this.

However, please do so without being disruptive! Please be courteous and thoughtful in your remarks, so we can have a good discussion.

(3) Research Paper

Each student will be responsible for writing a 10-page research paper. The topic of each student's paper will deal with democratization in a specific Middle Eastern country not covered by the textbook. Topics and details about the paper will be discussed in class. The grade for the research paper is composed of three components: (1) the paper topic and preliminary annotated bibliography, which is due on Tuesday, October 5; (2) a rough outline of the paper, which is due in class on Tuesday, November 2; and (3) the final research paper, which is due in class on Tuesday, November 30.

Note: This part of the course carries 20% of the final grade.

PENALTY FOR LATE SUBMISSION:

Late papers without a legitimate excuse will be penalized as follows:

1.  5-point penalty if received on the 1st or 2nd day after the due date (including weekends)
2.  10-point penalty if received on the 3rd, 4th, or 5th day after the due date (including weekends)
3.  15-point penalty if received on the 6th or 7th day after the due date (including weekends)

Each student will present the major findings of his or her paper in class on December 2 or December 7, in a brief oral presentation. The presentations will be followed by a group discussion.

(4) Quizzes

Quizzes will often be given at the beginning of class. There are no make-up quizzes for students who miss a class or who are late to class. The quizzes are objective in nature, covering the main points made by the authors in our textbooks, the major facts, and term definition. Most will be multiple choice.

The lowest score (one quiz) will be dropped before determining the quiz portion of the grade. All quizzes are worth 10 points.

(5) Current Events

During the semester students will present a current event to the class in a short, five-minute presentation. Each student will do this twice. You should state the major issue in the article, your response to it, and a possible solution if the issue is a problem. Students must turn in a copy of the article to me, and indicate its source (name of source, date, page(s), Internet address, if found on the Internet). The sources to be used are: the New York Times (www.nytimes.com and in our library), Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com), or The Economist (www.economist.com and in our library). There are also a number of Middle Eastern newspapers in English available on the net, including: Middle East Daily (www.middleeastdaily.com), Al-Ahram (www.ahram.org.eg/weekly) (Egypt), and Arab News (www.arabnews.com) (Saudi Arabia)

Please write your name on a sign-up sheet to indicate the dates of your Current Events presentations.

ATTENDANCE POLICY

You are expected to attend every class. However, circumstances sometimes arise which interfere with class schedules. You are allowed to miss two classes without penalty. Such absences should not occur consecutively as instructors are required to report students with three or more consecutive absences to the Academic Advisor's Office. Any unexcused absence after the two just mentioned will result in a 1-point deduction from the student's final total points (out of 100).

In case of a family emergency or the like, please notify me immediately.

INCLEMENT WEATHER/CLASS CANCELLATION

If inclement weather or other emergencies force Queens University to cancel classes, students who live on campus will receive notice via voice mail. Students who live off campus can call 337-2567 for information regarding class cancellations or postponements. Information will also be posted on the Queens University website (www.queens.edu)

Syllabus Revision

I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus provided students are given sufficient notice.

QUEENS HONOR CODE

Finally, all of us are expected to abide by the Queens Honor Code at all times. While this means, among other things, no cheating on quizzes or tests, it also means no plagiarism in your writing. Violations of the honor code are taken very seriously and may lead to a student's suspension from school.

LIBRARY

You will need to use the library for your research paper. After consulting the library's holdings, you may find that the books you need are not available there and will have to be aquired through interlibrary loan (ILL). The library will require you to fill in a form to make a loan request. It usually takes about 10 days to get a book, so plan ahead and make sure you've given yourself enough time before a paper due date to get the books you need.

The Library desk number is 337-2401. Call if you have questions. 

Textbooks

Required:

• Monte Palmer, The Politics of the Middle East (2002)
• David Grossman, The Yellow Wind (new edition)
• Terrorism and 9/11: A Reader (2002)

Optional:

• National Geographic, Atlas of the Middle East