The Making of the Modern Middle East (I)

Fall 2019
Figure 1: Jerusalem, view from the
south, early 20th century

Dr. Noa Shaindlinger

Email: nshaindl@holycross.edu
Office: O’Kane 358, x2819
Office hours: MF 2:30-3:30; W 11:30-12:30 or by appointment
Class meeting: MWF 10 Stein 133

Figure 2: Ottoman Soldiers in

Monastir (Macedonia), 1863.
Course Description
This course is an invitation to reconsider our preconceived notions about
the Middle East, by way of introduction to the rich history of the region in
the onset of the modern era. You will learn about the legacies of the
Ottoman Empire, its last political and cultural influence on successor states,
and the circumstances of its decline and disintegration. We will also pay
close attention to European colonialism in the region, by way of economic
and diplomatic pressures as well as direct occupation and military control
over the lives of millions. We will also focus on the social and political
struggles of men and women and consider the dynamics of popular
uprisings, revolutions and rebellions, both failed and successful ones.
Thematically, we will also cover topics such as urban and environmental
histories, as well as nationalism and state violence.

Required Text
Cleveland, William L. and Martin Bunton. A History of the Modern Middle East.
6th Edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2016.
Figure 2: Jewish woman, Armenian
Other texts will be posted on Moodle. bride, Greek Woman (Istanbul,
1873)

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Course Evaluation
Map quiz- 5%
Four short writing assignments- 10% each
Mid-term- 20%
Final- 20%
Attendance & participation in discussion groups- 15%
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon the successful completion of this course, students should be able
to:
• Identify the major social, political, ideological, and economic
transformations in the modern Middle East.
• Analyse these transformations in larger global frameworks and
international histories.
• Think critically and analytically about different sources and Figure 3: An Ottoman student in military
methodologies in studying Middle Eastern history. school, c1900

Figure 4: Street vendor, Ottoman Beirut,

1911

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Expectations, Policies, and Grading
Academic honesty
Please read about the History Department’s standards of academic honesty. For instance, you are not allowed to
give or receive unauthorized aid on any test or assignment. Likewise, the ideas that you express in your
assignments are your own. Please refer to the following website for more details and do not hesitate to ask me
when in doubt: https://www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/history/academic-honesty
Rules of Engagement
The classroom is meant to be a safe space for intellectual engagement and exchange of ideas. As such, I expect
you all to be respectful of your colleagues, the instructor, and the college community. All forms of racism,
Islamophobia, sexism, etc. will NOT be tolerated.
In an effort to affirm and respect the identities of transgender students in the classroom and beyond, please
contact me if you wish to be referred to using a name and/or pronouns other than what is listed in the student
directory.
And finally, I (like many people) am still in the process of learning about diverse perspectives and identities. If
something was said in class (by anyone) that made you feel uncomfortable, please talk to me about it.
Inclusive Learning
Your success in this class is important to me. We will all need accommodations because we all learn differently. If
there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning or exclude you, please let me know as soon as
possible. Together we will develop strategies to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course.
I encourage you to visit the Office of Accessibility Services to determine how you could improve your learning
as well. If you need official accommodations, you have a right to have these met. Please visit
https://www.holycross.edu/health-wellness-and-access/office-accessibility-services

Communication
Students are welcome to speak with me during my office hours, or by appointment. My door is always
(figuratively) open. Take the opportunity, come in and introduce yourselves, discuss any aspect of the course or
your academic goals in general. This is the best way for me to get to know you and for you to solve any problems
or concerns related to this course. If you email me, the response is up to 24 hours and may be longer during
weekends and holidays.
Electronic device policy
I highly discourage students from using electronic devices during class time, as they tend to be distractive. Please
make sure that your cell phones are muted or off. The use of a laptop to take notes is allowed, but you are asked
to avoid social media and other unrelated websites and apps.

Discussion groups
Active participation is a vital part of this course, and allows you to think deeply about the historical processes
that we will be exploring through a variety of primary sources. Take a look at the class schedule below. When
you see sources that are highlighted with turquoise, it means that day will be devoted to discussion. On the first
week, I will divide the class into small groups of 3-4 students. Please make sure you remain in the same group for

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the entire semester. Each group will have a discussion leader/moderator, and a secretary that records the
discussion for the day. These roles will rotate among group members. The report, compiled by the secretary and
edited by another member, will be submitted to me within three days. By the end of the semester, each group
will have a portfolio that will document the participation of each member. These portfolios, along with your level
of engagement throughout the semester (which will be based both on my assessment of your participation and
your team members’ anonymous assessment of your participation), will count towards your class participation
grade.
Late Submission
As a rule, I expect you to mind deadlines (marked in yellow below) and submit your assignments on time. I do,
however, acknowledge that at time, circumstances beyond our control may hinder that. If there’s any issue that
may affect your ability to make a deadline, please talk to me BEFORE an assignment is due. Unexcused late
submissions will incur a 5% grade subtraction per day.
Other important policies
Please consult the College’s policies regarding attendance and excused absences, found here:
https://catalog.holycross.edu/node/1381

Writing
Finally, I recommend you get to know the highly trained staff at the Writing Center, located at Dinand Library.
You are expected to produce several short writing assignments. Contrary to popular belief, no one is born a
talented writer. Writing is about learning and practicing, and the Writer’s Workshop can help you develop these
skills. Here is where you find them online:
https://www.holycross.edu/academics/support-and-resources/center-for-writing

Weekly Lecture & Discussion Schedules

1. By way of introduction
September 4 – Introduction, expectations, and general ice breaking.
September 6 – Doing History: Primary and Secondary sources
September 9 - the Middle East through American Eyes: Discussion of the film Reel Bad Arabs. Watch the
film before class meets: https://youtu.be/pIXOdCOrgG4
The film will be the focus of your first writing assignment.
2. The Late Ottoman Empire: An Era of Transformation
September 11 & 13 – Age of Reforms
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 5.
Sources: “The Hatt-I-Serif, 1839,” and an Ottoman decree defining the meaning of “citizen.”

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 September 16 – Egypt in the 19th Century.
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 5 (87-95), Chapter 6 (96-102)
Source for class discussion: The ‘Urabi Revolt, read Juan Cole, Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East,
chapter 9.
The writing assignment #1 (film response) is due September 16 by midnight.
September 18 - British Colonialism in Egypt
Read: Edward Said, Orientalism, pp. 31-41.
September 20 – Intellectual Resurgence
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 7.
September 23 – Renan/al-Afghani Debate
Sources for Class discussion: Ernest Renan, “Islam and Science” & Jamal al-Din al-Afghani response.
September 25 - Constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire and Persia
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 8.
Map quiz (in-class, September 25)
September 27 – Women and Modernity
Sources for class discussion: Qasim Amin argues for the emancipation of women in Egypt & Bahithat al-
Badiya advocates greater educational and Economic Rights for Egyptian Women

3. World War I & its consequences for the Middle East

September 30 - The End of the Ottoman Empire
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 9.
October 2 – In-class film “World War I through Arab Eyes”
October 4 – The Armenian Genocide
Read: Dawn Chatty, Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East, chapter 4.

4. The Arab Struggle for Independence

October 7 – The French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 12, pp. 206-219.
October 9 - Uprising in Egypt
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapters 11, pp. 184-194; Beth Baron, “Mothers, Morality, and Naionalism
in pre-1919 Egypt,” in The Origins of Arab Nationalism, edited by Rashid Khalidi et als., pp. 271-288.

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 October 11 – Understanding nationalism
Sources for class discussion: The resolution of the General Syrian Congress & article in al-Asima, the
Syrian Government newspaper
The writing assignment #2 (articles analysis) is due October 11.
October 21 – Focus: Saudi Arabia
Read: Madawi al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, chapter 2.
October 23 – State Consolidation and Oil Economy
Read: Madawi al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, chapter 3.
5. State Building and Authoritarianism
October 25 – Midterm take-home exam. You will have 24 hours to complete and submit your answers.
October 28 – The Creation of the Republic of Turkey
Read: Ahmad Feroz, The Making of Modern Turkey, chapter 4.
October 30 – The dark side of Turkish nationalism, part I: “Population Exchange”
Read for class discussion: Onur Yidirim, Diplomacy and Displacement: Reconsidering the Turco-Greek Exchange of
Populations, 1922-1934, pp.87-101 and 125-155; Dimitra Giannuli, "Greeks or 'Strangers at Home": The
Experience of Ottoman Greek Refugees During Their Exodus to Greece, 1922-1923." Journal of Modern
Greek Studies 13, 2 (1995): 271-287.
November 1– The dark side of Turkish nationalism, part II: The Kurds and the Turkish State
Read: Uğur Ümit Üngör, The Making of Modern Turkey: Nation and State in Eastern Anatolia, 1913-1950,
chapter 3.
November 4 - Iran to 1945.
Read: Ervand Abrahamian, A History of Modern Iran, chapter 3.
6. Palestine – Struggle and Catastrophe
November 6 - The British Mandate in Palestine, part I: Zionism.
Read: Primary sources by Herzl, Pinsker & Ahad Ha’am
Assignment #3 (primary source analysis) is due by midnight.
November 8 – The British Mandate in Palestine, Part II –Colonial and Intercommunal Violence
Read: Cleveland and Bunton, Chapter 13.
November 11 – The life of a Palestinian working class preacher
Source for class discussion: Edmund Burke III and David N. Yaghoubian, Struggle and Survival in the Modern
Middle East, chapter 9.

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 November 13 – War and Catastrophe
Read: Benny Morris, “Revisiting the Palestinian Exodus of 1948,” in E. Rogan and A. Shlaim, eds., The
War for Palestine, p.p.37-59; Ilan Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine, chapter 4.

7. Middle Eastern Jews

November 15 - Iraq
Read: Orit Bashkin, The New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq, chapters 1 & 4.
November 18 – Iran
Read: Lior Sternfeld, Between Iran and Zion: Jewish Histories of Twentieth-Century Iran, chapter 1.
8. Middle Eastern Cities
November 20 - Political activism in port cities
Read: Ilham Khuri-Makdisi, The Eastern Mediterranean and the Making of Global Radicalism, 1860-1914, chapter
4.
November 22 - The making of a modern city – Izmir
Read: Sibel Zandi-Sayek, Ottoman Izmir: The Rise of a Cosmopolitan Port, 1840-1880, chapter 2.
November 25 - Everyday life in Damascus
Read for class discussion: Edmund Burke III and David N. Yaghoubian, Struggle and Survival in the Modern
Middle East, chapter 10.
Assignment #4 (Primary source analysis) is due by midnight.
8. Emerging political movements
December 2 - Read: Antun Sa’deh, Michel ‘Aflaq & Hasan al-Banna.
9. Environmental Histories
December 4 – What is environmental history anyway?
Read: Diana Davis, “Imperialism, Orientalism, and the Environment in the Middle East: History, Policy,
Power, and Practice.” In Environmental Imaginaries of the Middle East and North Africa, ed. Diana Davis and
Edmund Burke, 1–22; Edmund Burke, “The Coming Environmental Crisis in the Middle East: A
Historical Perspective, 1750-2000 CE.” UC World History Workshop. Paper 2. 1-19.
December 6 – Waterways
Read: Alan Mikhail, “From the Bottom up: The Nile, Silt, and Humans in Ottoman Egypt,”; Jennifer L.
Derr, “Drafting a Map of Colonial Egypt,” both in Environmental Imaginaries of the Middle East and North
Africa, ed. Diana Davis and Edmund Burke, chapters 4 and 5.
December 9 – Nonhumans

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 Read: Timothy Mitchell, “Can the Mosquito Speak?” In Rule of Experts: Egypt, Technopolitics, Modernity, pp.
19-53; Tamar Novick, “Bible, Bees and Boxes: The Creation of ‘The Land Flowing with Milk and Honey’
in Palestine, 1880–1931,” Food, Culture & Society 16(2), 281-299.
10. Wrap and Conclusion
Final exam will take place on December 13. It will be a take-home exam and you will have 24 hours to complete
and submit your answers

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