The course of History of Arab Countries is oriented to provide students with the knowledge of the main periodizations of Arab history and aims to deepen, in particular, the transformations of the contemporary age in the Arab countries of Mediterranean Africa and South-West Asia (Middle East) between the 18th and 21st centuries. The course provides tools to know the phases of formation of the different contemporary Arab countries.

In particular, the course aims to deepen

•     the knowledge of the main periodizations of Arab history;
•     the study of the processes of modernisation and the change of political and social institutions in the contemporary age;
•     the historical context and the phases of formation of the current Arab States;
•     the main cultural, political, economic and social themes dealt with in historiography and local debate.

The details of the programme, week by week, can be accessed via the digital platform Moodle.

In summary, the course topics:

•     Periodizations of Arab history
•     The Arab Mediterranean in the Ottoman era. Turkish-Ottoman expansion. Decline of nomadism.
•     Modernisation. The Arab resurgence. The reforms of the 19th century. Islamic reformism.
•     Colonial Imperialism and the Arab World.
•     Nationalism and the formation of nation states.
•     Palestinian question and the foundation of Zionism.
•     1919: The Arab countries after the First World War.
•     The independent Arab states.
•     The democratic question. The question of resources. The question of the authoritarian state.
•     The Cold War and the Arab states between bipolarity and non-alignment. 1973: oil revolution.
•     Democratic transitions: phases and limits. Monographic study of contemporary North Africa.
•     North Africa and the Middle East after bipolarity: 1989-2019.

Knowledge and understanding. The student will have to demonstrate a good knowledge of the course topics indicated in the programme and will have to show the ability to understand the critique of the categories of colonial orientalism. The student should also demonstrate a good knowledge of the periodizations of Arab history and of the political history of the Arab states (knowledge and understanding).

Applied knowledge and understanding. The student will have to demonstrate that he/she has the ability to interpret and apply his/her own knowledge, skills and understanding in the in-depth study of themes on the different Arab areas, with reference to concrete and specific contexts (case studies dealt with in class) and with an interdisciplinary approach (applying knowledge and understanding).

Autonomy of judgement. The student will have to integrate the knowledge acquired during the course with that of his/her own basic training and demonstrate the ability to interpret Arab political processes using the tools of comparison between areas of the world (making judgements).

Communication skills. The student will demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly and unambiguously their knowledge, to express their considerations and conclusions with reference to the lectures and also to the thematic seminars organised as part of the course (working class). The student must demonstrate that he/she is able to present the acquired notions with argumentative coherence, logical-systematic rigour and property of language (communication skills).

Ability to learn. The student will have to demonstrate that he/she has developed the ability to understand the complexity of institutional processes, as well as the ability to analyse the major economic and social issues that will allow him/her to contextualise the debate on current topics and to organise an autonomous constant updating of his/her own skills, making use of the tools acquired during the course (learning skills).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

•     Digital materials for in-depth study of national case studies.
•     Projection of video, maps, documents and photos.

Teaching

(a) Lectures; (b) Proposals of digital content on the topics covered; (c) Classroom discussion.

Special activities such as individual conferences or study days with invited guest speakers may be added to the lectures.

The following will be used as supplementary tools: slides, video projections, maps, graphs, dynastic tables, databases.

For the management of the didactic activities of the course there is a special section within the university digital platform Moodle.

Attendance

The careful study of all the topics of the programme using the specified study texts and the materials made available. Classroom discussion.

Course books

1 - A.M. Medici, A. Pallotti, M. Zamponi, L'Africa contemporanea, Mondadori-Le Monnier, Milano, 2017 (chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 31 e 32 ).

2 - M. Emiliani, Medio Oriente: una storia dal 1918 al 1991, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2012 (chapters: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11).

Assessment

The assessment of learning takes place in written (20%) and oral form (80%).

A short written test with multiple-choice answers precedes the oral discussion and verifies the basic skills acquired. The test covers the main topics of the course and is assessed quantitatively (number of correct choices out of the total number of multiple-choice questions). [Written test: 20%].

The oral test mainly assesses the knowledge acquired within the framework of the study programme [60%]. It also verifies the acquisition of the appropriate vocabulary and of the basic skills necessary for the discussion of the themes of Arab history, and assesses the student's ability to synthesise and his aptitude for analysis and comparison (10%). The active participation of each student in the classroom discussions during the lectures and seminars (10%) during the weeks of the course is also taken into account. [Oral examination: 80%].

The overall examination is graded in thirtieths.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attendance

Accurate study of all the topics of the programme using the specified study texts (contact the teacher by email for any needs regarding the study of the programme).

Course books

1 - A.M. Medici, A. Pallotti, M. Zamponi, L'Africa contemporanea, Mondadori-Le Monnier, Milano, 2017 (chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 31 e 32 ).

2 - M. Emiliani, Medio Oriente: una storia dal 1918 al 1991, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2012 (chapters: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11).

3 - Supplementary reading: M. Emiliani, Purgatorio arabo: il tradimento delle rivoluzioni in Medio Oriente, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2020.

Assessment

The assessment of learning takes place in written (20%) and oral form (80%).

A short written test with multiple-choice answers precedes the oral discussion and verifies the basic skills acquired. The test covers the main topics of the course and is assessed quantitatively (number of correct choices out of the total number of multiple-choice questions). [Written test: 20%].

The oral test mainly assesses the knowledge acquired in the framework of the study programme [70%] and also allows to verify the acquisition of the appropriate vocabulary and of the basic skills necessary for the discussion of the themes of Arab history, as well as to evaluate the student's ability to synthesize, the aptitude for analysis and comparison, the communicative and expressive abilities (10%).  [Oral examination: 80%]

The overall examination is graded in thirtieths.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

N. B. - Course with optional materials in a foreign language: The student can request to sit the final exam in French with an alternative bibliography. / On peut soutenir l'examen final en Langue française, en utilisant une bibliographie alternative.

Alternative syllabuses for "free choice" exams, also from other Schools, can be agreed with the teacher.

A note on Wikipedia: We realise that many of you use this tool. On many topics the authors are generally reliable, certainly. But for dealing with Islamic history it is not always a reliable tool: it may c errors, or biased points of view of which the editors themselves may not be aware. In recent years, many students who have had great difficulty with their examinations have acknowledged having resorted to Wikipedia for main definitions and summaries. And cases of plagiarism from those pages have often - very easily - been detected. So, a useful caveat: it is very easy to spot when students rely on Wikipedia for an exam or a university paper. Avoid this tool. Learning about reliable tools for scientifically investigating course topics is part of the academic skills to be acquired at university. The lecturer is available to facilitate this acquisition and offer clarification, including during the weekly reception.

In order to facilitate the study of the course in the History of Arab Countries, we would like to point out the possibility of having recourse to some tools (atlases, historical atlases, available in library or on the web); for a selection of these resources: see the Moodle page of the course with details of suggestions.