POLITICAL SCIENCE 375: Middle East Politics Spring 2014 Northern Illinois University Professor Andrew Foss Email: afoss1@niu.edu Class Meetings: M/W/F 9:00-9:50 Office Hours: M/W/F 12:00-12:55 or by appointment Office Location: ZH 105 Class Location: DU 459 INTRO The goal of this course is to analyze politics throughout the Middle East. To do so, this class will first briefly examine Middle Eastern history. It will then focus on different countries within the Middle East. For the purposes of this class, Afghanistan will be considered part of the Middle East. Finally, this course will focus on the rapid change of political climate in some Middle Eastern countries. ASSIGNED READINGS Lust, Ellen. The Middle East. 13th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ, 2014. ASSIGNED READINGS The one required textbook is available for purchase at the university bookstore. I have made a conscious effort to keep the material as affordable and update-to-date as possible. Therefore, the book is a recently published, paperback edition. There should also be used copies available for purchase. GRADED REQUIREMENTS The first requirement is written examinations. Each test will be composed of a variety of written response short answer questions. Prior to each exam, the instructor will outline the specific exam format, discuss grading standards, and distribute a study guide. There will be a midterm and final examination. The second course requirement is participation and decorum. Attendance is included in your participation grade. Failure to regularly attend class will hurt this course requirement significantly. Participation includes both thoughtful comments/questions to the instructor and focus during lectures. Talking, reading newspapers, using your phone during class etc. will cause a dramatic reduction in your participation and decorum grade.
Quizzes are the third course requirement. There will be 5 announced quizzes during the semester. Each quiz will be on a specific set of readings. I will announce which readings are most relevant for the quiz prior to it. SUMMARY OF GRADED REQUIREMENTS Midterm: 30% Final: 30% Participation:15% Quizzes: 25% COURSE POLICIES AND LOOSE ENDS 1. Makeup Exams: Makeup exams will only be given in extraordinary circumstances. If such circumstances arise, please contact the instructor as soon as possible and before the scheduled exam. To keep the process fair for everyone in the course, students may be asked to support requests for makeup exams with documentation. A missed examination without prior notification and a documented excuse will result in a zero and a course grade of F as opposed to an incomplete. 2. Students with Disabilities: Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with disabilities that may have some impact on their coursework for which they may require accommodations should notify the University s Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR). CAAR will assist students in making appropriate accommodations with course instructors. It is important that CAAR and instructors be informed of any disability-related needs during the first two weeks of the semester. A student who believes that reasonable accommodations with respect to course work or other academic requirements may be appropriate in consideration of a disability must (1) provide the required verification of the disability to the Center for Access-Ability Resources, (2) meet with the Center for Access-Ability Resources to determine appropriate accommodations, and (3) inform the faculty in charge of the academic activity of the need for accommodation. Students are encouraged to inform the faculty of their requests for accommodations as early as possible in the semester, but must make the requests in a timely enough manner for accommodations to be appropriately considered and reviewed by the university. If contacted by the faculty member, the staff of the Center for Access-Ability Resources will provide advice about accommodations that may be indicated in the particular case. Students who make requests for reasonable accommodations are expected to follow the policies and procedures of the Center for Access- Ability Resources in this process, including but not limited to the Student Handbook. A wide range of services can be obtained by students with disabilities, including housing, transportation, adaptation of printed materials, and advocacy with faculty and staff. Students with disabilities who need such services or want more information should contact the Center for Access-Ability Resources at 815-753-1303
3. Submitting Written Work: Assignments should be handed-in to me personally or given to a department secretary to be time-stamped. 4. Extra Credit: Extra credit assignments will not be given on an individual basis to raise final course grades. Like makeup exams, such projects raise serious questions of equity. If a project is made available, every member of the class would be given the opportunity to complete it. 5. Classroom Etiquette: Students are to arrive at class on time. Two tardy arrivals are equivalent to one class absence. Students are to remain for the entire session unless excused by the professor beforehand or confronted with a serious personal emergency. For instance, it is not acceptable for students to walk in and out of class to answer cell phones, take casual bathroom and smoking breaks, or attend to other personal matters. Cell phones, or any electronic devices that make noise must be turned off or set to vibrate during class unless the instructor has been notified beforehand of a special circumstance (e.g., sick family member, pregnant wife, special childcare situation, etc.). It is not acceptable to use an ipod, read a newspaper, surf the web on a personal computer, or engage other behavior that distracts one from the class proceedings once the session has begun. No one should talk while someone else is talking; this includes comments meant for a classmate rather than the entire group. Overall, classroom dialogue and behavior should always be courteous, respectful of others, and consistent with the expectations set forth by the university. 6. Incomplete Requests: Such petitions will be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. The instructor reserves the right to ask for documentation to verify the problem preventing completion of the course by the normal deadlines. If the student does not present documentation from a university office or official, the matter will be left to the instructor s discretion. 7. Academic Dishonesty: Regarding plagiarism, the NIU Undergraduate Catalog states: 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. The above statement encompasses the purchase or use of papers that were written by others. Please note that the instructor retains copies of papers written in previous years. In short, students are advised to do their own work and learn the rules for proper quoting, paraphrasing, and footnoting. If you need assistance in this regard, go to: http://polisci.niu.edu/polisci/audience/ plagiarism.shtml. 8. Class Participation: I recognize class discussion comes more easily for some people than for others. By temperament or habit, some individuals are talkers while others are listeners. Learning to be both is an important subsidiary goal of this course. Comments that are not relevant to the ongoing discussion and off the point will not be rewarded. Remarks that are disruptive to the discussion, insensitive to others, or attempt to dominate the discussion will not be tolerated. I strongly prefer students to participate on a voluntary basis. If you are particularly apprehensive about talking in class, or feel closed out of the discussion for another reason, please speak with
me. There are some things I can suggest that may be helpful. Remember: communication skills and self-confidence are extremely important assets in the professional world. Thus it is better to develop these things in the collegial environment of this class rather than under more difficult circumstances later in life. 9. Religious Observances: The University asks instructors to make students aware of the following policy. Northern Illinois University as a public institution of higher education in the State of Illinois does not observe religious holidays. It is the university s policy, however, to reasonably accommodate the religious observances of individual students in regards to admissions, class attendance, scheduling examinations and work requirements. Such policies shall be made known to faculty and students. Religious observance includes all aspects of religious observance and practice as well as belief. Absence from classes or examinations for religious observance does not relieve students from responsibility for any part of the course work required during the period of absence. To request accommodation, students who expect to miss classes, examinations or other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance shall provide instructors with reasonable notice of the date or dates they will be absent. The instructor is respectful and fully supportive of students who wish to participate in religious observances. Excused absences will be provided, but students must understand and follow the above policy with respect to reasonable notice and making up work. 10. Unannounced Quizzes: The instructor reserves the right to conduct pop quizzes, if it becomes grossly apparent through class discussions that students are not completing the assigned readings on a regular basis. If such quizzes are administered, they will be averaged and used to raise or lower a student s final course grade by a half a letter grade. Whether a particular student s grade is adjusted positively or negatively will be dependent on a class average. I: Background Week 1 January 13 Course Introduction Overview of subject matter Discussion of requirements, expectations, and policies January 15 The Ottoman Empire Lust 5-19 January 17 Post WWI Lust: 26-37
Week 2 January 20 No Class: Dr. Martin Luther King holiday January 22 British Mandate Post WWII Lust: 37-53 January 24 Regime Types Lust: 116-158 II: Country Overview Week 3 January 27 Public Opinion Lust: 246-274 January 29 Algeria Lust: 429-442 January 31 Egypt Lust: 450-467 Week 4 February 3 Iran Lust: 479-502 February 5 Iraq I Lust: 507-512; 533-535 February 7 Iraq II Bush NSD 45 Week 5 February 10
Israel Lust: 537-556 February 12 Jordan Lust: 564-581 February 14 Kuwait Lust: 590-607 Week 6 February 17 Lebanon Lust: 610-630 February 19 Libya Lust: 631-659 February 21 Palestine Lust: 688-713 Week 7 February 24 Saudi Arabia Lust: 746-761 February 26 Syria Lust: 764-787 February 28 Tunisia Lust: 789-823 Week 8 March 3 Review for Midterm March 5 MIDTERM
March 7 Movie (TBA) Week 9 March 10-March 16 No Class: Spring Break Week 10 March 17 Turkey Lust: 830-858 March 19 Yemen Lust: 866-883 III: Arab Spring March 21 Iran Reading: Kaye Reading: Arouzi Week 11 March 24 Tunisia Reading: Gall Reading: BBC Tunisia March 26 Libya Reading: Morgenstein Reading: Stephen March 28 Egypt Reading: Kirkpatrick Week 12 March 31 Yemen Reading: Friedman Reading: MacFarquhar
April 2 Syria I Reading: Wiersema Reading: CNN Timeline April 4 Syria II Reading: Pearson Reading: McDonnell Week 13 April 7 Bahrain Reading: Nyathi III: Extended Conflicts April 9 Israel/ Palestine I Reading: TBA April 11 Israel/ Palestine II No Reading Assigned Week 14 April 14 Israel/ Lebanon I Reading: Heller Reading: Urquhart April 16 Israel/ Lebanon II Reading: Solley (skim) April 18 Iraq Government/ Iraq Insurgents Reading: McCain, Graham Week 15 April 21 U.S and Afghanistan/ Taliban I Reading: TBA
April 23 U.S and Afghanistan/ Taliban II No Reading Assigned April 25 Movie: Finish Week 16 April 28 Catch up Day April 30 Review for Final Exam Course Evaluations Week 17 May 7 8:00-9:50