History 130 History of the Islamic Middle East, 600-1500 Rudi Matthee Fall 2009 TTh 11:00-12:15 Willard 319 223 Munroe Hall Office Hrs: Tu Th: 2-3 matthee@udel.edu Phone: 4544 TA Kimberly Nath knath@udel.edu

HIST 130-010

SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF THE NEAR EAST

                                         FROM THE RISE OF ISLAM TO 1500 CE

Web address: www.udel.edu/History/matthee

R. Matthee  
matthee@udel.edu

TA Kimberly Nath
knath@udel.edu

Fall 2009  
Office: 232 MUNROE
Office Hrs TTh. 2:00-3:00                                                                  

                                                                           

This course is a survey of the background and circumstances of the rise of Islam, the creation of the Islamic Empire, and the subsequent political, social, economic, and religious history of Islamic western Asia and North Africa until the rise of the so-called gunpowder states, the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires in ca. 1500. Lectures, discussion, reading. Take-home mid-term, term paper, and a final.

Required readings (at the UD bookstore):

Malise Ruthven, A Very Short Introduction to Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Vernon O. Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405: The Making of a Civilization. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004.

Ross E. Dunn, The Travels of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.

Reserve readings: (at the library reserve desk and on-line, #9491).

Exams and Papers:

There will be take-home midterm exams on Oct. 6—due on Oct. 13, and Oct. 15—due on Oct. 22, and a two-hour in-class final exam as scheduled for this course (TBA). The final is not cumulative, even though there is no harm in retaining what you've learned in the first part of the course. A 10-12 page paper, based on a historical topic of your choice, approved by Professor Rudi Matthee, is due on Dec 1. You should have a one-page summary of the proposed topic, with bibliography, ready by Nov. 3 to present for approval.
All work must be done on time; no incompletes are given except in cases of major disaster.

Grades in the course will be based on the following:

1. Midterm examination            20%

2. Final examination                  30%

3. Term paper                          40%

4. Class attendance and

   participation                           10%

Research tools: (all in the reference section of the library)

The Encyclopedia of Islam. Excellent resource on all aspects of Islam and Middle Eastern history.

Encyclopaedia Iranica. Only up to the letter j. 

The Encyclopedia of Religion.

 

For printable syllabus in Word Format.