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History 130History of the Islamic Middle East, 600-1500Rudi MattheeFall 2006TTh 11:00-12:15 Gore Hall 303
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For printable syllabus in Word Format.
Lecture series
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.
Reserve readings: (at the library reserve desk and on-line).
Exams and Papers:
There will be take-home midterm exams on Sept. 28--due on Oct. 3, and Oct. 5--due on Oct. 10, 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 Nov. 28. You should have a one-page summary of the proposed topic, with bibliography, ready by Nov. 2 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 i.
The Encyclopedia of Religion.
Lecture and Reading Schedule:
Week One and Two: (Aug. 29-Sept. 5) (No class on Sept. 7)
Lecture topic: Introduction: The study of religion; Islam as an object of study; Beginnings of Islam
Readings: Vernon, pp. 1-32.
Week Three: (Sept. 12-14)
Lecture topic: The Prophet and his Message: Doctrine and Ritual
Readings: Ruthven.
Goitein, “Ramadan” (reserve)
Week Four: (Sept. 19-21)
Lecture Topic: Lecture topic: Expansion and Succession: The Arab Conquests and the Rightly-guided Caliphs
Readings: Vernon, pp. 33-47.
Partner, “Islam and War” (reserve)
Week Five: (Sept. 26-28)
Lecture Topic: The Umayyad Caliphate
Documentary: “The Five Pillars of Islam”
Readings: Vernon, pp. 47-61.
Week Six: (Oct. 3-5)
Lecture Topic: Religious Trends and Divisions
Readings: Vernon, pp. 62-84.
Crone: “Nine-Century Muslim Anarchists” (reserve).
Week Seven: (Oct. 10-12)
Lecture topic: Cosmopolitan Islam: The `Abbasid Caliphate
Readings: Vernon, pp. 85-113.
Lapidus: “The Separation of State and Religion” (reserve).
Week Eight (Oct. 17-19)
Lecture Topic: The Fatimid Caliphate and Islamic Spain
Readings: Vernon, pp. 94-113.
Week Nine: (Oct. 24-26)
Lecture topic: Social and Economic and Religious Conditions and Change
Readings: Vernon, pp. 114-125.
Kennedy: “From Polis to Madina” (reserve).
Week Ten (Oct. 31-Nov. 2)
Lecture Topic: The Post `Abbasid Middle Eastern State System; Buyids and Seljuqs
Readings: Vernon, pp. 139-171.
Week Eleven: (Nov. 7-9)
Lecture Topic: Barbarians at the Gate: Crusades, Mongols
Readings: Vernon, pp. 172-198.
Barfield, “Tribe and State Relations” (reserve).
Week Twelve: (Nov. 14-16)
Lecture Topic: The Personal Ethic: Sufism
Readings: Vernon, pp. 199-228.
Week Thirteen and Fourteen: (Nov. 28-Dec. 5)
Lecture Topic: The Muslim Commonwealth
Readings: Vernon, pp. 229-289.