Journal Text Assignments
History of the Middle East, HIST 3670
Second Session Summer School 2007

Dr. Kenneth Wilburn
Department of History
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC, USA 27858
wilburnk@ecu.edu



Section A (Benjamin):

Summarize and react to Benjamin's book in about 100 words in your course journal, then restate and respond to the questions that follow. Your response to each question should be no longer than several paragraphs. You may use Dr. Wilburn's book review as your entry. You may also use his response to question #8 (it follows his review) for your response.

1. What is a philosophy of history?

2. What is historiography?

3. What are the two forms of historical evidence and methods of testing?

4. Discuss the use of computer technology in historical research.

5. What can you do with the knowledge you will gain from this history course?

6. How should you read our survey text?

7. Describe the best way to take notes in class.

8. How should you give a formal class talk?

9. Our final exam is in essay format. What should you do to make an "A" on the final exam?

10. How do you write with clarity and craft quality essays?

11. What is plagiarism?

12. How can you apply Chapter 5, "How to Write a Research Paper," to writing journal summaries and reactions?


Section B (Hourani):

Limit chapter choice summaries to a page and question responses to a half page.

Part I ("The Making of a World")
Choice: No Choice.
Question: No Question.

Chapter 1 ("A New Power in an Old World")
Choice: Choose "The World into Which the Arabs Came" or "Muhammad and the Appearance of Islam."
Question: Briefly describe the following religions in existence during the life of Muhammad: orthodox Christianity, monophysitism, Nestorians, monotheletes, Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism.

Chapter 2 ("The Formation of an Empire")
Choice: Choose any one of three topics.
Question: Discuss the significance of the Dome of the Rock in particular and mosques in general in the early years of Islam (see photos after p. 168).

Chapter 3 ("The Formation of a Society")
Choice: Choose "The End of Political Unity," "Unity of Faith and Language," or "The Islamic World."
Question: Discuss what is meant by "People of the Book.

Chapter 4 ("The Articulation of Islam")
Choice: Choose of any one of six topics excluding "The Shari'a" and "The Path of Reason."
Question: Identify the "Pillars of Islam" and discuss the tension between rulers and students of the Qur’an in fulfilling the pillars.

Part II ("Arab Muslim Societies")
Choice: No Choice.
Question: No Question.

Chapter 5 ("The Arab Muslim Societies")
Choice: Choose any one of the four topics excluding "Muslim Arabs and Others."
Question: Hourani refers to Muslim Arabs and "others" at the end of the chapter. Who are the "others?"

Chapter 6 ("The Countryside")
Choice: Choose "Land and Its Use" or "Tribal Societies."
Question: Discuss the role of women in traditional Islamic society.

Chapter 7 ("The Life of Cities")
Choice: Choose any of the nine topics excluding "Slaves."
Question: Discuss slavery in Islamic society.

Chapter 8 ("Cities and Their Rulers")
Choice: Choose any of the four topics excluding "Control of the Countryside."
Question: Consider al-Mawardi’s ideas on the caliphate.

Chapter 9 ("Ways of Islam")
Choice: Choose "The Pillars of Islam" or "The Friends of God."
Question: Discuss the pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj.

Chapter 10 ("The Culture of the 'Ulama")
Choice: Select any of the four topics excluding Kalam.
Question: Briefly discuss the four major parts of Ihya’ulum al-din of Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali.

Chapter 11 ("Divergent Paths of Thought")
Choice: Choose "Ibn Taymiyya and the Hanbali Tradition" or "Jewish and Christian Learning."
Question: Identify the major beliefs of the Shi’ism.

Chapter 12 ("The Culture of Courts and People")
Choice: Select "Poetry and Story" or "Understanding the World."
Question: Consider the Arab view of history.

Part III ("The Ottoman Age")
Choice: No Choice.
Question: No Question.

Chapter 13 ("The Ottoman Empire")
Choice: Choose any of the four topics excluding "The Limits of Political Power."
Question: Discuss the relationship between the sultan and the holy places in Islam.

Chapter 14 ("Ottoman Societies")
Choice: Select "The Arab Provinces" or "The Culture of the Arab Provinces"
Question: How did the authority of the pope fare in the Holy Land in the 1500s and 1600s?

Chapter 15 ("The Changing Balance of Power in the Eighteenth Century")
Choice: Choose any of the four topics excluding "Arab Ottoman Society and Culture."
Question: Who was Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab?

Part IV ("The Age of European Empires")
Choice: No Choice.
Question: No Question.

Chapter 16 ("European Power and Reforming Governments")
Choice: Choose "The Beginnings of European Empire" or "Reforming Governments."
Question: Consider the reasons for the success of European imperialism in North Africa from 1800 to 1860.

Chapter 17 ("European Empires and Dominant Elites")
Choice: Select "The Partition of Africa: Egypt and the Maghrib," "The Condition of the People," or "The Dual Society."
Question: Discuss the growing Jewish community in Palestine between 1880 and 1914.

Chapter 18 ("The Culture of Imperialism and Reform")
Choice: Choose any of the four topics excluding "The Emergence of Nationalism."
Question: Discuss Sufism, especially the impact of its proponent, Muhammad Ahmad.

Chapter 19 ("The Climax of European Power")
Choice: Choose any topic.
Question: Discuss Zionism in Palestine and British policies toward it.

Chapter 20 ("Changing Ways of Life and Thought")
Choice: Select "Population and the Countryside" or "The Culture of Nationalism."
Question: Who were `Anbara Salam and Huda Sha`rawi?

Chapter 21 ("The End of the Empires")
Choice: Choose any topic excluding "The Second World War."
Question: Discuss the Jews and Palestine from 1939 to 1960.

Chapter 22 ("Changing Societies")
Choice: Choose "Population and Economic Growth" or "Rich and Poor in the City."
Question: Relate the story of oil from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Chapter 23 ("National Culture")
Choice: Choose "Language and Self-Expression" or "Islamic Movements"
Question: Discuss the themes of the novel, short story, and play as set in Egypt in the 1940s and 1950s.

Chapter 24 ("The Climax of Arabism")
Choice: Choose any topic.
Question: After identifying the three elements that characterized popular nationalism, discuss the ideas of the Ba`thists and Nasirism.

Chapter 25 ("Arab Unity and Disunity")
Choice: Select "The Predominance of American Influence" or "The Interdependence of Arab Countries."
Question: Arab disunity was exacerbated by three major conflicts. Identify those conflicts and discuss one of them.

Chapter 26 ("A Disturbance of Spirits")
Choice: Choose "Ethnic and Religious Divisions" or "Women in Society."
Question: Compare and contrast the factors that make Arab regimes stable with those that contribute to their fragility.


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First Online Edition: 31 December 1996
Last Revised: 28 May 2007