Syllabus: Achievement and Requirements

About the syllabus

The books listed below are required reading. The rest of the syllabus comprises articles, book chapters, etc and are electronically available in Canvas or via the University Library:

• Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. Chicago, London: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2008.

• Dunn, Kevin C. and Iver B. Neumann. Undertaking Discourse Analysis for Social Research. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2016.

• Howell, Martha and Walter Prevenier. From Reliable Sources: An Introduction to Historical Methods. Ithaca & London: Cornell Univ. Press, 2001.

PART 1: Theory seminars

Seminar No .I – “Introduction - What is Research?” (August 20th, at UiO).

• Booth, Colomb, and Williams. The Craft of Research, 1-67 [Chapter 1-4].

Seminar No .II – “What is Research? (cont.)” (August 24th, at UiO).

• Booth, Colomb, and Williams. The Craft of Research, 68-129 [Chapter 5-8].

Seminar No .III – “What is Research? (cont.)” (August 27th, at UiO).

• Booth, Colomb, and Williams. The Craft of Research,129-276. [Chapter 9-17].

Seminar No. IV – “Debating Middle East and South Asia Studies” (August 31th, at UiO).

• Mitchell, Timothy. “The Middle East in the Past and Future of Social Science". In The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines, edited by David L. Szanton, 74-118. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. [In Canvas].

• Dirks, Nicholas B. “South Asian Studies: Futures Past.” In The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Diciplines, edited by D. Szanton, 341-385. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.[In Canvas].

• Kramer, Martin. “Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America.” Washington, D. C.: WINEP, 2001, 1-4.

• Heydemann, Steve. “Middle East Studies After 9/11,” Journal of Democracy 13, No. 3 (July 2002): 102-108.

• Karawān, Ibrāhīm. “Time for an Audit,” Journal of Democracy 13, No. 3 (July 2002): 96-101.

• Davidson, Lawrence. “The Attack on Middle East Studies: A Historical Perspective.” Middle East Policy 15, no. 1 (Spring 2008): 149-160.

• Halliday, Fred and Gerd Nonnemann. “9/11 and Middle Eastern Studies Past and Future: Revisiting Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America by Martin Kramer.” International Affairs 80, no. 5 (2004): 953–962.

• Gause III, F. Gregory. “Why Middle East Studies Missed the Arab Spring: The Myth of Authoritarian Stability.” Foreign Affairs 90, no. 4 (2011): 81-90.

• Pollock, Sheldon. “Areas, Disciplines, and the Goals of Inquiry.” Journal of Asian Studies 75, no. 4 (2016): 913-928.

NOTE: Mitchell (2004) is required reading for MES students, and Dirks (2004) is required readings for SAS students. In addition, all must read at least three of the articles above.

Seminar No. V – “Debating Orientalism” (September 3rd, at UiO).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Said, Edward W. “Orientalism Reconsidered.” Cultural Critique, no. 1 (1985): 89-107.

• Lewis, Bernard. “The Question of Orientalism”. The New York Review of Books, June 24,1982.

• Halliday, Fred. “‘Orientalism’ and its critics”. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 20, no. 2 (1993): 145-163.

• Makdisi, Ussama. “Ottoman Orientalism”. The American Historical Review 107, no. 3 (2002): 768-796.

• Inden, Ronald. “Orientalist Constructions of India. Modern Asian Studies.” 20, no. 3 (1986): 401-446.

• Sarkar, Sumit. “Orientalism Revisited: Saidian Frameworks in the Writing of Modern Indian History.” In Mapping Subaltern Studies and the Postcolonial, edited by Vinayak Chaturvedi, 239-255. London: Verso, 2000. [In Canvas].

Seminar No. VI – “Authoritarianism in the Middle East and South Asia” (September 7th, at UiO).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Hinnebusch, Raymond. “Authoritarian persistence, democratization theory and the Middle East: An overview and critique.” Democratization 13, no. 3 (July 2006): 373-395.

• Bellin, Eva. “Reconsidering the Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Lessons from the Arab Spring,” Comparative Politics 44, No. 2 (2012): 127-149.

• Beblawi, Hazem. “The rentier state in the Arab world”. Arab Studies Quarterly 9, no. 4 (Fall 1987): 383-398. [In Canvas].

• Hashemi, Nader. “Toward a Political Theory of Sectarianism in the Middle East: The Salience of Authoritarianism over Theology.” Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies 1, no. 1 (2016): 65-76.

• Jalal, Ayesha. Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia: A Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995, introduction.  [In Canvas].

• Ibid, chapter 1. [In Canvas].

• Ibid, chapter 2. [In Canvas].

Seminar No. VII – “Explaining Revolutions and Insurgencies” (September 10th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Staniland, Paul. “Cities on Fire: Social Mobilization, State Policy, and Urban Insurgency.” Comparative Political Studies 43, no. 12 (June 2010): 1623-1649.

• Grauer, Ryan & Dominic Tierney. “The Arsenal of Insurrection: Explaining Rising Support for Rebels.” Security Studies 27, no. 2 (2017): 263-295.

• Brynen, Rex. “Dilemmas of Sanctuary.” In Sanctuary and Survival: The PLO in Lebanon, by Rex Brynen, 1-17. Boulder: Westview Press, 1990. [In Canvas].

• Tezcür, Güneş Murat. “Violence and nationalist mobilization: the onset of the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey.” Nationalities Papers 43, no. 2 (2015): 248-266.

• Ashour, Omar. “Why Does the Islamic State Endure and Expand?”  Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) Working Paper 15, no. 52 (December 2015): 1-17.

• Whiteside, Craig.  “The Islamic State and the Return of Revolutionary Warfare.” Small Wars & Insurgencies 27, no. 5 (2016): 743-776.

• Lia, Brynjar. "Jihadism in the Arab World after 2011: Explaining its Expansion." Middle East Policy 23, no.4 (2016): 74-91.

• Skocpol, Theda. “Rentier State and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian Revolution.” Theory and society 11, no. 3 (May 1982): 265-283.

• Shah, Alpa.. “The Agrarian Question in a Maoist Guerrilla Zone: Land, Labour and Capital in the Forests and Hills of Jharkhand, India.” Journal of Agrarian Change 13, no. 3 (2013): 424-450.

• Sundar, Nandini. “Contextualizing Civil War in South Asia.” In Civil Wars in South Asia: State, Sovereignty, Development, edited by Aparna Sundar and Nandini Sundar, 42-68. New Delhi: Sage, 2014.

Seminar No. VIII – “Using Social Movement Theories” (September 10th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Wiktorowicz, Quintan. “Islamic Activism and Social Movement Theory: A New Direction for Research.” Mediterranean Politics 7, no. 3 (2002): 187-211.

• Leenders, Reinoud. “Social Movement Theory and the Onset of the Popular Uprising in Syria." Arab Studies Quarterly 35, no. 3 (2013): 273-289.

• Kurzman, Charles. “Structural Opportunity and Perceived Opportunity in Social-Movement Theory: The Iranian Revolution of 1979”. American Sociological Review 61, no. 1 (1996): 153-170.

• Clark, Janine. “Social Movement Theory and Patron-Clientelism: Islamic Social Institutions and the Middle Class in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen”. Comparative Political Studies 37, no. 8 (2004): 941-968.

• Gunning, Jeroen. “Social movement theory and the study of terrorism.” Critical terrorism studies: A new research agenda, edited by Richard Jackson, Marie Breen Smyth and Jeroen Gunning, 156-177. London: Routledge. 2009 [In Canvas].

• Snow, David & Scott Byrd. “Ideology, Framing Processes, and Islamic Terrorist Movements.” Mobilization: An International Quarterly 12, no. 2 (June 2007): 119-136.

• Pattenden, Jonathan. “Trickle-Down Solidarity, Globalisation and Dynamics of Social Transformation in a South Indian Village.” Economic and Political Weekly 40, no. 19 (2005): 1975-85.

• Lindberg, Staffan. “New Farmer’ Movements in India as Structural Response and Collective Identity Formation: The Cases of the Shetkari Sanghatana and the BKU.” In New Farmers’ Movements in India, edited by Tom Brass, 95-125. Essex: Frank Cass, 1995. [In Canvas].

Seminar No. IX – “Understanding Neopatrimonialism, Clientelism, and Patronage” (September 10th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Erdmann, Gero & Ulf Engel. “Neopatrimonialism Reconsidered: Critical Review and Elaboration of an Elusive Concept.” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 45, no. 1 (2007): 95-119.

• Lust, Ellen. “Competitive Clientelism in the Middle East.” Journal of Democracy 20, no. 3 (2009): 122-135.

• Hertog, Steffen. “The Sociology of the Gulf Rentier Systems: Societies of Intermediaries”. Comparative Studies in Society and History 52, no. 2 (2010): 282-318.

• Springborg, Robert. “Patrimonialism and Policy Making in Egypt: Nasser and Sadat and the Tenure Policy for Reclaimed Lands”. Middle Eastern Studies 15, no. 1 (1979): 49-69.

• Sayarı, Sabri. “Interdisciplinary Approaches to Political Clientelism and Patronage in Turkey.” Turkish Studies 15, no. 4 (2014): 655-670.

• Piliavsky, Anastasia. “Introduction.” In Politics as Patronage in South Asia, edited by Anastasia Piliavsky, 1-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. [In Canvas].

• Wilkinson, Steven I. “Patronage Politics in Post-independence India.” In Politics as Patronage in South Asia, edited by Anastasia Piliavsky, 259-280. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. [In Canvas].

Seminar No. X – “Do Tribes and Sects Matter? If Yes, How?” (September 11th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Crone, Patricia. “Tribes and States in the Middle East.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 3, no. 3 (1993): 353-76.

• Antoun, Richard T. “Civil Society, Tribal Process, and Change in Jordan: An Anthropological View.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 32, no. 4 (2000): 441-463. 

• Tuastad, Dag. "Nationalist Patriarchy, Clan Democracy: How the political trajectories of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories have been reversed." Die Welt des Islams 57, no.3-4 (2017): 386-403.

• Chatty, Dawn. "The Bedouin in Contemporary Syria: The Persistence of Tribal Authority and Control." Middle East Journal 64, no. 1 (2010): 29-49.

• Peteet, Julie, et.al. “Questions and Pensées: How Useful Has the Concept of Sectarianism Been for Understanding the History, Society and Politics of the Middle East?” International Journal of Middle East Studies 40, No. 4 (November 2008): 550-560. Part 1 (Peteet). Part 2 (Joseph). Part 3 (Davis). Part 4 (Makdisi).

• Karlsson, Bengt G. “Anthropology and the ‘Indigenous Slot’: Claims to and Debates about Indigenous Peoples’ Status in India.” Critique of Anthropology 23, no. 4 (2003): 403-423.

• Nilsen, Alf G.. “Adivasis in and against the State: Subaltern Politics and State Power in Contemporary India.” Critical Asian Studies 44, no. 2 (2012): 251-282.

Seminar No. XI – “Do Political Cultures Exist? Can They Be Studied?” (September 11th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Hudson, Michael. “The Political Culture Approach to Arab Democratization: The case for bringing it back in, carefully.” In Political liberalization and democratization in the Arab world: Vol.1: Theoretical perspectives, edited by Rex Brynen, Bahgat Korany, and Paul Noble. 61-76. Boulder, Colo: Lynne Rienner, 1995.  [In Canvas].

• Dorraj, Manochehr. “Symbolic and Utilitarian Political Value of a Tradition: Martyrdom in the Iranian Political Culture.” The Review of Politics 59, no. 3 (1997): 489-521.

• Gray, Matthew. “Explaining Conspiracy Theories in Modern Arab Middle Eastern Political Discourse: Some Problems and Limitations of the Literature.” Critique: Critical Middle Eastern Studies 17, no. 2 (2008): 155-174.

• Ben-Dor, Gabriel. “Political Culture Approach to Middle East Politics.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 8, no. 1 (1977): 43-63.

• Nandy, Ashish. “The Making and Unmaking of Political Cultures in India.” Daedalus 102, no. 1 (1973): 115-137.

• Ruud, Arild Engelsen and Geir Heierstad. “On The Diversity of India’s Democracies.” In India’s Democracies: Diversity, Cooptation, Resistance, edited by Arild Engelsen Ruud and Geir Heierstad, 13-29. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, 2016.

Seminar No. XII – “Patriarchy and Gender” (September 11th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

Read at least four of the following articles/book chapters:

• Kandiyoti, Deniz. “Bargaining with Patriarchy.” Gender and Society 2, no. 3 (1988): 274–89.

• Charrad, Mounira M.. “Gender in the Middle East: Islam, State, Agency.” Annual Review of Sociology 37, no. 1 (2011): 417-437.

• Sharabi, Hisham.  “The Dialectics of Patriarchy in Arab Society,” In Arab Society: Continuity and Change, edited by Samih K. Farsoun, 83-104. London: Croom Helm, 1985. [In Canvas].

• Maktabi, Rania. “Reluctant Feminists? Islamist MPs and the Representation of Women in Kuwait after 2005.” Die Welt des Islams 57, no. 3-4 (2017): 429-457.

• Lia, Brynjar. “The Jihādī Movement and Rebel Governance: A Reassertion of a Patriarchal Order?” Die Welt des Islams 57, no.3-4 (2017): 458-479.

• Bastian, Bettina Lynda, Yusuf Munir Sidani, and Yasmina El Amine. “Women entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa: A review of knowledge areas and research gaps.” Gender in Management: An International Journal 33, no. 1 (2018): 14-29.

• Nielsen, Kenneth Bo. “Women’s Participation in the Singur Movement, West Bengal.” In Women, Gender and Everyday Social Transformation in India, edited by Kenneth Bo Nielsen and Anne Waldrop, 203-18. London: Anthem Press, 2014. [In Canvas].

• Roy, Srila. “Women’s Movements in the Global South: Towards a Scalar Analysis.” International Journal of Culture, Politics and Society 29, no. 3 (September 2016): 289–306.

Seminar No. XIII – “Research Ethics” (September 11th, at Tyrifjorden Hotel).

• The Norwegian National Research Ethics Committees. "Guidelines for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences, Humanities, Law and Theology." Oslo, 2016.

• Lee Ann Fujii, "Research Ethics 101: Dilemmas and Responsibilities", PS: Political Science & Politics 45, no. 4 (2012): 717-723.

Seminar No. XIV – “Literature and Politics in the Middle East and South Asia” (September 14th, at UiO).

Read at least four of the following articles/book chapters:

• Kendall, Elisabeth. “Does Literature Matter? The Relationship between Literature and Politics in Revolutionary Egypt”. In Studying Modern Arabic Literature: Mustafa Badawi, Scholar and Critic, edited by Robin Ostle & Roger Allen, 194-217. Edinburgh University Press, 2015.

• Allen, Roger. “Lords of misrule: history and fiction in two Moroccan novels”. Middle Eastern Literatures 9, no. 2 (2006): 199-209.

• Granara, William. “Mythologising the Algerian war of independence: Tahir Wattar and the contemporary Algerian novel”. The Journal of North African Studies 4, no. 3 (1999): 1-14.

• Guth, Stephan. “Avatar and ʿAzāzīl – Western and Middle Eastern patterns of individual revolt.” In La littérature à l'heure du Printemps arabe, edited by Sobhi Boustani, Rasheed El-Enany and Walid Hamarneh, 53-86. Paris: Karthala, 2016.

• Schaflechner, Jürgen. “‘The Hindu’ in Recent Urdu Horror Stories from Pakistan.” Zeitschrift für Indologies und Südasienstudien 32 (2015): 323-351.

• Satyanarayana, K. “The political and aesthetic significance of contemporary Dalit literature.” The Journal of Commonwealth Literature (July 2017): 1-16.

Seminar No. XV – “The Politics of Language in the Middle East and South Asia” (September 17th, at UiO).

Read at least four of the articles/book chapters below:

• Brendemoen, Bernt. "The Turkish Language Reform and Language Policy in Turkey". In Handbuch der türkischen Sprachwissenschaft, Teil I, edited by György Hazai, 454-493. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1990. [In Canvas].

• Kia, Mehrdad. "Persian nationalism and the campaign for language purification." Middle Eastern Studies 34, no 2 (1998): 9-36.

• Nahir, Moshe. “Micro Language Planning and the Revival of Hebrew: A Schematic Framework”. Language in Society 27, no. 3 (1998): 335-357.

• Benrabah, Mohamed. “Competition between four “world” languages in Algeria.” Journal of World Languages 1 , no. 1 (2014): 38-59.

• Brass, Paul. “Elite interests, popular passions, and social power in the language politics of India.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27, no. 3 (2004): 353-375.

• Ramaswamy, Sumathi. “Sanskrit for the Nation.” Modern Asian Studies 33, no. 2 (1999): 339-81.