The course focuses on the contemporary politics of the Arabic speaking region, Iran, Turkey and the wider Middle East. It examines the political development, national and regional dynamics of the major countries in the Middle East and their connection to global trends and geopolitics. This is done in the context of four major variables - Islam, oil, the Arab-Israeli conflict and other regional disputes, and major power involvement - and the consequences of the interaction of these variables for the region in world politics.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- learn about the evolution of State and Society in the Middle East against the backdrop of the role of religion, oil, inter-state conflicts and major power intervention as the dominant variables;
- develop the ability to understand the relations between the dominant variables and assess their implications in a thematic fashion for the Middle East;
- critically analyse the political dynamics of a number of key Middle Eastern states as significant case studies, and critically assess why the Middle East region is, on the one hand, very significant and, on the other, volatile but not exceptional;
- advance arguments based on both historical and contemporary understanding of the Middle East from varying perspectives; and
- present their ideas, both verbally and in writing, in a structured and clear way.
Other Information
This course is considered compatible with Security Studies, Asian Politics and International Relations fields of study.
International Relations Major - ANU
Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies Minor - ANU
Middle East Politics and Security Major - ANU
Middle Eastern Politics and Security Minor - ANU
Indicative Assessment
- Class participation [based on attendance, reading, performance] (10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Mid-term Exam (40) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
- Final Exam (50) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Prescribed Texts
There are not set textbooks for this course. Readings will be made available on Wattle.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.