The course is based on lectures and discussion over selected scientific articles. In order to facilitate interaction, students will be regularly solicited to provide written and oral insights on thematic questions. Primary sources, newspapers, maps, film excerpts, photos and videos will be used during the lessons.
Basic geographical and historical knowledge, as well as introductory notions on Islam are required.
Attendance is compulsory.
Students will be able to apprehend contemporary phenomena concerning the Middle East and North Africa through a historical lens attentive to legacies and continuities. Heritage policies will be examined in the light of contending memories and development.
Textbook
James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part II and III.
Selected articles
Hassan Radoine, French territoriality and urbanism: General Lyautey and Architect Prost in Morocco (1912-1925), in Demissie Fassil (ed.), Colonial Architecture and Urbanism in Africa: Intertwined and Contested Histories, Ashgate, 2012, pp. 11-31.
Béatrice Hibou, Le réformisme, grand récit politique de la Tunisie contemporaine, Revue d’histoire moderne & contemporaine, 5, No 56-4bis (2009), pp. 14-39.
Nur Altinyildiz, The Architectural Heritage of Istanbul and the Ideology of Preservation, Muqarnas, Vol. 24, History and Ideology: Architectural Heritage of the “Lands of Rum” (2007), pp. 281-305.
Christine Piniroli, Erasing Palestine to Build Israel: Landscape Transformation and the Rooting of National Identities, Études rurales, 1, No 173-174, 2005, pp. 67-85.
Henry S. Grabar, Reclaiming the city: changing urban meaning in Algiers after 1962, Cultural Geographies, Vol. 21, No. 3 (July 2014), pp. 389-409.
Rey Virginie, The Radicalization of Heritage in Tunisia, International Journal of Islamic Architecture, Vol. 7, No 1 (2018), pp. 67-84.
Argomenti | Riferimenti testi | |
1 | Defensive Developmentalism | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part II. |
2 | Imperialism | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part II. |
3 | Constitutionalism | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part II. |
4 | Colonial urbanism and architecture | Hassan Radoine, French territoriality and urbanism: General Lyautey and Architect Prost in Morocco (1912-1925), in Demissie Fassil (ed.), Colonial Architecture and Urbanism in Africa: Intertwined and Contested Histories, Ashgate, 2012, pp. 11-31. |
5 | Islamic Reformism | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part II. |
6 | The reformist myth | Béatrice Hibou, Le réformisme, grand récit politique de la Tunisie contemporaine, Revue d’histoire moderne & contemporaine, 5, No 56-4bis (2009), pp. 14-39. |
7 | WWI and the partition of the Middle East. Diplomatic agreements and the principle of compensation | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
8 | State-building by revolution and conquest. The Greek-Turkish war, Mustafa Kemal and modern Turkey. Iran | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
9 | The Ottoman heritage. | Nur Altinyildiz, The Architectural Heritage of Istanbul and the Ideology of Preservation, Muqarnas, Vol. 24, History and Ideology: Architectural Heritage of the “Lands of Rum” (2007), pp. 281-305. |
10 | State-building by decree. The Franco-Syrian war and the mandate-system | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
11 | Zionism. The Palestinian mandate. The proclamation of the Israeli State and the first Arab-Israeli war (1948-49) | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
12 | Israeli politics intended to erase Palestine | Christine Piniroli, Erasing Palestine to Build Israel: Landscape Transformation and the Rooting of National Identities, Études rurales, 1, No 173-174, 2005, pp. 67-85. |
13 | State-building by revolution and conquest. The 1952 Egyptian Revolution and Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime. The 1956 Arab-Israeli War | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
14 | The Israeli-Arab conflicts of 1967 and 1973 | James L. Gelvin, The Modern Middle East. A History, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2011 (3rd edition), Part III. |
15 | Decolonisation and urban colonial heritage | Henry S. Grabar, Reclaiming the city: changing urban meaning in Algiers after 1962, Cultural Geographies, Vol. 21, No. 3 (July 2014), pp. 389-409. |
16 | Political Islam: competing narratives over heritage | Rey Virginie, The Radicalization of Heritage in Tunisia, International Journal of Islamic Architecture, Vol. 7, No 1 (2018), pp. 67-84. |
Assessment will be based on student’s response to class activities and a final oral exam on the course topics.
Zionism and The Balfour Declaration
Cultural decolonisation
Lexicon related to Political Islam (jihad, takfir, jahiliyya, etc.)