HISTORY OF NORTH AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

6 CFU - 1° Semester

Teaching Staff

FEDERICO CRESTI - Module State builging, powers and institutions in the countries of the Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East affirmation of Islam from the spread of Islam to the Modern Age - SPS/13 - 3 CFU
AGATA DANIELA MELFA - Module History of North Africa and the Middle East - SPS/13 - 3 CFU

Learning Objectives

State builging, powers and institutions in the countries of the Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East affirmation of Islam from the spread of Islam to the Modern Age
The knowledge of the processes of submission of almost all the territories affected by the ongoing imperialist control of some European countries allow the student to correctly interpret the bonds (not only historical, but also economic - and of society, among them the ties that intertwine populations) that affect the countries of the two shores of the Mediterranean. To name a few, the very close link today between Algeria and France, or the rivalries or claims related to the recognition of damage from colonization in the particular case of relations between Libya and Italy at the time of the Kaddhafi’s republic.
History of North Africa and the Middle East
This part of the course focuses on the major historical events occurred in the Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East since the Six-Day War (1967). The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iranian Revolution (1978-79), the war in Afghanistan (1979-89), the décennie noire in Algeria and the First Gulf War (1990-91) will be examined by taking into account the internal developments, their connections and impact at regional and international level. This in-depth study will provide students with the basic knowledge to understand contemporary challenges in the Mediterranean area such as Islamism, the crisis of the nation-state, the process of democratisation, authoritarianism and the role of the army.

Detailed Course Content

State builging, powers and institutions in the countries of the Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East affirmation of Islam from the spread of Islam to the Modern Age
The first module of the course focuses on the general definitions of the history of the Islamic Mediterranean world in the first centuries of its formation, and on the main historical stages of the affirmation of Islam (as a space at the same time religious and political) in this area. It aims to define and analyze the characteristics of the main socio-political institutions belonging to the Islamic world (Caliphate, Imamate, sultanate, Shari’a) in their specificity and in their confrontation with the political and statual institutions in Europe.
History of North Africa and the Middle East
This part of the course deals with the main events that affected the MENA region since the Six-Day War up to the First Gulf War. The course programme includes the analysis of political regimes and institutions, conflicts in the area and socio-economic transformations that will be examined within the general framework of the Cold War and the regional struggle for hegemony.

Textbook Information

State builging, powers and institutions in the countries of the Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East affirmation of Islam from the spread of Islam to the Modern Age
H. Halm, L’islam, Laterza, Roma 2003 [Bibl. del Dipartimento: AA.6.468]
Documenti :
- La costituzione di Medina (testo e commento in G. Gabrieli, Maometto, De Agostini, Padova 1989)
- Documenti sulle forme istituzionali dello stato islamico dalle origini all’inizio dell’età moderna da siti elettronici
- Schede documentarie e bibliografiche da Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., Leiden-Paris 1954-2005
- Cartografia storica da opere a stampa e da siti elettronici (in particolare: Atlante Storico, Atlasmundi.com)
History of North Africa and the Middle East
M. Emiliani, Medio Oriente. Una storia dal 1918 al 1991, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2012, dal. cap. VI al cap. XI, pp. 171-445.

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