Americans and the Middle East (HI 393)
Spring
2010
Betty Anderson, Boston University
Course Description:
This course examines the intersecting histories of America and the Middle East from the late 18th century until the present day. In so doing, the course follows the trajectory of the American experience in the region, focusing first on the period when American missionaries and educators engaged in some of the most important intellectual and cultural debates in the region, including those concerned with secularism, modernism, nationalism, and imperialism. After WWII, American political and military institutions came to dominate American actions in the region. Course lectures will focus primarily on events taking place in the Middle East, but will include information about American history when relevant.
The students are required to complete all the readings assigned and take a mid-term and a final. In these exams, the students will be tested not only on their knowledge of historical events but they must be able to analyze the different historical developments and changes taking place during the period of time covered by the course. Answers must incorporate information gleaned from the class lectures, the assigned readings, and the discussions.
The students will also write a 7-8 page paper choosing from a list of questions prepared by the professor. The paper must be turned in on the date specified below; otherwise it will lose 1/2 a grade for each day it is late. Plagiarism will be punished per the guidelines set out in the CAS Academic Conduct Code ( http://www.bu.edu/cas/academics/programs/conductcode.html).
In addition to the written work, discussions will take place every week concerning the assigned readings. On these days, the students must arrive in class prepared to analyze and contribute to the topics proposed in order to receive full credit for participation.
Books:
William Cleveland, History of
the Modern Middle East. Third Edition.
David W.
Lesch, ed., The Middle East and the United States. Fourth
Edition.
Requirements:
1 mid-term worth 25% of the grade
1 7-8 page paper
worth 30% of the grade
1 final exam worth 25% of the grade
Class
participation worth 20% of the grade
Week 1: Introduction: First Encounters in the 18th and 19th Centuries (January 13 and 15)
Topics:
Purpose and goals of the course
America's Legacy in the Middle East
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 1-56
Ussama Makdisi, "'Anti-Americanism' in the Arab World: An Interpretation of a
Brief History," The Journal of American History (September 2002)
Rashid Khalidi, "America, the West, and Democracy in the Middle East," Resurrecting Empire
Week 2: Modernity in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire (January 20 and 22) (No class - Monday, January 18)
Topics:
Muhammad Ali's Reforms in Egypt
Ottoman Tanzimat Reforms
Conditions in Syria and Lebanon
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 61-117
Henry Harris Jessup, Fifty-Three Years in Syria (Vols. I and II)
Daniel Bliss, "Selections," Voice of Daniel Bliss
Heather Sharkey, "Selections," American Evangelicals in Egypt
Week 3: Nationalism on the Eve of World War I (January 25, 27, and 29)
Topics:
Young Turks and Arab Nationalism
Founding of the American Board
Missionary Ethos
Readings:
Cleveland, 119-148
Marwa Elshakry, "The Gospel of Science and American Evangelism in Late Ottoman Beirut,"
Past and Present
A.L. Tibawi, "The Genesis and Early History of the Syrian Protestant College,"
American University of Beirut Festival Book
Howard S. Bliss, "The Modern Missionary," The Atlantic Monthly (May 1920)
Week 4: The Holy Land and the Orient (February 1, 3, and 5)
Topics:
Conflicting Goals: Proselytizing vs. Civilizing
Americanism vs. Civilizing
The Changing Dynamic of Protestant America
Readings:
Melanie McAlister, "Selections," Epic Encounters
John F. Kasson, "Selections," Amusing the Mission: Coney Island at the Turn of the Century
William Leach, “Land of Desire and the Culture of Consumer Capitalism,"
Land of Desire: Merchants, Power and the Rise of a New American Culture
Burke O. Long, "Starred and Striped Holy Lands" and "Landscapes of Democracy,"
Imagining the Holy Land: Maps, Models, and Fantasy Travels
Mark Twain, "Selections," The Innocents Abroad or the New Pilgrims Progress
Week 5: World War I (February 8, 10, and 12)
Topics:
Arab Revolt
Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points
Armenian Relief
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 149-170
Lesch, pp. 13-29
John DeNovo, "Selections," American Interests and Policies in the Middle East, 1900-1939
Joseph L. Grabill, "An Unofficial Cabinet" and "Transatlantic Visions and Doings,"
Protestant Diplomacy and the Near East: Missionary Influence on American Policy, 1810-1927
Week 6: Interwar Period ((Tuesday) February 16, 17, and 19)
Topics:
Modernization of Turkey and Iran
Arab Mandates
American-Saudi Relations
Readings:
Cleveland, 171-237
Robert Vitalis, "Selections," America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier
Ellen L. Fleischmann, "Lost in Translation: Home Economics and the Sidon Girls' School of Lebanon, c.1924-1932," CASAR Conference 2010.
Robert D. Kaplan, "Selections," The Arabists: The Romance of the American Elite
Week 7: Palestine Mandate and the Establishment of Israel (February 22, 24, and 26)
Topics:
Palestine Mandate
1948 War
Harry S. Truman and the Establishment of Israel
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 239-271
Sean Foley, "Airlift for Allah," CASAR Conference 2010.
Mid-Term Examination: Wednesday, February 24
Week 8: Nasser and Arab Radicalism (March 1, 3, and 5)
Topics:
Nasser's Revolution
Ba'ath Party
Cold War Politics
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 301-344
Bruce J. Evensen, "Truman, Palestine and the Cold War," Middle Eastern Studies (January 1992)
Evan M. Wilson, "The American Interest in the Palestine Question and the
Establishment of Israel," American Academy of Political and Social Science
Malcolm Kerr, "'Coming to Terms with Nasser': Attempts and Failures," International Affairs
SPRING BREAK, March 8-12
Week 9: 1967 War (March 15, 17, and 19)
Topics:
Causes and Results of the 1967 War
Rise of Palestinian Fedayyeen
1973 October War
Egyptian-Israeli Peace: Camp David
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 345-367
Lesch, pp. 163-181
Douglas Little, "The New Frontier on the Nile: JFK, Nasser, and Arab Nationalism,"
The Journal of American History
Don Peretz, "The United States, the Arabs, and Israel: Peace Efforts of Kennedy, Johnson,
and Nixon," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Bernard Reich, "The United States and Israel," The Contemporary Middle East
Week 10: Civil War in Lebanon (March 22, 24, and 26)
Topics:
Lebanese Sectarianism
Palestinian Fedayyeen
Israeli Invasions
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 369-395
Lesch, pp. 86-121
Anthony Sampson, Selections, The Arms Bazaar
Week 11: Iranian Revolution and Islamism (March 29 and 31 and April 2)
Topics:
Mossadeq
Iranian Revolution
Egyptian Islamism
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 397-450
Lesch, pp. 51-74, 122-140, 504-533,
Richard W. Cottam, "American Policy and the Iranian Crisis," Iranian Studies
Paper Due: Monday, April 5
Week 12: Iran-Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan (April 5, 7, and 9)
Topics:
Iran-Iraq War
Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
American-Saudi-Pakistani Alliance
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 473-497
Lesch, pp. 315-331, 351-379, 380-393, 462-482
Roger Owen, "The Lebanese Crisis: Fragmentation or Reconciliation?" Third World Quarterly
Week 13: 1990: Gulf War (April 12, 14, and 16)
Topics:
Gulf War
Iraq in the 1990s
US-Saudi Relations
Readings:
Cleveland, pp. 499-539
Lesch, pp. 394-433
Hussein Agha and Robert Malley, "Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors,"
The New York Review of Books, August 9, 2001
"Israel and Palestine: What's Gone Wrong", Prospect (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Yaakov Amidror, "Israel's Security: The Hard-Learned Lessons," Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2004
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Sara Roy, "Why Peace Failed: An Oslo Autopsy," Journal of Current History
Week 14: Palestinian-Israeli Crisis (April 21, (Thursday) 22, and 23) (No class on Monday, April 19)
Topics:
First and Second Palestinian Intifidas
Madrid Conference
Oslo Agreement
Camp David
Week 15: US Invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) (April 26 and 28)
Topics:
Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq
Iraqi Sectarianism
American Withdrawal from Iraq