93623 - STORIA E ISTITUZIONI DEL NORD AFRICA E DEL MEDIO ORIENTE

Learning outcomes

The main objective of the course is to provide students with the tools to interpret and understand the historical, political, religious, social and economic changes that have occurred in North Africa and the Near East since the crisis of the Ottoman Empire until the 1990s. Upon completion of the course, the student possesses the basic knowledge to analyze the major historical phases of the region and is able to use the main tools to learn about the history, institutions and political cultures of the major countries that make up the Middle East and North Africa.

Course contents

The course will be organized around four main sections: first, a background section that sets the stage for the rest of the course, focusing on the weakening and eventual collapse of the Ottoman Empire, first in North Africa and then in the Middle East and Near East, with the Treaty of Lausanne giving the region its present shape. We then move on to a second part on the struggle for decolonization and the related issues of nationalism, culture, and development. In a third section, we focus on two fundamental conflicts that will structure the entire region: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Cold War. Finally, we conclude the course with a section on two defining trends for the region in the last quarter of the 20th century: the rise of political Islam and globalization. Each section will allow students to acquire both in-depth knowledge of the history of a number of selected countries and an understanding of the regional and global dynamics in which these histories are embedded.

 

Part I (Lectures 1-3) - Introduction and context: the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of European imperialism

Part II (Lectures 4-7) Decolonization: Relationships between nationalism, religion and development

Part III (Lectures 8-11) The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Cold War: Two defining axes for the region.

Part IV (Lectures 12-15) From decolonization to anti-imperialism: Neoliberal globalization and the rise of political Islam.

Readings/Bibliography

Amin, Samir. 2012b. Il mondo arabo nella storia e oggi. E la primavera araba? Punto Rosso.

———. 2022a. Eurocentrismo. Modernità, religione e democrazia. Critica dell’eurocentrismo, critica dei culturalismi. La Città del Sole.

Black, Ian. 2018. Nemici e vicini: Arabi ed ebrei in Palestina e Israele, 1917-2017. Translated by Luigi Giacone. EINAUDI.

Campli, Mario, and Francesco Zannini. 2021. Islamizzazione e radicalizzazione. Saggio su Olivier Roy e Gilles Kepel. Brescia-Italia: Cavinato.

Emiliani, Marcella. 2012. Medio Oriente: Una storia dal 1918 al 1991. Editori Laterza.

Fanon, Frantz, and L. Ellena. 2007. I dannati della terra. Translated by C. Cignetti. Einaudi.

Gellner, Ernest. 1995. Antropologia e Politica. Editori Riuniti.

Hobsbawm, Eric J. 2005. L’età degli imperi 1875-1914. Translated by Franco Salvatorelli. 7° edizione. Laterza.

———. 2014. Il secolo breve 1914-1991. Translated by B. Lotti. 1° edizione. Rizzoli.

McMichael, Philip. 2006. Ascesa e declino dello sviluppo. Una prospettiva globale. 1A edizione. Franco Angeli.

Prashad, Vijay. 2008. Storia del Terzo mondo. Translated by G. Muzzopappa. Rubbettino.

Teaching methods

Lectures with PowerPoint.

Assessment methods

ATTENDING STUDENTS

- A written test at the end of the second part (3 hours - 40%)
- An in-class final written exam (essay) covering all course material (4 hours - 60%)

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

- An in-class final written exam (essay) on the reading list (4 hours - 100%).

Teaching tools

Office hours: by appointment (in person or on Teams)

 

Students with a form of disability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) who are requesting academic adjustments or compensatory tools are invited to communicate their needs to the teaching staff in order to properly address them and agree on the appropriate measures with the competent bodies.

Office hours

See the website of Antoine Pierre Charles Dolcerocca