PIR-20094 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

N/A

Barred Combinations

N/A

Description for 2025/26

This module aims to acquaint students with the domestic politics, foreign policies, and international relations of the Middle East region, stretching from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of the historical, social, political and geopolitical transformations of Middle Eastern states by (a) acquiring knowledge of important actors and events in the region, and by (b) developing a critical understanding of the key scholarly and popular debates about regional and international politics of Middle Eastern states. Material covered will include the historical formation of the state system in the Middle East region; the role of collective identities and political ideologies in the politics of the region; the Cold War period and its impact on Middle East politics; Civil Wars in the Middle East and North Africa, the Arab-Israeli Wars; the Palestinians and the Peace Process; Iraq's Wars and Reconstruction; and American Middle East policy.

This module aims to deliver a broad-based introduction to the history, politics and international relations of the modern Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Students will gain familiarity with key facts in the political history, geography, and demography of the MENA region, attain knowledge about the different political conflicts in parts of the Middle East since approximately 1920, together with an understanding of the key ideologies, alignments and organisations in the Middle East. In particular, the module aims to facilitate critical evaluations of the causes, contexts and manifestations of political conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa.

Intended Learning Outcomes

gain a broad-based insight into the history of the Middle East since the collapse of the Ottoman empire until the contemporary period: 1
obtain a critical and interdisciplinary appreciation of a variety of ways in which the regional and international politics of the Middle East and North Africa can be analysed: 1,2
obtain a literature-based understanding of the central aspects of the geopolitics, diplomacy, civil conflicts and ideological contests across the Middle East: 1,2
be able to critically evaluate key debates about the international politics of the Middle East region, among the public as well as in academic and policy circles: 1,2
analyse causes, contexts and manifestations of political conflict (including, but not limited to, wars) in the Middle East and North Africa: 1,2

Study hours

lectures: 10 x 1-hour lectures (10 hours)
tutorials: 10 x 1-hour tutorials (10 hours)
preparation for tutorials: (40 hours)
researching and compiling poster: (30 hours)
researching and writing essay: (60 hours)

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment