Essay Instructions: There is two parts to this assignment: In part one, you have to answer 4 questions in detailed essay form. That is a total of 4 essays, and each essay must NOT be less than a full page. So, we are looking at a total of 4 pages or more for Part I. Also, all the essays must include an introduction and conclusion so that I will have a synopsis of what you are trying to say in the first and last paragraphs, and of course, detailed body paragraphs that start with a topic sentence followed by supporting sentences & examples. Please note: your answers and information gathered needs to be based on certain texts, the main one being James L. Gelvin?s book, THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST: A HISTORY. You will find almost any of the concepts and facts needed to complete this assignment in Gelvin?s The Modern Middle East: A History. Other recommended books are: Struggle and Survival in the Modern Middle East by Edmund Burke III; The Committee by Sonallah Ibrahim; and The Modern Middle East by Albert Hourani et al. You should cite readings when possible ("According to Khoury...."). And lastly, please include a a Works Cited page.
Then for part two, you have to identify and tell the significance of some names and terms. Give dates only for those terms marked with an asterisk (*).The I.D.'s need not be long--just explain what it is (or who it is) and its importance. In most cases, this can be done in two sentences. If the i.d. is followed by an asterisk (*), be sure to include the date in your answer.
Thank you and good luck!
Here are the four essay questions for part I, followed by the I.D.?s for part II:
PART I: Please write an essay of at least one page for each question with an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion.
1. Describe the following recent developments and explain how they resulted from and accelerated trends that had been ongoing since the nineteenth century: the exploitation of oil, the revolutions of the mid-twentieth century, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the emergence and spread of nationalism, the emergence and spread of Islamic movements.
2. Why might the years 1918 and 1971 be considered turning points in the history of the modern Middle East?
3. The following opinion piece, ?Cursed by Oil,? appeared in the New York Times on 9 May 2004. It was written by Thomas L. Friedman:
I visited the Japanese cellphone company DoCoMo in Tokyo 10 days ago. A robot made by Honda gave me part of the tour, even bowing in perfect Japanese fashion. My visit there coincided with yet another suicide bomb attack against U.S. forces in Iraq. I could not help thinking: Why are the Japanese making robots into humans, while Muslim suicide squads are making humans into robots?
The answer has to do in part with the interaction between culture and natural resources. Countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China have relatively few natural resources like oil. As a result, in the modern age, their first instinct is to look inward, assess their weaknesses, try to learn as much as they can from foreigners and then beat them at their own game. In order to beat the Westerners, they have even set aside many of their historical animosities so they can invest in each other's countries and get all the benefits of free trade.
The Arab world, alas, has been cursed with oil. For decades, too many Arab countries have opted to drill a sand dune for economic growth rather than drilling their own people--men and women--in order to tap their energy, creativity, intellect and entrepreneurship. Arab countries barely trade with one another, and unlike Korea and Japan, rarely invent or patent anything. But rather than looking inward, assessing their development deficits, absorbing the best in modern knowledge that their money can buy and then trying to beat the West at its own game, the Arab world in too many cases has cut itself off, blamed the enduring Palestine conflict or colonialism for delaying reform, or found dignity in Pyrrhic victories like Falluja....
One thing about countries like Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Japan, they may not have deserts but they sure know the difference between the mirage and the oasis--between victories that come from educating your population to innovate and "victories" that come from a one night stand by suicidal maniacs like 9/11.
Do you agree with Friedman?s account of the reasons behind the sorry state of the contemporary Arab world? Why? What other historical factors might account for the current crisis in the region?
4. How did the advent of the modern age affect the Islamic ideas and the role Islam has played in politics?
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PART II: Please identify and tell the significance of these names and terms. Give dates only for those terms marked with an asterisk (*).
1) American Civil War
2) Article 22 of the Charter of the League of Nations
3) Balfour Declaration*
4) Bretton Woods System
5) Cairo Conference of 1921
6) capitulations
7) Commercial Revolution
8) William Knox d?Arcy
9) Eastern Question
10) Hatt-i Sharif of Gulhane*/Islahat Fermani*
11) Islamo-nationalism/Islamo-anarchism
12) Mustafa Kemal
13) rentierism
14) Reza Shah
15) salafism
16) Seven Years? War*
17) Third Worldism
18) U.N. Resolution 242*
19) World Systems Theory
20) vilayet-e faqih
