Contemporary Middle East & Central Asia

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2016:

This is an intensive subject taught over 5 days.

170 hours total

Admission into the fourth-year honours program, or any graduate program in the Faculty of Arts.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject focuses on the contemporary political landscape of the Middle East and Central Asia. It explores the interplay of international relations and domestic politics, especially in the wake of the war on terror and the Arab Uprisings. It traces the challenge of Islamism with reference to the Arab-Israeli conflict and implications of Iran’s growing assertiveness in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia. Of particular interest is popular perceptions of the United States in the region, as well as the disconnect between the people and the political elite.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• have a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the political systems in the Middle East and Central Asia
• have a solid appreciation of the role of great powers in the region
• have an understanding of the interconnectedness of patterns of conflict in the Middle East and Central Asia
• have an understanding of Islamic political and social mechanisms in the Middle East and Central Asia

• A 5000-word research paper due at the end of the teaching period (80%)
• Continuous seminar participation due throughout the teaching period (20% )

Hurdle requirements: Students are required to attend a minimum of 100% of classes in order to pass this subject.

• Shahram Akbarzadeh, Uzbekistan and the United States: Authoritarianism, Islamism and Washington's Security Agenda. (London: Zed books, 2005)

• Shahram Akbarzadeh and Benjamin MacQueen: Islam and Human Rights (London: Routledge, 2008)
• Kylie Baxter and Shahram Akbarzadeh, US Foreign Policy in the Middle East. (London: Routledge, 2008)
• Olivier Roy, The Failure of Political Islam (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994).

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject should:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the political systems in the Middle East and Central Asia.
• Gain a solid appreciation of the role of great powers in the region.
• Improve oral skills by participating in seminars.
• Develop improved writing skills by producing a 5000 word research paper.