History

HOW WILL I EVALUATE YOUR LEARNING?

• Reading quizzes and Discussion (20 points): If you decide to stay in this class, there are certain things you must agree to do.  You should keep up with the readings and prepare the questions on the syllabus for discussion.  If you do not prepare, you will not only damage your own learning, you will also deprive the rest of the class of the chance to learn from your own unique insights.  To encourage you to keep up, I give one-question quizzes based on the questions on the syllabus.  Some discussions will be in small, assigned groups, and others may be whole class discussions or debates.  Bring notes, and do your best to prepare your answers as a historian would: cite your evidence, evaluate authors’ perspectives, and consider alternative answers.  This is in no way intended to be an intimidating process; rather, it is your chance to contribute to the way the rest of the class (including me) understands the subjects of our study.
• Three Essays (10 points each): Each essay will be two pages, double-spaced, and must make reference to the readings, using proper citations.  The essay questions are listed on the syllabus, and guidelines and standards are in Blackboard Assignments.  The essays are designed to help you practice real-world writing, so you must be concise, accurate, and informative; discussions are designed to help you prepare for them.
• Midterm and Final Exam (25 points each): The exams will be objective, with map sections and short answers testing the skills you have learned and asking you to reflect on the major themes of the class. 
• Extra Credit: I want to encourage you to do reading or watch documentaries on topics that we may not cover in class.  I think it is important for you to be able to pursue subjects of your own interest.  So I allow you to get up to five points of extra credit; see the External Links page on the Blackboard site for details and restrictions.

WHAT WILL YOU READ?

• A History of the Arab Peoples, by Albert Hourani (H).  The bookstore recently told me that this book is out of print–the bookstore has some used copies, but you may need to share a copy or buy one from an on-line dealer.
• The Islamic World, ed. by McNeill and Waldman (W).
• Arabian Nights, ed. by Jack Zipes (AN)
• Articles, maps, and study guides in Blackboard Course Documents (B).

WHAT DO I EXPECT OF YOU? I will do everything in my power to help you achieve the learning objectives for this class.  But I can only do so much.  I cannot open your head and dump knowledge into it.  Ultimately, how much you learn depends on your own effort.

• I do not take attendance.  Since I give frequent quizzes, if you miss a class, you will not only miss the lecture or discussion for that day but risk losing points on quizzes as well.  I know that everyone gets sick or has an occasional emergency that prevents class attendance once in a while, but because of federal privacy laws, I do not collect excuses for absences.  If you miss an occasional class, get the notes from a classmate and do an extra credit assignment to make up for the missed quiz.  Keep in mind that only five points of extra credit are available, and that missing over three days of class could have a serious impact on your learning. If you have a serious illness or other problem that requires a lengthy absence, you must contact the Dean of Students and ask her to send an explanation to all your professors.
• Missed essays will receive a grade of zero.  Note that a zero is worse, mathematically-speaking, than an F (anything below sixty percent).  If an essay is due on a day when you must miss class, please use the digital drop box in Blackboard to turn it in (I accept MS Word and Corel WordPerfect formats).  Please practice professional standards in your work and turn materials in on time.
• Students who know that they will miss the midterm or final exam due to planned absence may schedule a make-up. 
• Any student with a documented disability (e.g., mobility, learning, psychological, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange accommodations must contact both me and Disability Services for Students (826-2188) at the beginning of the term.
• Plagiarism and cheating are ways of avoiding true learning.  If you learn to rely on them in college, they will become bad habits that may embarrass or ruin you as a professional.  If I suspect you of either, I will make you re-do the assignment until I am sure you have learned to do the work on your own.  Deliberate violations of the “Policy on Academic Honesty” detailed in the Baldwin-Wallace College Catalog will be reported for disciplinary action.  In that event, your case will be decided by college judicial authorities, which can take up to a year.  I strongly encourage you to make use of my e-mail and office hours.  This is the best way to ensure that I get to know you as a person, so that I am aware of your individual strengths and any difficulties you may experience.  I offer help preparing essays or for exams, or if you would like help on a more regular basis, I can arrange for tutoring.  If you need to meet with me outside of regular office hours, contact me to schedule an appointment. 

Core Skills:

HIS 288I is writing-intensive, teaches critical thinking skills, and encourages students to work in small-group settings on collaborative in-class assignments.

COURSE SCHEDULE AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Reading assignments should be completed before class.  The daily discussion questions are intended to help direct you to the main themes in the reading.  I suggest you write brief answers to the questions as you do your reading, making notes on the evidence you gather from primary sources.  This will help make our discussions more lively and fact-based--and thus more interesting and valuable to you.  The more work you put into preparing for class, the more you will learn.

 UNIT ONE: EARLY ISLAM

M 8/28 Introductions and discussion mixer.  Assignments: (1) Familiarize yourself with the Reader and the course web site and the resources they offer.  (2) Photocopy your student ID for me, and write on the copy your year in school, major(s), reasons for taking this class, and something to help me remember who you are.

 W 8/30 Pre-Islamic Arabia. H: 7-14; B: Maps of Arabia; “Pessimistic Conception of the Earthly Life”; “Clash of Civilizations?” by Samuel Huntington.  Discussion questions: (1) What was the significance of Mecca in pre-Islamic Arabia? (2) Do you agree with Huntington’s main thesis?  Why/why not?

 F 9/1 Muhammad's Revolution. H: 14-21,147-152; W: “Life of Muhammad” (from Ibn Ishaq's biography), 5-22; B: Study Guide on Muhammad’s relatives (you may want to bring this to class); selection 1: Qur'an and Hadith. Discussion questions: (1) What classes/types of people in Meccan society do you think would be most attracted to Islam? (2)  How might Islam have been perceived as a threat to Meccan society?  (3) Why does the Islamic calendar start in 622 rather than with the birth of Muhammad? 

 M 9/4 LABOR DAY

 W 9/6 Battles with the Quraysh. B: Maps: Spread of Islam Web assignment: Use the Blackboard External Links page to locate my Image Gallery.  Go to the Environment web page to get a sense of the physical environment of the Middle East.

 F 9/8  The “Rightly-Guided” Caliphs, the Establishment of the Umayyad Empire, and the Shi'a Opposition. H: 22-32; B: Maps: Spread of Islam.  Web assignment: Go to my Image Gallery, locate the page on Early Islamic Architecture, and view the mosques of the Umayyad period. Discussion questions: (1) Why do you think the armies of the early Islamic caliphate were able to make such rapid military advances?  (2) How was the Muslim Community affected by its expansion into the conquered realms of the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires?

 M 9/11  The ‘Abbasid Empire, the Seljuk migrations, and the “Golden Age of Islam.”  H: 32-58, 98-108, 137-141; W: “Lifestyles” (85-95 from al-Tanukhi’s “Ruminations and Reminiscences”) and “Essays” (110-119, from al-Jahiz).

Evening assignment: attend the Enduring Questions Lecture by Dr. Azar Nafisi at 8:00 PM in the John Patrick Theater (Kleist).  Her talk is titled “Clash of Civilizations Revisited: the Republic of the Imagination.”   This is not optional; you will need to attend to be able to do the final essay for this class.

UNIT TWO: ISLAMIC SOCIETY IN THE 'GOLDEN AGE'

W 9/13 Commerce and Urban Social Hierarchies, H: 109-116, 130-137; AN: “The Hunchback's Tale”;  B: Map, Trade Routes; Qur'an and hadith selection 2 on commerce. Discussion questions: (1) The spread of Islam was an urban phenomenon.  The ruling classes were largely town-dwellers, and it was not until the 1300s that the majority of rural populations converted to Islam.  Who were the town-dwellers?  What avenues of social mobility existed?  Be able to outline the major social classes, the occupational groups within them, and the relationships between different classes. (2) Where do cities tend to form, and why? What relationships can you find between commerce and the development of urban civilization?  Consider the urban social classes--what position did traders and merchants have, and why?  What duties did the ruler have in regard to commerce, and why?  (3) Does the Qur'an support commerce?  Why might commerce be discussed in a religious scripture?  (4) Consider the urban social hierarchy: What position did market regulators (muhtasibs) have, and why?  How were credit arrangements managed?  (5) How might the “Hunchback's Tale” contribute to our knowledge of commercial practices?

F 9/15 FILM: “Cities of Islam” and the Interiority of the Classical Islamic City. H: 122-129; review AN: “The Hunchback’s Tale.”  Discussion questions: (1) What advantages and limitations do you perceive in the use of narrative fiction, such as the Arabian Nights tales, as historical source material?  (2) How might the “Hunchback’s Tale” contribute to our knowledge of the physical spaces in the city?  (3) What can the physical layout of a city and the design of its public and private buildings tell us about the culture of the people who constructed it?  In particular, why did government buildings lack ornamentation?

M 9/18 Equality and Inequality: Muslims and Non-Muslims, Freedom and Slavery. H: 116-120; W: “Expansion of Islam” (from Ibn Batuta's Travels), 273-286; B: Qur'an and hadith, selection 3 on non-Muslims, review selection 1 for material on slaves; “Ibn Muslama’s Pact with the Christians of Tiflis and the Pact of ‘Umar.”  Discussion questions: (1) Medieval Islamic society was divided into three major groups by religious affiliation - what were they?  Who were the “dhimmis”?  Why were they given that name?  How were they different from other non-Muslims?  (review Hourani, 46-47.)  (2)  What restrictions were imposed upon non-Muslims in classical Islamic society?  According to your readings in the Qur'an, what was the scriptural basis (if any) for those restrictions (consider especially the Qur'an's hints at historical tensions between the early Muslim community and the Jewish and Christian populations)?  What social justifications (if any) do you perceive for those restrictions? (3) Describe the different types of slavery in classical Islamic society and their status.  Based on your past readings from the Arabian Nights, propose a correlation between ethnic/racial/religious background and a slave's potential status.  Based on your past readings from the Qur'an, describe the stipulations that govern a slave owner's relationship with his/her slaves.  How was the status of the slave under Islamic law different (if at all) from that of a slave in the west (considering the varieties of slavery in the west and under Islam)?

W 9/20 The Power of the Feminine and the Status of Women. H: 120-122; W: 130-134 (al-Jahiz); B: Qur'an and hadith selection 4 on women; AN: “The Story of King Shahryar and His Brother,” “Wily Dalilah,” and 279-280. Discussion questions: (1) What rights are given to women by scripture?  (2) What powers (if any) did that give to them?  (3) In what ways were women restricted?  (4) What other sources of power did women have recourse to in medieval Islamic society? (5)  How might cultural differences influence how scripture is interpreted? (Consider the differences between Arabian culture and that of the Muslim Maldive Islands described by Ibn Battuta.)

F 9/22 Visions of Political Authority. H: 141-146; B: selections from Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah; AN: 74 (ideal king). Discussion questions: (1)  According to your readings, did the classical Muslim political theorists consider absolute rule justified?  Was rebellion ever justified?  If so, when?   (2) What roles did different political theorists ascribe to the ‘ulama' in regards to political authority?  (3) What was the ultimate goal of the ideal Islamic state?  What characteristics should the ideal ruler possess?  Why?  (4) What underlying concerns about human nature and human society did classical Islamic political philosophies reveal?  What historical/political factors may have contributed to these concerns?  (5) How did Ibn Khaldun characterize history?  According to him, why do dynasties rise and fall?  What does he mean by “group feeling”?

M 9/25 Taxation and the Circle of Equity. H: review 137-141; AN: 271-278; suggested: “‘Ali Baba” and “Ebony Horse.”  First Essay Due: Historians must possess two key skills: the ability to analyze primary sources and the ability to use them to enter imaginatively into the life of someone from another time and place.  Imagine you are a woman, non-Muslim, or a slave in an Islamic society (specify place and time period).  In two double-spaced pages, describe your status in society.  Your account must be factual and detailed, must draw on the primary sources assigned, and must cite sources using MLA parenthetical reference format.  Read the guide for concise writing assignments and Exercise for Avoiding Plagiarism in Blackboard Assignments before you start.

W 9/27 Refuges of the Poor and Oppressed. H: review 115-116 on “waqf,” B: Article, “A Waqf Foundation Document from al-Azhar Mosque” and “An Endowment Deed of Khasseki Sultan.”  Discussion questions: (1)   Define “waqf” (pl. awqaf).  (2) What kind of benefits accrued to someone who endowed a waqf? (3) What kind of services did awqaf provide for their beneficiaries?  (4) What kinds of properties were dedicated to the upkeep of a waqf?  (5) What kinds of services did mosques provide?  (6)  Consider the waqf documents as sources for the social or economic history of the place/period in which they were written.  What information can we derive from the details of the specifications? Give me specific examples from the documents. (7) What potential problems do you envision arising from abuse of awqaf?  From the “eternal” nature of awqaf?

F 9/29  Islamic Law. H: 65-71, 75-79; 158-166, review 113-116, 199-205; W: 134-142 (al-Shafi'i); B: Islamic Law Study Guides 1-2; Qur'an and hadith selection 5 on law, selection 6 on learning;  Study guides: Ideas and technologies transmitted to Europe from the Middle East.  Discussion questions: (1) What is the difference between shari'a and fiqh?  (2) What are the sources of the shari'a?  (3) How is the shari'a expressed (is it a law code)? (4)  According to your readings, what limits (if any) did medieval Muslim society impose on the acquisition of knowledge?  Justify your answer with evidence  (textual and historical) from your readings.  You may want to first consider the questions posed in your Reader in Selection 6.

M 10/2 Philosophy and Theology. H: 62-65, 166-188; W: 166-171 (al-Farabi, from “the Attainment of Happiness”). Discussion questions: (1) What were the fundamental questions debated by classical Islamic theologists and philosophers?  Another way to put this question: What issues set different schools apart from one another? (2) According to al-Farabi, what are the differences between religion and philosophy? (3) Compare al-Farabi’s conception of the “Imam” with that of the Shi‘as.

W 10/4 FILM: “Islamic Mysticism, the Sufi Way.” H: 72-75, 152-157; L: 192-224, 253-267; B: Sufism Study Guides 1-3. Discussion question: What was the objective of the Sufi experience?

F 10/6 Sufism. W: “The New Mysticism” (from al-Ghazali: That Which Delivers from Error, 206-225, and Rumi: Divan-i shams-i tabriz, 239-247). B: Sufism Study Guides 4-5; “Sufi Hagiography: Devout Women” (selection from Ibn al-Jawzi's Sifat al-safwa).  Discussion questions: (1) What was al-Ghazali seeking?  What was Rumi seeking?  Why?  (2)  In what ways did they seek their objectives?  (3) According to al-Ghazali, what was the best way to seek Truth?  What was wrong with each of the other ways? (4) Who was Rumi’s “beloved”?  Why did he use that metaphor? (5) In the reading on the female Sufi, what is her attitude toward Sufyan al-Thawri, a well-known hadith transmitter, legal scholar, and Sufi?

M 10/9 FILM: “Islamic Art.” H: 189-199 and photos in book.
Web assignment: Find and print out one example of Islamic art from the Web.  Which attributes of “Islamic” art described in your text does it have?  If none, why do you consider it “Islamic”? (Do not use the pictures on my web site.)

W 10/11 The Crusades. W: 183-206 (from Usama ibn Munqidh, Memoirs). Discussion question: Describe Usama's impressions of the Christian invaders.

F 10/13 The Crusades, continued.

M 10/16 MIDTERM EXAM

UNIT THREE: THE TURKIC MIGRATIONS AND THE NEW EMPIRES

W 10/18 Mongol Conquests: Myth and Reality. W: “Mongols” (selections from Ibn al-Athir's Great History and Juvaini's History of the World Conqueror), 248-272; B: Mongol Study Guides and Mongol Maps. Web assignment: go to Central Asian Architecture page, view Ulugh Beg Madrasah, and explore links. Discussion questions: (1) Who were the Mongols?  How was their society organized? (2) What impressions do you get of the effects of the Mongol invasions on Islamic society? (3) What was yasa?

F 10/20 FALL HOLIDAY

M 10/23 Impact of the Mongol Conquests: The Black Death. H: 209-214; B: Map, Mongol Powers.