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| Semester | spring semester 2019 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Saad Amira (saad.amira@unibas.ch)
Sarah Djavid Khayati (s.khayati@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | This course proposes an overview on the development of social movements in the Middle East by exploring three cities: Beirut, Amman, and Ramallah. Here, the interaction of modern and traditional social realities renders certain spaces particularly contested. Through case studies, the course analyzes the genealogy and structure of social movements in these sites by discussing current literature and theoretical debates. Additionally, students in this course will engage with scholars and activists from the region gaining insights into their personal accounts and political work. By looking at recent social movements (or civil society movements) in Lebanon, the ongoing youth movements in Palestine and Jordan, we are going to situate that in their particular urban context and explore the city as an embracing site for their diversity. Movements such as Bairūt Madinati (Beirut, my city), Al-Ḥirāk Al-Shabābī al-Urdunnī (The Jordanian Youth Movement), and the Palestinian al-Ḥirāk al- Shabābī al-Mustaqil (The Independent Youth Movement) try to break from the stagnant affaire of neo-patrimonial politics in their respective countries and challenge the legitimacy of the state in light of the wide-spread protests that swarmed the Arab region in the last decade. The course enriches students´ understanding of the development and diversity of social movements by looking at current processes in the Middle East through the lens of urban politics. |
| Learning objectives | In this course, students will familiarize themselves with • academic debates on Middle Eastern social movements • theoretical, methodological and analytical tools for understanding social change in the Middle East • different modes of protest through discussions of case-studies |
| Bibliography | All of the materials that you need for this course will be available online on ADAM. Compulsory reading materials will be made available in advance (February 18th, 2019). You are expected to read introductory articles (up to 30 pages) before the first meeting on February 25th. |
| Comments | Students targeted: Students interested in the “Middle East” as an area study, socio-political forms of organization and state structures of the “Global South”, and an interdisciplinary academic approach to grasping current developments in Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|
No dates available. Please contact the lecturer.
| Modules |
Modul: Europäisierung und Globalisierung (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) Modul: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Fields: Knowledge Production and Transfer (Master's degree program: African Studies) Modul: Methoden der Near & Middle Eastern Studies (Master's degree subject: Near & Middle Eastern Studies) Module: Projects and Processes of Urbanization (Master's degree program: Critical Urbanisms) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Assessment: Class participation Student presentations or final paper |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Urban Studies |