MES502 CONTEMPORARY AFFAIRS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
| Course Code: | 8320502 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 8.0 |
| Department: | Middle East Studies |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Graduate |
| Course Coordinator: | Prof.Dr. MELİHA ALTUNIŞIK |
| Offered Semester: | Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
The aim of this course is to provide a general overview of some of the main issues on the agenda of comtemporary Middle East international relations. An attempt will be made to relate these issues to the theories of International Relations. The main focus will be on contemporary issues in the region, which covers the Arab world, Iran and Israel. In the first part of the course the evolution of international relations of the region will be analyzed historically, starting from the emergence of the modern state system in the region. The regional and international relations of the region will then be discussed under different headings: The Cold War era; Post-Cold War and Gulf War era (1990s); Post-9/11 and Iraq War era; and finally, the era of the “Arab Spring”. The second part of the course will focus on specific cases, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, Syrian crisis, Iranian nuclear issue, the Gulf and the GCC.
Course Content
The course will analyze the contemporary Middle Eastern affairs through the study of processes of state and nation formation, social and economic changes in region, the impact of religion and the role of the military, and political and economic crises, regional and international conflicts and their domestic effects in the Middle East in the 20th century.
Course Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course the students are expected to have a deeper understanding of contemporary international relations of the Middle East and a capability to link these topics to conceptual and theoretical approaches in the field of International Relations.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | acquire basic information and knowledge about historical, social and economic processes in the Middle East. | ✔ | |||
| 2 | qualify in the languages such as Arabic, Persian and Hebrew, and in the frame of opportunities that the department provides chances to develop their skills. | ✔ | |||
| 3 | are able to follow and analyze historical, social and economic processes related to the Middle East Region. | ✔ | |||
| 4 | are familiar with the existing scholarly literature-primarily in English and languages of the region- and have developed the ability to analyze critically. | ✔ | |||
| 5 | are able to conduct academic and professional research, write articles, annotations, and media evaluations. | ✔ | |||
| 6 | are able to present their works both in oral and written form. | ✔ | |||
| 7 | are acquainted with disciplinary, interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches and are able to work individually and as a part of a team in both these approaches. | ✔ | |||
| 8 | are acquainted with the theoretical framework of Area Studies in general and Middle East Studies in particular. | ✔ | |||
| 9 | are aware of the ideologies of prejudices and discrimination such as Islamophobia and anti-Semitism and embrace frameworks that avoid these ideologies in their academic and professional works. | ✔ | |||
| 10 | are equipped with academic and professional ethics. | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution