Course Description
A special issue or topic not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Topics, methodology, and instructors will vary from semester to semester. Representative topics include: "Tribes and States in the Pre-Modern Middle East" and "Marriage and the Family in Medieval Islam."
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will undertake research under the direction of
the instructor. They will be expected to identify a major topic
of historiographical debate, familiarize themselves with the
principal contributions to the debate, and, where possible, read
the relevant primary sources so that they can reach an
independent judgment. They will then write a substantive paper
detailing their findings.
Athena Title
PREMOD MID EAST
Prerequisite
HIST 2701 or HIST 2702 or HIST 3330 or HIST 3561 or HIST 3562 or HIST 3564 or HIST 3580
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is designed to cover special topics not otherwise offered in the history curriculum. Specific objectives and learning outcomes will vary from instructor to instructor and from topic to topic. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively 3. write papers using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers
Topical Outline
Will vary from instructor to instructor and from topic to topic. Sample outline on "Marriage and the Family in Medieval Islam" Marriage Idealized: The Quran and Prophet's Example Byzantine and Jewish Influences Marriage and the Legal Rights of Husbands and Wives Divorce, Maintainance, and the Custody of Children Concepts of Adulthood and Childhood The Family as an Economic Unit The Extended Family: Slaves, Eunuchs, Concubines, and Clients The Politic Family: Dynasties and Dynastic Ideology