Course Description
Political and cultural history of Egypt from the medieval era up to the present. Examining the history of education in Egypt, Egyptian women, the growth of feminism, and Cairo as an international metropolis, with a look at Egypt's experiences with colonialism and relationship with the rest of Africa, particularly Sudan.
Athena Title
EGYPT MOTHER OF CIV
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. 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 stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
Egypt under the Ottomans The Mamluks and Egypt as an Empire within an Empire The French Occupation Mehmed Ali and his challenge to the Ottomans Khedive Ismail and his European ambitions Egypt in the Sudan The Urabi Revolt and the British Occupation The Rise of Egyptian Nationalism Nationalism and Feminism Egypt's Liberal Experiment and its failure Nasserism Egypt and the Arab-Israeli conflict The Social Revolution of the 1950's and 60's Naguib Mahfouz and Egyptian Literature Umm Kulthum and Arabic song Sadat and the shift towards the West The Rise of Islamist movements Egypt in the 80's and 90's