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 The Center for Arab and Middle East Studies is re-launching its graduate
 program in Modern Middle Eastern Studies as of October 1998. This
 program, leading to an M.A. degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies,
 provides opportunity for study and research on the modern Middle East.
 It is multidisciplinary and interdepartmental, covering Middle Eastern
 history, politics, society, economics and culture.

 Co-ordinated by the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (CAMES),
 the program draws on the resources of the following Departments in the
 Faculty of Arts and Sciences: Arabic and Near Eastern Languages,
 Economics, History and Archeology, Philosophy, Political Studies and
 Public Administration, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Faculty
 members from all of these departments contribute to deepening students'
 understanding of the political, social and economic realities of this
 complex and vital region of the world.
 

 PROGRAM OF STUDY

 The M.A. program in Modern Middle Eastern Studies entails two years of
 study and stay in residence. It includes multidisciplinary seminars, the
 learning of a Middle Eastern language and the writing of a thesis.

 During the first year, all students are required to attend a
 multidisciplinary Middle East area course with a related tutorial. At
 the same time, they are required to acquire a minimum degree of
 proficiency in one of the major Middle Eastern languages: Arabic,
 Persian, Turkish or Modern Hebrew. In the second year, students write a
 thesis demonstrating competence in research, analysis and writing.

 The program is open to B.A. holders in fields related to the course as
 well as people who have already embarked upon a professional career.
 Applications and prerequisites will be considered on an individual
 basis.

 MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES AT AUB
 

 The CAMES M.A. program in Modern Middle Eastern Studies is a two-year
 program. It requires a mandatory residence of two academic years (four
 semesters) at AUB.

 During the first year (two semesters), CAMES will offer the following
 courses:

 1. A multidisciplinary seminar (CAMES 301 and CAMES 302; 3 cr each)
 combined with a tutorial course (CAMES 303 and CAMES 304; 3 cr each).
 The seminar will meet from October to June in 28 sessions divided as
 follows:

 A. Introductory session: Studying the Middle East. 1 session + 1
 tutorial paper
 B. Land People & Society: 5 sessions + 1 tutorial paper
 C. Historical background: 4 sessions + 1 tutorial paper
 D. Political Culture and Thought: 4 sessions + 1 tutorial paper
 E. Government and Politics: 4 sessions + 1 tutorial paper
 F. The Middle East in International Politics: 4 sessions + 1 tutorial
 paper
 G. Political Economy: 4 sessions + 1 tutorial paper
 H. Media and Culture: 2 sessions + 1 tutorial paper

 2. A Middle Eastern language course (CAMES 321 and CAMES 322; 3 cr each)
 

 The second year (2 semesters) will be dedicated to the writing of a
 thesis (CAMES 399; 6 cr). It will also include two graduate courses in
 the Department of the field of concentration.
 
 

 For more information about the program, please contact Carol Hakim at
 ch01@aub.edu.lb

 CAMES MULTIDSCIPLINARY SEMINAR
 (CAMES 301 & 302)
 

 A. INTRODUCTORY SESSION

 First session: Studying the Middle East
 -Problems relating to the study of the Middle East
 -Traditional scholarship
 -Orientalism
 -New approaches
 

 B. LAND, PEOPLE AND SOCIETY

 First session: Political Geography
 -Region defined. General topography
 -The significance of location
 -The region in the global system
 -Population: Demography, religious diversity and ethnic variety

 Second session: The Partition of Space
 -The organization of space and the distribution of resources before
   WWI. Trade routes
 -The establishment of the independent states: Boundaries and frontiers.
   Reorganization of trade routes. New outlets (portsÖ).
 -Agriculture and Industry. New resources (OilÖ).
 -Strategic waterways (Suez, Hormuz).

 Third session: The Social Fabric
 -Social stratification
 -Kinship relations
 -Gender
 -Social diversity: Cohesion and social fragmentation

 Fourth session: Modernization
 -Rural evolution. Decline or mechanization and specialization of
   agriculture.
 -Urbanization. Problems of management of towns.
 -Impact of economic development and education.

 Fifth session: National Integration
 -Building nations. New internal political space. Problems of national
  integration
 -Identities: National and traditional identities. Multidimensional
  identities.
 -Ethnicity and problems of integration.
 
 

 C. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

 First session: The Ottoman Legacy
 -Introduction to Ottoman rule in the Asiatic provinces.
 -The Ottoman Empire in the age of the Tanzimat. Application and
  consequences of reform on politics, administration and society.
  Ottomanism.
 -The Eastern Question.
 -European intervention and the incorporation of the region into the
  global economy.
 -Muhammad Ali: Crisis of dual authority in the Empire.
 -Reconsolidating the Empire under Abdul Hamid.
 -The 1908 Young Turk Revolution. Arab-Turkish relations. The
  emergence of nationalisms.

 Second session: From Revolt to Independence
 -The Arab Revolt and the first Arab government.
 -The Palestinian question
 -The mandate period
 -The emergence of modern states
 -The struggle for independence. Nationalist movements.
 -The politics of the notables: The first liberal experiment.

 Third session: The Post-Independence States I: The Military in
  Politics (Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Iraq, Libya)
 -Causes for military intervention
 -One party-rule. Mobilization.
 -Economic development.
 

 Fourth session: The Post-Independence States II: Kings and Shaykhs
 -History of the post-independence states in the Gulf, Jordan, Morocco
  and Iran
 -The Rentier State model and the impact of the Gulf War
 
 

 E. POLITICAL CULTURE AND THOUGHT

 First session: Islamic Culture and Thought
 -Traditional Islamic political thought.
 -Islamic traditional world-view: Notions of time, progressÖ
 -Islam and society.

 Second session: The Impact of the West and the Nahda
 -The Western world: Challenge or model?
 -The Nahda in the Arab countries.
 -Cultural revival in Turkey and Iran.

 Third session: Trends in Modern Arab Political Thought I:
 Liberalism, Nationalism, Socialism and Islamic Fundamentalism.

 Fourth session: Trends in Modern Arab Political Thought II:
 Liberalism, Nationalism, Socialism and Islamic Fundamentalism.
 
 
 

 F. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

 First session: The Middle Eastern State
 -The emergence of the Middle Eastern State.
 -Typology of the Middle Eastern States.
 -States and Societies.
 -Nationalims and the Middle Eastern State system: The State and
  pan-national movements; Territorial nationalism; Irredentism.

 Second session: Religion and Politics
 -Islamic fundamentalist movements and regimes.
 -The case of Israel.
 -Lebanon as a model of communal coexistence.

 Third session: Political Liberalization
 -Political liberalization: Theory and Practice.
 -Economic liberalization and its impact on the political process.
 _Electoral systems.
 -Democratization: Selected examples.

 Fourth session: Opposition Politics
 -Opposition politics: Past and present.
 -Violence and institutionalization.
 -Ethnicity and the problem of minorities.
 -Human rights.
 
 

 G. THE MIDDLE EAST IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

 First session: The Middle East in International Politics since WWII.

 Second session: The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Peace Process.

 Third session: Inter-State Politics

 Fourth session: The New World Order: Towards a New Regional
                       Order?
 -The impact of the Gulf War.
 -The Peace process and the new regional order.
 -Europe, the US and the Middle East.
 
 

 H. POLITICAL ECONOMY

 First session: The Economy of the Post-Independence States
 -Successes and failures of the first phase of national development.

 Second session: Economic liberalization and privatization I: The
                        National Sphere
 -Issues and scope.
 -Economic development and growth.
 -Privatization and the role of the state.
 -IMF and World Bank development programs and regional alternatives
  to the statist system of economic development.
 Third session: Economic liberalization and privatization II: The
                      Regional sphere
 -Structural adjustments.
 -Fiscal and monetary policies. Development of financial markets.
 -Manpower and development. Labor movements.
 -Trade and the integration of the region in the world economy (GATT).

 Fourth session: Conflict arising out of the distribution of resources
 -The water issue in the Middle East.
 -The oil issue.
 
 
 

 I. MEDIA AND CULTURE

 First session: Mass media in the modern Arab world.

 Second session: Modern Arabic literature
 -Trends in modern Arabic literature.

 This section will also include selected projections of cinematographic
 works from the Middle East and attending some selected plays in local
 theaters in order to familiarize students with the culture of the
 region.

 Carol  Hakim
 Center for Arab and Middle East Studies
 American University of Beirut;Beirut;;;Lebanon
 Email;internet: ch01@aub.edu.lb
 Assistant-Director
 Tel;work:  01-350000;  ext:3849
 Tel;fax:   961-1-744461
 Tel;home:  01-330518