Some of the postgraduate coursework options - Semester 1, 2015
Revolution & Reform in the Arab World - MEAS8105 (5304)
The course examines the drivers of political, economic and social change in the Arab world, at both national and regional levels. It considers the impact of globalization in the context of rising levels of education and literacy, demographic pressure, economic reform, changing business models, access to the Internet and generational change. It also examines the formal and informal institutions which constitute the power structure in Arab countries, and discusses their relationship to the process of change and reform. The course will also address the impact of Islam, the dealings between regional and external governments, and the effects of the regional political and security outlook on the prospects for further economic and political reform.
This course can be included in the Graduate Certificate in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Master of Middle East and Central Asia, Master of Islam in the Modern World and as a cross-campus elective.
Lecturer: Professor Bob Bowker
Political Sectarianism in the Middle East MEAS8105 (2015)
Have you ever wondered why sectarianism in the Middle East has reached a critical point? With the conflicts in Syria, Bahrain and Iraq, will the region be divided into sectarian lines? Is it religion or the geopolitics that shapes the region?
This course examines these questions by looking at various Middle Eastern countries and the sectarian divisions that are quickly engulfing the region. This course will familiarise students with Islamic sectarianism in the Middle East. The growing sectarian tension and conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims has come to define much of the region’s political landscape.
The course aims to examine the complexities of sectarianism in the Middle East and extends to looking at the nature of the theological divisions between the two sects, Shia identity in various countries in the Middle East, and power politics in the region.
Lecturer: Dr Raihan Ismail
Central Asia in Regional and Global Perspectives MEAS8103
The course is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of politics in Central Asia. It aims at exploring issues of governance, security, conflict and cooperation in the region as a whole, as well as investigating problems and processes specific to each of the former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. While international relations of the newly independent states will be analysed primarily from the geopolitical and geostrategic point of view, students will be encouraged to develop interpretive frameworks based on indigenous knowledge and perceptions.
Lecturer: Dr Kirill Nourzhanov