Capitalism and Development in the Middle East

POLI71312 Capitalism and Development in the Middle East 15 Semester 2 Postgraduate Taught Level 7 Lama Tawakkol Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Masters/Integrated Masters P4 ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 7.5 Week 1 – Introductions and Course ExpectationsWeek 2 – Theoretical basis, I<ul> <li> <ul> <li>Historical materialism</li> <li>Dialectical/relational thinking</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 3 – Theoretical basis, II<ul> <li> <ul> <li>What is capitalism/neoliberalization?</li> <li>The state under capitalism</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 4 – History and Development: 2nd half of the 20th century<ul> <li> <ul> <li>State-building and independence</li> <li>Imperialism, the Cold War and the “socialist” experiment?</li> <li>Oil economies and the oil crisis</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 5 – History and Development: 1980s—onwards<ul> <li> <ul> <li>  Structural adjustment, neoliberalization and open economies</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 6 – Capitalism at a crossroads: 2011<ul> <li> <ul> <li>The Arab “Spring”</li> <li>Uprisings in global context</li> <li>Responses to and subsequent waves of 2011</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 7 – Post-2011 Political Economy and Development, I<ul> <li> <ul> <li>Authoritarian neoliberalism</li> <li>(Neoliberal) cities and urbanization</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 8 – Post-2011 Political Economy and Development, II<ul> <li> <ul> <li>Aid</li> <li>(Gulf) Finance</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 9 – Development in the Middle East in a Global Economy<ul> <li> <ul> <li>Settler colonialism and capitalism: the case of Palestine</li> <li>Global value chains: ports and logistics</li> <li>Migrant labor and capitalist exploitation</li> </ul> </li></ul>Week 10 – Debunking exceptionalism<ul> <li> <ul> <li>Final thoughts, feedback and closing discussion</li> </ul> </li></ul> The course unit aims to: <ol> <li>Explore global capitalist relations and processes in the context of the Middle East and North Africa</li> <li>Develop students’ critical thinking, research and writing skills</li> <li>Develop students’ theoretical understanding and argumentation by exposing them to different arguments and perspectives, and helping them link it to real-life topics</li></ol> Understand critical approaches to the political economy of the Middle East as part and parcel of global capitalism, rather than an exceptional case, based on interdisciplinary insights. Apply theoretical concepts and arguments to empirical cases and contemporary political developments, understand the connections between different phenomena and cases in the global political economy, connect policy and academic writings, and think in dialectical and relational terms. Research relevant topics of their choosing, construct and defend their arguments in writing, present readings’ key arguments and engage in discussion with their peers. Question dominant narratives and critique arguments, develop informed positions on topics, debate with peers, simplify and present theoretical/academic knowledge, and improve academic/formal writing. The course will be taught through ten 2-hour seminars. It will be structured around key readings, student presentations and discussions. Student presentations will start the session, breaking down readings’ key arguments and presenting them in simple (albeit academic) terms for their audience. They will be followed by a student-run seminar discussion. 0 Other 25% 2 Written assignment (inc essay) 75% <figure class="table"><table class="Table" style="border-collapse:collapse;" width="0"><tbody><tr><td style="border:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;width:366px;"><h3 style="text-align:justify;">Assessment task (Please include opportunities for formative feedback)</h3></td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:76px;">Length required</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:96px;">Weighting within unit (if relevant)</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top:1px solid black;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:93px;">Feedback</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:1px solid black;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:366px;">Media Analysis (in the first half of the course, students will critically respond to and analyze one news piece/report on the Middle East using the theoretical concepts covered in class. </td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:76px;">750 words</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:96px;">25%</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:93px;">Formative and Summative</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:1px solid black;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:366px;">Paper Outline (in the second half of the course, students will submit a tentative outline of their final paper, with a provisional research question, argument and bibliography, for feedback from the instructor)</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:76px;">300 words</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:96px;">10%</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:93px;">Formative and Summative</td></tr><tr><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:1px solid black;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:366px;">Final Research Paper (at the end of the course, students will submit a final research paper from a list of questions or on a topic of their choice, related to the ME’s political economy, relying on a theoretical framework/concept covered in class)</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:76px;">1950 words</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:96px;">65%</td><td style="border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left-style:none;border-right:1px solid black;border-top-style:none;padding:0cm 7px;vertical-align:top;width:93px;">Summative</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> Y Tentative General Titles:Baumann, Hannes. 2016. Citizen Hariri: Lebanon’s Neoliberal Reconstruction. Oxford University Press.Beinin, Joel, Haddad, Bassam and Seikaly, Sherene, eds. 2021. A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East and North Africa. Stanford University Press.Bogaert, Koenraad. 2011. “The Problem of Slums: Shifting Methods of Neoliberal Urban Government in Morocco.” Development and Change 42(3): 709-731.Bush, Ray and Ayeb, Habib, eds. 2012. Marginality and Exclusion in Egypt. Zed Books.Fawaz, Mona. 2009. “Neoliberal Urbanity and the Right to the City: A View from Beirut’s Periphery.” Development and Change 40(5): 827-852.Haddad, Bassam, Bsheer, Rosie and Abu-Rish, Ziad, eds. 2012. The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings: End of an Old Order? Pluto Press.Hanieh, Adam. 2013. Lineages of Revolt. Haymarket Books.Hanieh, Adam. 2018. Money, Markets and Monarchies: The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Political Economy of the Middle East. Cambridge University Press.Lenner, Katharina and Lewis Turner. 2018. “Making Refugees Work? The Politics of Integrating Syrian Refugees into the Labor Market in Jordan,” Middle East Critique 28(1): 65-95.Morris, Julia. 2020. “Extractive Landscapes: The Case of the Jordan Refugee Compact,” Refuge 36(1): 87-96.Salem, Sara. Anticolonial Afterlives in Egypt: The Politics of Hegemony. Cambridge University Press.Tabar, Linda and Samia Al-Botmeh. 2021. “Real Estate Development Through Land Grabs: Predatory Accumulation and Precarity in Palestine,” New Political Economy 26(5): 783-796.Tansel, Cemal Burak, ed. 2017. States of Discipline: Authoritarian Neoliberalism and the Contested Reproduction of Capitalist Order. Rowman and Littlefield.Ziadah, Rafeef. 2018. “Transport Infrastructure and Logistics in the Making of Dubai Inc.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. Seminars 20 0 130