Students

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Learning Objectives

  1. What are the major differences between the Sassanian and Byzantine Empires?
  2. How would you describe the major aspects of the life and teachings of Muhammad?
  3. How did the early Muslim community take shape under the leadership of Muhammad and his immediate successors?
  4. How did early Islamic expansion take shape in the Middle East?
  5. What were the major contributions made by the Muslims during the Umayyad caliphate?
  6. What was the development of the early Abbasid caliphate?
  7. What role did the caliph play during the Abbasid caliphate and its role after the Buyid took over?
  8. What were the major weaknesses of the Abbasid caliphate that led to the eventual Mongol conquest?
  9. What role did the Turkish slaves play in Islamic history?
  1. What are the similarities and differences between Muslim and Christian views concerning God’s revelations prior to Muhammad?
  2. What are the main components of the Five Pillars of Islam?
  3. Why is the hajj so important in the lives of Muslims?
  4. What is the difference between lesser and greater jihad?
  5. What are the major aspects of the Islamic Holy Scriptures, the Quran and the collection of hadith recordings?
  6. What role did Sharia, the Islamic Holy Law, play in the lives of Muslims during the medieval period?
  7. What is the difference in the role that Muslim men and women play in Islamic society?
  8. How did Sufism differ from more orthodox forms of Islam?
  9. What was the role that culture and science played in the Islamic Golden Age?
  10. What were the contributions that non-Muslims made to the success experienced by medieval Islamic civilization?
  1. What were the most significant aspects of the Mongol world empire?
  2. What were the most notable contributions of North African scholar Ibn Khaldun?
  3. Who were the major leaders and what were the major occurrences in the Islamic world during the period of the Ottoman Empire?
  4. How were the Ottomans able to successfully expand their empire?
  5. What was the imperial structure of the institutions of the Ottoman Empire?
  6. What were the most significant occurrences in the Ottoman Empire following Suleyman’s death?
  7. What were the differences between the Safavid system of rule with that of the Ottomans?
  8. What role did Europe play in the eighteenth-century Middle East?
  1. What role did Selim III play in initiating reform in the Ottoman Empire?
  2. How did Napoleon and his French forces gain control of and impact Egypt?
  3. What were the methods Mahmud II used to bring modernization to the Ottoman Empire?
  4. What were the various challenges the Ottoman Empire faced during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries?
  5. What were the efforts of Iran to modernize during the early nineteenth century?
  1. What were the major occurrences that compromised the beginning of the Tanzimat?
  2. How did the Crimean War impact the Tanzimat?
  3. What was the larger impact of the Tanzimat on the international issues faced by the Ottomans?
  4. What role did Egypt play in the Middle East during the Tanzimat era?
  5. What were the many efforts of Naser al-Din Shah that helped to bring Iran into the modern era?
  1. What was the role that the British played in Egypt during the late 1800s and early 1900s?
  2. What was the role that the events in the Sudan had in shaping how Britain perceived its proper role in Egypt?
  3. What were the efforts of Naser al-Din Shah in continuing the modernization of Iran?
  4. What were the effects of Zionism in nineteenth century Europe?
  5. What were the views of British and American Zionists concerning the Jewish presence in Palestine?
  1. What were the various ways Abdulhamid tried to strengthen his power and authority as Ottoman sultan?
  2. What was the role that nationalist groups, such as the "Young Turks" and the “Young Ottomans,” played in the modernization efforts of the Ottomans?
  3. What were the life and works of educational reformers and philosophers Jamal al-Din al-Afghani and Muhammad Abduh?
  4. What were the effects that the “Arab Awakening” and the Arab press had on the Middle East?
  5. What were the most enduring effects of Butrus al-Bastani’s work on the Arab world?
  1. What were the most significant aspects of the rule of Mozaffar al-Din Shah in Iran?
  2. What were the changes brought to the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turk Revolution of 1908?
  3. What were the major events of the Second Ottoman Constitutional Period?
  4. What were the rise and activities of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) like?
  5. What was the impact of the rise of “Turkish” consciousness on the Ottoman Empire?
  6. How did the events of 1908 impact different groups in the Middle East?
  7. What was the relationship between constitutionalism in the Middle East and women’s changing roles in Middle Eastern politics?
  8. What was the impact that the Second Aliyah had on the Zionist Movement?
  9. What is the difference between the ideals of Socialist Zionism and traditional Zionism?
  1. What were the events that led up to the Ottoman Empire’s decision to retake Eastern Anatolia?
  2. What were the various ways that the CUP tried to regain lost territory during World War I?
  3. What were the major events of the Armenian Crisis and the Gallipoli Campaign?
  4. What were the specific problems faced by Ottoman Syria during World War I?
  5. How did Sharif Hussein and his three sons plan the Arab Revolt?
  6. What was the relationship like between the Arab Revolt and the Allied effort in World War I?
  7. What was the impact that World War I had on the Jewish Legion?
  8. What were Enver Pasha’s goals for his Army of Islam?
  9. What were the most significant impacts that World War I had on Iran?
  1. What were the most significant outcomes of the various agreements made after the cessation of World War I?
  2. What were the goals of the Paris Peace Conference?
  3. What was the experience of Syria under the French after World War I?
  4. What was the series of chaotic events that took place in Anatolia between the Greeks and Turks?
  5. How did Mustafa Kemal lead the War of Independence for the Turkish Republic?
  6. How did the British and French mandates impact the Middle East following World War I?
  7. Why were complexities associated with the mandate in Palestine following World War I?
  8. What were the major occurrences in Iran after World War I?
  1. What were the major achievements of Mustafa Kemal as modern Turkey came into birth?
  2. How did the effects of modernization in Turkey impact Reza Shah Pahlavi?
  3. What were Abd al-Aziz’s most significant contributions with regard to the development of modern Saudi Arabia?
  4. What were the expansion efforts of Abd al-Aziz as he sought to build a new kingdom in the Middle East?
  5. How did the 1908 discovery of oil in Iran influence how the British viewed the region?
  1. What were the major occurrences that accompanied Egypt’s birth as an independent country?
  2. What problems did Palestine face during the 1920s and 1930s?
  3. What were the most significant aspects of Iraq’s journey to independence?
  4. What role did Abdullah play in the development of Transjordan?
  5. What were the differences between how Syria and Lebanon formed and the differences that existed when Iraq, Palestine and Jordan came into existence?
  1. What were the major occurrences that took place in Iran during World War II?
  2. What were the problems brought on by the Azerbaijan Crisis in Iran?
  3. What were the most significant effects of Turkey’s neutrality during World War II?
  4. What was the role that ARAMCO played in the development and modernization of Saudi Arabia?
  5. What significance did Egypt hold for the European powers involved in the Second World War?
  6. What were the conflicts that emerged within Palestine as a partial result of the British White Paper of 1939?
  7. What were the roles assumed by Transjordan, Syria and Lebanon during World War II?
  1. What were the major changes that the end of World War II brought to the Arab-Jewish problem in Palestine?
  2. What were the effects of the King David Hotel attack that occurred in summer of 1946?
  3. What were the major occurrences that eventually led to the adoption of the UNSCOP partition plan?
  4. What were the effects of civil war on the Palestinian Arabs and the Zionist militant organizations?
  5. What were the major events leading up to and throughout the War of 1948?
  1. What were the major challenges faced by the Palestinians following the close of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict?
  2. What were the major events that took place in Egypt after 1948?
  3. What were the major occurrences that eventually led to the Suez Crisis of 1956?
  4. What were the effects of the formation of the United Arab Republic on the Middle East?
  5. What were the major events leading up to the North Yemen Civil War that began in 1962?
  1. What were the major impacts of Baath rule in Iraq and Syria?
  2. What were the major achievements of Nasser in Egypt during the 1960s?
  3. What were the major aspects of Sayyid Qutb’s program of "Islamism"?
  4. What was the role that the Palestinian Liberation Organization played in Palestine's political climate during the 1960s?
  5. What were the major events leading up to the water crisis between the Arab Palestinians and the Israeli Jews?
  6. What were the most significant effects of the incident at Samu?
  7. What are possible interrelationships that existed among Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians in the West Bank?
  8. What events led up to the outbreak of the Six-Day War?
  9. To what degree did the Six-Day War have an impact on the Arab world?
  10. What were the terms of UN Resolution 242?
  1. What were the major occurrences in Turkey following the cessation of World War II?
  2. What were the major events that led up to Turkey’s coup of 1960?
  3. What were the major aspects of Turkey’s political turmoil during the 1970s?
  4. How did Turkey’s earlier coups relate to the coup of September 12, 1980?
  5. What were the major events occurring in Iran following the close of World War II?
  6. What were the most significant effects of Mosaddeq’s removal from office in Iran?
  1. What were the occurrences in Karameh and what was their relationship to Yasser Arafat's rise to power?
  2. What were the major views of the Black September group?
  3. What role did international terrorism play in the world during the 1960s and 1970s?
  4. What was Gamal Abdel Nasser's War of Attrition?
  5. What were the circumstances that led to Anwar Sadat's assumption of power in Egypt?
  6. What were the most significant effects of Anwar Sadat’s rule over Egypt?
  7. What were the major occurrences of the October War of 1973?
  8. What was the regional impact of the October War of 1973?
  9. What were the effects that the oil embargo had on the Arab world?
  10. What was the changing role of the PLO in relation to the Arab League?
  1. What were the occurrences that led to the breakdown of Lebanon's confessional system?
  2. What were the most notable aspects of Hafez al-Assad’s reign as he faced new challenges in Syria?
  3. What role did Camp David play in the Middle East?
  4. What was the series of events that led to the assassination of Anwar Sadat?
  5. How did oil impact the global interests in the Middle East?
  6. What were the events surrounding the takeover of Mecca’s Grand Mosque in November 1979?
  1. What were the underlying reasons for the shah’s installation of the Rastakhiz Party?
  2. What were the cycles of violence that paved the way for revolution in Iran?
  3. What was the role that Khomeini played in the Iranian revolution?
  4. How was the Islamic Constitution drafted in June 1979 by the Bazargan government?
  5. How did the hostage crisis of the 1970s impact U.S.-Iran relations?
  6. How did the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) come into existence?
  7. What was Iraq like under Saddam Hussein’s rule in the 1970s and 1980s?
  8. What were the most significant effects of the Iran-Iraq War on both countries?
  9. What were the goals associated with Iran’s Cultural Revolution?
  1. What were the most significant events that occurred during the Soviet war in Afghanistan?
  2. What was the chain of events that led to the 1982 Lebanon War?
  3. How were the effects of the 1982 Lebanon War different on the Middle East than they were on the United States?
  4. What was the political climate surrounding the Palestinian uprising, referred to as the First Intifada?
  5. What were the events that led to the rise of the Hamas?
  6. What was the role that the PKK played in Turkey?
  1. What were the reasons for Saddam Hussein's decision to attack Kuwait?
  2. What were the major events of the Persian Gulf War?
  3. What were the controversies surrounding the Oslo Accords?
  4. What was the impact that Yitzhak Rabin's assassination had on the situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians?
  5. How did the July 2000 Camp David Summit attempt to address the Israeli-Palestinian issue?
  6. What were the specific events that led up to the al-Aqsa Intifada?
  7. What was the stance taken by Ariel Sharon shortly after his election as Israel’s prime minister?
  8. What were the most significant effects of Operation Defensive Shield?
  9. What were the goals put forth by the Arabs at the Beirut Summit of 2002?
  10. How did the Taliban gain power in Afghanistan?
  1. What were the major occurrences during the U.S. and British-led War in Afghanistan?
  2. What was the chain of events that led to the 2003 Iraq War?
  3. What was the Arab-Israeli conflict during the years following 9/11?
  4. What were some challenges brought on by the 2005 Cedar Revolution in Lebanon?
  5. What were the significant events in Iran between 1997 and 2011?
  6. How was life in the Middle East following September 11, 2001?
  7. What were the problems faced by Yemen following its unification in 1990?
  8. What were the most significant events that occurred in Egypt and Turkey following September 11, 2001?

Weblinks

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  • Language Tip of the Week
    June Casagrande, author of Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies. This site offers a useful language, usage and style tips on a weekly basis.
  • Dave's ESL Café
    Professor Dave Sperling This site offers a wide range of resources for students and teachers of English as a second language, including language learning resources, job postings, and discussion forums.
  • MLA Style
    This page includes a description of Modern Language Association (MLA) style guidelines for documenting a research paper with a link to frequently asked questions about the style.
  • CMS Style
    This site includes a description of Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) guidelines for documenting with a comprehensive Q&A section.
  • Research and Documenting Sources
    Purdue University Online Writing Lab This section of the Purdue University OWL offers guidelines for finding, evaluating, and documenting sources, as well as advice on writing research papers.
  • Internet Public Library
    University of Michigan School of Information This site offers an interactive tutorial on identifying the argument of an essay.
  • Librarians' Index to the Internet
    The Library of California Created and maintained by librarians, this site offers a searchable annotated subject directory of Web resources that have been selected and evaluated.
  • American Memory
    Library of Congress This site offers links to the digital versions of selected holdings relevant to American history and culture, including photographs, manuscripts, rare books, maps, and recorded sound and moving pictures.
  • NYPL Digital Gallery
    New York Public Library This site offers access to more than 275,000 digitized images from the collections of the New York Public Library. You can search collections or browse by topic to find illustrations, photographs, posters, maps, and manuscripts.
  • The New York Times
    This online version of the The New York Times includes searchable archives.