Course Schedule, William J. Hamblin

History 240-1: Middle East, 600-1800; Fall 2004, MWF, 1-1:50p (3718 HBLL)

 

·  “Verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should . . . obtain a knowledge of history.” D&C 93:53

·  Class motto:  “Aut disce, aut discede; manet sors tertia, caedi.” = “Either learn or depart; a third choice remains—to be flogged.”

·  Note: You are responsible for the information on this syllabus.  Ignore it at your peril.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

 

1. Objectives:

This class will examine the history of the Middle East from the rise of Muhammad (seventh century) until 1800, focusing on political, religious and military developments.

 

2. Instructor: 

Dr. William Hamblin     Telephone: 422-6469     Office:  305 KMB

Email:  wh4@email.byu.edu, or william_hamblin@byu.edu                               

Office hours: T/Th, 12-1:20, 305 KMB, or by appointment.  (I'll be delighted to see you during my office hours, or by appointment; please don't just drop at other times.)

 

3. Required Texts (From the Bookstore and on reserve in the library): 

Berkey, Jonathan P., The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near East, 600-1800, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), ISBN: 0-521-58813-8

Imber, Colin, The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power, (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002). ISBN 0-333-61386-4

Holt, P. M.  The Age of the Crusades: The Near East from the Eleventh Century to 1517, (New York: Longman, 1986), ISBN: 0-582-49302-1

Kennedy, Hugh.  The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Centuries, 2nd ed. (New York: Pearson-Longman, 2004), ISBN: 0-582-19313-7

Morgan, David.  Medieval Persia: 1040-1797, (New York: Longman, 1988), ISBN: 0-582-49324-2

Notes and supplemental materials can be found on the web at:

http://fhss.byu.edu/HISTORY/faculty/hamblin/ISLAM/302Homepage.htm

 

4. Grading:

Tests will be given at the Testing Center.  Grades will be based on five factors, which total 1000 points:

            Mid-term Exam                                                                                    250 pts

            Quizzes and other assignments, (15x15 pts. Each = 225 pts)                 200 pts

            Paper                                                                                                   300 pts

            Final Exam, 250 pts                                                                              250 pts

            Grand total                                                                                         1000 pts

 

The percentage of the curve is as follows: A 93‑100; A‑ 90‑92; B+ 87‑89; B 83‑86;

B 80‑82; C+ 77‑79; C 73‑76; C‑ 70‑72; D+ 67‑69; D 63‑66; D 60‑62; E 59

 

Note on “Make-up” Quizzes and Tests:  There will be regular pop quizzes on the reading assignments for that day.  There are no make-up quizzes!  Instead, your lowest two grades (25 points) on the quizzes will be dropped.  Thereafter, you take the losses.  The dropping of the lowest two quizzes is designed to accommodate legitimate excuses, not so you can fool around.  If you know in advance you will miss the days of the test, you must take the test before the scheduled test day.  Make-up tests after the exam date will be essay exams.  There are no exceptions to this rule, so don’t ask.  You may not take the final early except for medical emergency.  (The claim that your mom scheduled your airline ticket on the wrong day, or that you are getting married on the day of the final are not medical excuses.)

Tests may include all types of questions: T/F, multiple choice, matching, fill in blank.  Tests will include short answer and essays.  There is no extra credit.

 

5. Courtesy:  Whispering, flirting, snoring, evil speaking, and other forms of disturbance will not be tolerated.  Students causing any form of disturbance (as judged by the professor or teaching assistants) will receive a warning and be docked 10 points.  If problems persist, they will be expelled from class.  In a class this size it is very important to be considerate of your neighbors who are actually trying to listen, few thought these may be.

 

6.  Cheating:  Anyone caught cheating on their tests, papers, or quizzes will fail the course and be sent to the Honor Code office!  No exceptions!  If you repent and confess before you are caught, mercy may be obtainable.  For more information, see: http://www.byu.edu/honorcode

 

7.  Term Paper: 

300 points (30 %) of your grade will be based on a paper:

1-     The term paper can be on any topic of interest from Near Eastern civilization from 600-1800. 

2-     You cannot expand on a paper you have done before, nor write one paper for two classes.

3-     Topics must be pre-approved by me in advance.

4-     All materials must be typed, double space, 12 point font, 1 inch margins.  (Hand written submissions will be returned ungraded.)  The paper should be no more or less than 8-10 pages long. 

5-     The following is the schedule for the parts of the paper. 

a.       Mon 13 Sept    Paper Topics due (15 pts)

b.      Wed 29 Sept    Bibliography (25 pts)

c.       Fri 22 Oct     Preliminary Outline due (35 pts)

d.      Mon 18 Nov    Final Draft of the Paper is due (225 pts)

6-     Any form of cheating on the paper will result in failure of the course (see #6 above)

 

 

8. Problems.  If you have serious medical problems or other types of difficulties, contact me as soon as possible.  Do not wait to try to resolve problems until the end of the semester.

 

M 30 August = meet and get syllabus, read syllabus

W 1 September = Introduction; Geography = Morgan viii-13; Kennedy ix-14;

F 3 September = Pre-Islamic Near East = Berkey ix-38