North Africa, Southwest Asia and South Asia
North Africa and Southwest Asia
- Oct 24 (M) Culture and Political Economic Transformation I
- Oct 26 (W) Political Economic Transformation II; Geopolitical Framework; Demog.
- Oct 31 (M) The Palestinian Question
- Identify on a map regions dominated by the three main linguistic groups: Arab, Turkish and Persian
- Identify on a map where Islam is dominant
- Describe the 4 sources of guidance behind Islam, and the 4 categories of law included within The Sharia
- Clarify who the Bedouin are
- Explain why some might characterize the region as having ‘syncretic’ or ‘hybrid’ social systems
- Islamic Law vs Gaza Tribal Justice Questions
- King Takes on Gender Mixing Questions
- Saudi Women Dispute Tradition Questions
- Differentiate Shia and Sunni Muslims, and identify their general spatial extent on a map
- Define: secular, apostate, sectarian, sectarianism
- Identify on a map the region’s four historical population centers, differentiating irrig. and non-irrig. zones
- Identify on a map the core and extent of the Ottoman Empire.
- Identify its mode of production, and identify the tiers of its social structure
- Describe internal and external tensions that helped lead to its disintegration
- Identify on a map areas under British and French colonial control. Describe 3 colonial economic activities.
- Contrast ownership, control and distribution of wealth in the oil states during the Eras of Foreign Concessions and Economic Nationalism
- Describe the main economic model underlying oil-state industrial / social development in 60’s-80’s and its critical weakness
- Explain why oil prices rose in the late 1970’s and 2-3 reasons why they crashed in the 1980’s
- Clarify why oil-states were put on SAPs in the late 80’s and how they have reorganized their economies.
- Explain why their economies are rebounding, but 2-3 reasons why they remain vulnerable
- Describe the main economic model underlying non-oil state industrial / social development in 60’s-80’s, and explain why they went on SAPs
- Identify the main players behind state boundaries in the region
- Identify an example of a “nation without a state” and a “state without a nation”
- Identify on a map the broader extent of the Kurdish peoples in the region, and describe where and why they have faced significant discrimination
- Identify Iraq’s three main ethno-linguistic/religious groups, identify their spatial extent on a map, and clarify which is the majority as well as which Saddam represented
- Identify where the oil is in Iraq, clarifying which groups “have” oil, and which do not
- Does The Arab Spring Mark A Darker Chapter? Questions
- Identify where most of the region lay on the political economic spectrum during the Eras of Foreign Concessions, Economic Nationalism and Post-SAP eras
- Describe the region’s politico-religio spectrum, clarifying the influence of Sharia Law in each of the four situations
- Clarify where Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Iran fit (before the Arab Spring)
- New Islamists talk democracy Questions
- US must adjust to political Islam's rise Questions
- Women’s Rights in Tunisia ElectionsQuestions
- Describe political and economic efforts towards supra-nationalism in the region
- Identify four 'situations' describing country size, distribution of oil, and availability of water in the region. Provide 2-3 example countries for each
- Contrast the four “situations,” considering their demographic attributes (fertility, pop pyramids, urbanization, migration patterns)
- Glittering Qatar's Dark Secret Questions
- Oman Film Questions
- Explain why the Old City of Jerusalem is a sacred place for Jews, Christians and Muslims
- Identify on a map the land under Israeli control in the 1947 UN Partition Plan, after the 1948-49 War of Independence, after the 1967 Six-Day War, and by 1982 following the Yom Kippur War and subsequent agreements. Clarify what is meant by the “Green Line”
- Describe what Egypt agreed to in the 1979 Camp David Accords, and what they received in return
- Explain Israel’s strategy to maintain control over the West Bank. Clarify Palestinian and Israeli positions on the settlements as each vies for legitimacy in the eyes of the international community
- Explain the Palestinian’s strategy to retain legitimacy over their land in Israel
- Identify/explain the four major initiatives developed through the Oslo Accords and Wye River, and the 2 issues left unsettled
- Occupation by Suburbanization Questions
- Contrast Israeli, Palestinian and the UN 1947 Partition Plan’s positions on Jerusalem
- Jerusalem – Capital of Two States Questions
- Describe how Israel has strengthened its power over Jerusalem since 1967
- Explain what set off the second Intifada of 2000
- Why to Two State Dream is Fading Questions
- Jerusalem – City of David and Touring East Jerusalem Questions
- Explain two reasons why Israel is building a wall, identify where it is generally, and explain both sides of the argument that it calms and exacerbates terrorism
- Identify the roots of the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas’s parties, and contrast their positions towards Israel.
- Contrast Labor, Kadima and Likud’s solutions for ‘the Palestinian Question”
- Describe how the demographic picture complicates the question of Israel retaining the West Bank
- Use the experience of Israeli Arabs to suggest what life maybe like for Palestinians living in Israel
- Who are the Israeli Arabs? Questions
South Asia
- Nov 3 (W): Culture
- Nov 8 (M) Political Economic Transformation II and Geopolitical Framework
- Nov 10 (W) Demography, Culture and the Environment
- Describe the five main groups (varna), and the related jati, within the Hindu caste system, and provide 2-3 examples of how caste organizes social life.
- Identify the dominant mode of production in South Asia in 1500 and describe the organization of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors
- Describe how the British reorganized the structure of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors
- Explain why India and Pakistan chose to separate at independence
- Contrast Pakistan and India’s post-colonial ideological pathways, illustrating their industrial policies
- Contrast Pakistan and India’s policies concerning land reform
- Describe India's shift in economic ideology since 1991, explain why this occurred, and illustrate its change in industrial policies
- Illustrate India’s economic strengths by identifying where its three “high speed regions” are located, and highlighting how they each contribute the economy
- Bollywood Questions
- Illustrate one of India’s economic weaknesses by explaining why its sector II has lagged in the most recent era, and explain the social implications
- Can US workers prosper in India? Questions
- Describe Pakistan’s main economic strengths and weaknesses
- A Farm of One's Own Questions
- Identify 2-3 sources of social diversity in India that weaken its "national identity," and describe how its political structure accommodates that diversity
- Describe the fault-line (spatial, social, socio-economic, religious, cultural) within Pakistan’s society that weakens its “national identity” Explain how its political structure accommodates that diversity
- Identify Jammu and Kashmir on a map, and describe the cause of conflict in this region, highlighting the basis of Pakistan's and India's claim on the territory
- Decoding Kashmir’s conflict Questions
- Wagah film Questions
- Explain the shift in alignment that has occurred between the U.S. and India/Pakistan from a) independence to ’91 b) 91-2001 c) post-2001.
- Explain how Afghanistan came to have such a diverse population within its borders, and clarify the ethnic affiliation between Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Identify 3 sources of disunity within Afghanistan to explain a lack of nationalism
- Compare India and Pakistan’s demographic transition and associated changing population pyramids over the last 20 years.
- Explain 1-2 reasons why India’s lower birth rates would be expected, and 1-2 reasons why Pakistan’s rapid decline is rather surprising
- In Pakistan, Birth Control and Religion Clash Questions
- India Renews Effort to Save Females Questions
- New Delhi: Urban Rural Migrations Film Questions
- Explain the contradictory roles of the Green Revolution in India’s strategy to address urbanization
- Discuss how and why the direction and constituency of immigration/emigration has changed over three time periods: pre-1947, 1947-1991 and 1991 to present, and their dominant destinations
- Identify 2-3 forces that are weakening the caste system in India
- Market Place: Discrimination in the private sector Questions