module
Postgraduate Module Descriptor
ARAM147: The Kurds: History and Politics
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
This module will introduce you to the social and political history of the Kurds, the largest stateless nation and the largest group in the Middle East after Arabs, Persians and Turks. They have begun to play a prominent role in the complex politics and social transformation of the Middle East, which are difficult to understand without a grasp of the Kurds’ long and complicated history. The module aims to give you an understanding of the social and political history of the Kurds in relation to the global context, and to help you analyse their political organisation and the evolution of the society from a range of perspectives. The module will encourage you to critically examine the social and political history of the Kurds, considering issues of social organisation, nationalism, political party formation, identity and religion, migration, diaspora, and mobility, gender, political economy, regional and international relations.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate a critical approach to the historiography of the Kurds and Kurdistan 2. Be able to objectively examine the position of the Kurds in the Middle East and the interaction between the Kurds and the dominant states of the region, as well as the position of non-state people in world history and politics 3. Demonstrate a critical understanding of the transformation of the Kurdish society in its global context 4. Apply and discuss a wide range of theories such as state-building and ethnic politics; nationalism; political economy; social change; gender; migration |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 5. Discuss and analyze historical material, including primary sources 6. Embrace a multi-disciplinary approach in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of a particular ethno-national group. 7. Discuss and engage with a range of methodological approaches as well as variety of genres, i.e. historical, political or anthropological and sociological texts, (auto)biographical writings and fictions. 8. Undertake a study from a multi-disciplinary perspective |
| Personal and Key Skills | 9. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment 10. Engage in independent study and work effectively in group with limited guidance 11. Be able to communicate complex ideas verbally and in written 12. Engage critically with a variety of materials and sources (e.g. web, video, text, fiction archives) |