module
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ARA3189: The Orientalist Debate
This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.
Module Aims
This module aims to introduce you to the single most important intellectual debate in the study of the Modern Middle East. In doing so, it aims to enable you to understand the ways in which knowledge about the Middle East has been constructed from the pre-modern period to the present, and to present you with opportunities in terms of situating your own scholarship within the canon of theorists and writers who have supported or critiqued the theses of Said’s work. It aims to develop your capacities in close reading and your abilities in terms of applying concepts and theories to both primary and secondary sources, which will be of broader value across your studies.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. understand the nature and importance of scholarly debates in terms of the construction of knowledge and the shaping of a discipline; 2. reflect critically on the cultural and epistemological underpinnings of Orientalist discourse; |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. analyse and identify Orientalist forms and tropes across a range of texts and media; 4. demonstrate an understanding of the interdisciplinary methods upon which Area Studies and Middle East Studies are based; 5. appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of types of history and forms of historical evidence; |
| Personal and Key Skills | 6. demonstrate close reading, critical and analytical skills through readings, class discussions and presentations; and 7. organise data effectively to produce a coherent argument to a deadline, both orally and in writing. |