Description
This course aims to give students a critical understanding of the political geography of the contemporary Middle East.
It will introduce students to a series of key approaches in postcolonial and political geography, through which conventional images and stereotypes of the region might be unsettled and problematised.
The course explores colonial legacies, geopolitical imaginaries and contemporary realities through a series of in-depth case studies.
These case studies are inserted within a broad overview of regional geopolitical relations, from the First World War to the "War on Terror".
Topics will be explored through critical theoretical approaches to geopolitics, power, sovereignty and territory. This will include work by:
- Edward Said
- Geroid Ó Tuathail
- Giorgio Agamben
- Derek Gregory
- Stuart Elden
Students will be expected to gain a working knowledge of these theoretical approaches, and be able to use them in analysing events in today's Middle East.
Assessment
Key skills
- Essay writing
- Political problem solving