Muslims in a Global Context: The Arab Spring

The Arab Spring is the first of a six-part series on Muslims in the Global Context. A one-credit weekend course will be offered once per term for the next three years. The proposed themes and schedule (dates TBA) are as follows:

Fall 2012: “Gulf States and Iran”
Spring 2013: “Indonesia/Malaysia/the Philippines”
Fall 2013: Pakistan/Afghanistan/India
Spring 2014: Turkey/Central Asia
Fall 2014: Sub-Saharan Africa
Spring 2015: Europe and the Americas

The Arab Spring is a one credit (Pitt)/three unit (CMU) mini course, consisting of 14 hours of classes over a weekend, with a final paper assignment to be handed in for credit. The Arab Spring mini-course will provide the historical context and explore the current movements for political reform in the Arab world.

Liberation movements have taken on different forms, beginning in January 2011 with the Jasmine Revolution that forced Tunisia’s President Zine Eddine Ben Ali to flee, the Egyptian Revolution that toppled President Hosni Mubarak after 18 days of demonstrations centered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the liberation of Libya, and the continuing struggles for democratic reform in Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain. Experts from the Arab world and the US, including academics and practitioners, will present and discuss the historical overview of the region, economics, theocracy vs secularism, social revolutionary movements, issues of gender, social media, US foreign policy and issues of security. This mini course will take place over the course of one weekend for one credit for a total of 14 hours of instruction time. Students will be required to attend all sessions, submit a reflection piece about each topic covered, and a final paper based on one of the topics addressed during the course.

The course will open with a keynote lecture on Friday evening providing a general overview of the history of the region and its role in historical and contemporary perspective. This will be followed by instructional lectures on Saturday and Sunday on the various themes by experts in the fields. The course will conclude with a discussion by the speakers, linking the various themes and identifying some future challenges.

**Note: This course is free and open to community members for non-credit but you must reserve a seat by registering for the course as a community member. See Registration page for more information.**

Assessment: Due to the immersive nature of the course, students are expected to attend all sessions on all three days. Attendance will be recorded. Further, each student will be required to write a small reflection piece for each lecture (Due: Friday, April 6 at 5:00 pm) and develop a term paper on one dimension of the Arab Spring that was presented during the course. Students may refer to the textbooks, presentations, and to the Recommended Readings that will be posted for each session. The length of the term paper will be 5-10 pages, double-spaced in 11-point font. Term papers are due by Friday, April 20 at 5:00pm and should be submitted through the Digital Dropbox on the Muslims in a Global Context Blackboard site. Sample topics for term papers include:

Colonialism, the Cold War and the Arab World
Emerging challenges and opportunities for the region
US foreign policy and the Arab World
Gender equity
Media in the post Arab Spring
Theocracy, Secularism and Democratic Reform in the Arab World
Educational reforms
Social movements in the Arab World

Instructors (responsible for grades and class organization):
Nancy Condee and Veronica Dristas, University of Pittsburgh

Sponsored by:
University of Pittsburgh: Global Studies Center and the Sociology Department
Carnegie Mellon University: H. John Heinz III College, Office of the Provost, and Division of Student Affairs
Consortium for Educational Resources on Islamic Studies