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Politics and Religion: Governing the Middle East

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:1.00
Study Course Accepted:19.03.2024 14:30:54
Study Course Information
Course Code:SZF_046LQF level:Level 7
Credit Points:4.00ECTS:6.00
Branch of Science:Political ScienceTarget Audience:Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:Māris Andžāns
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfatrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)10Lecture Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Lectures20
Classes (count)13Class Length (academic hours)2Total Contact Hours of Classes26
Total Contact Hours46
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
Basic knowledge of politics.
Objective:
This course aims at examining the meanings of, and interactions between, religion and politics in a global perspective, concentrating on the issues steaming from turmoil in the Middle East.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.TopicType of ImplementationNumberVenue
1Introduction: Models of the relationship between religion and the stateLectures1.00auditorium
2The History of Judaism and ChristianityLectures1.00auditorium
3The History of IslamLectures1.00auditorium
4Fundamentalism: The What and the Why?Lectures1.00auditorium
5Religion and violenceLectures1.00auditorium
6Religion and conflict resolutionLectures1.00auditorium
7Religious radicalism and the democracy conundrumLectures1.00auditorium
8The secularization debateLectures1.00auditorium
9Is there a clash of civilizations?Lectures2.00auditorium
10Research presentationsClasses13.00auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
• Active participation during classes and seminars (as well as criticism and recommendations given in response to other students' reports); • Essays; • Final report. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Students have to take into account the following requirements and grading criteria: • Active participation during classes and seminars (as well as criticism and recommendations given in response to other students' reports) – 35% • Essays – 10% • Final report – 20% • Presentation of the final report – 15% • Exam – 20%
Final Examination (Full-Time):Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:Students will be able to describe the origins and spread of Islam, the basic tenets and beliefs of various sects. Students will be able to compare the Sharia principles in international relations. Students will demonstrate the ability to explain the political history and the main sources of conflict in the Middle East. Students will be able to assess the problems of the region and predict future scenarios.
Skills:Students will be able to describe the differences of various branches of Islam. Students will be able to describe the history of Islam, the basic principles of Sharia. Students will demonstrate the ability to explain the historic interaction between politics and religion in the Middle East.
Competencies:Students will be able to differentiate political and religious conflicts. Students will be able to describe the foreign policy of various countries in the Middle East. Students will demonstrate the ability to analyse the most important regional conflicts and sources of instability.
Bibliography
No.Reference
Required Reading
1Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2Appleby, R. Scott. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
3Cleveland W.L., Bunton M. A History of the Modern Middle East. Westview Press, 2016
4Durkheim, Emile. 2001. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. New York: Oxford University Press.
5Gerges, Fawaz A. 2009. The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
6Van der Veer, Peter. 1994. Religious Nationalism: Hindus and Muslims in India. Berkeley: University of California Press.
7Weber, Max. 2001. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Routledge.
Additional Reading
1Lust, Ellen. ed. The Middle East. 16th edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2023
2Lewis B. The Emergence of Modern Turkey. Oxford University Press, 2003
3“Resurgent Religion in Politics: the Martyr, the Convert and the Black Night of Apocalypse”, in Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion [Vol.2]. ed. By Michel P., Paze E. Brill, 2011
4Rowe P.S. Religion and Global Politics. Toronto: Oxford University Press Canada, 2012
5Tibi B. Political Islam, World Politics and Europe. Democratic Peace and Euro-Islam vs Global Jihad. Routledge, 2014