Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POC2123: Politics of the Middle East

This module descriptor refers to the 2022/3 academic year.

Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.

Module Aims

This module aims to provide an introduction to the main themes and dynamics in the politics of the contemporary Middle East at the domestic, regional and global levels. It considers the political, economic, and social changes that have affected the region since the birth of the nation-state. In doing so, the module provides you with the cognitive skills and academic inquisitiveness that are necessary to nuance your understanding of the region.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. evaluate the enduring legacies of colonialism on the politics in, and discourses about, the region and analyse the process of state-formation in the contemporary Middle East;
2. assess critically the impact of globalisation on economic and political liberalisation and appreciate the transnational dynamics of civil organizing and political mobilization in the region.
Discipline-Specific Skills3. evaluate different theoretical and practical approaches in the study of politics of the Middle East;
4. construct coherent yet concise arguments.
Personal and Key Skills5. write analytically for an academic and non-academic public;
6. develop good research and indexing praxis (on line and in the library);
7. defend one’s position on seminar discussions.