You will choose 10 IDs from the following list for the exam. Of the 10, you will choose 5 and clearly state the who/what, where, when, and why significant. The ‘why significant' is a crucial part of this answer so remember to state as clearly as possible the significance of the ID.
Significance can include, but is not necessarily limited to, one of the following:
1).How the ID has radically changed something and what is the significance of this change
2). How the ID hasled to things staying the same and what the significance of this continuity is
3). How the ID operates within the international arena and what that shows us about how the international arena is shaping at this particular moment.
4). How the ID operates internally and what this shows us about the internal situation at this particular moment.
Greek War of Independence (1821-1932)
The Tanzimat Period (1839-1976)
Hatt-iSerifGülhane
ResitPasa
Mutasarrifiyah (Lebanon)
1876 Ottoman Constitution
Urabi Revolt (Egypt)
Sultan Abdulhamit II (1876-1909)
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Young Turks/Committee of Union and Progress
1908 Young Turk Revolution
Enver Pasha
Qajar dynasty
Marja' al-taqlid/ayatollah
Concessions granted to Europeans
1891 Tobacco Protest
Nassir ad-Din Shah
Zones of influence in Persia
1905-1911 Persian Constitutional Revolution
Zionism
The Armenian Genocide
Syria under Djemal Pasha
Sykes-Picot Agreement
Husayn-MacMahonCorrespondance
King Faysal (Syria, Iraq)
Short Essay: Answer one of the following questions by writing an essays with five paragraphs. The first paragraph should introduce your own thesis/argument. The next three paragraphs should each examine one point that strengthens your thesis in the first paragraph. The final paragraph should conclude your essay by wrapping up your analysis and tying them together.
1. Choose one of the states in the post-WWI Arab Middle East and explain it in terms of three of the following:
a. Local/state-based nationalism vs. Arab nationalism.
b. Modern state (using Max Weber's definition).
c. Social classes: which ones play a dominant role in the state and why? Which social classes either reject the state or seek alternative ideologies and why?
d. The nation as an "imagined community" and the education system/importance of literacy.
States to choose from: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia
2. State and analyze what you believe are the three major factors that led to the eventual collapse of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. There is a broad range of factors to choose from, here are some suggestions.
a. Political factors
b. Economic factors
c. Social factors
d. European empires
e. Concessions
f. Revolutions/rebellions
3. Explain how the ‘ulama (the religious scholarly class) formed in Persian (Iran) and in the Ottoman Empire. What are the points of contrast between the two and what factors led to their differences? How was each group able to operate in their respective societies?