Population
and Geography of the Middle East
GEA 3635, U01. Spring 2012
Class Location: Academic
Health Center 3, Room 215 Time: 2:00-2:50 p.m. M,W,F
Instructor: Benjamin Smith Email: bsmith@fiu.edu
Office: SIPA 305 Office Phone:
348-2074
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 1:00-1:45 (also see me before or after
class)
Teaching Homepage Which You Must Check Frequently: http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm
Supplemental Readings: http://online.fiu.edu
There is More to the Middle East than the Headlines
2011 was a momentous
year in the Middle East – several long standing regimes fell, signs of protests
became more visible in many parts of the region. Yet for as much as the region has been in
headlines here in the US for the past decade, it the region (and especially its
diversity) is still little understood here.
This is going to be the theme of this course.
In this course,
while we will address issues that grab headlines – the Arab Spring, Israel/Palestine
conflict, the state of Iraq, etc. – the majority of this course will focus on
the more mundane, extremely diverse, day to day living that goes on in the
region. People work – we will talk
about that. People watch TV – we will
cover that. There are environmental
issues – not just political and religious ones.
Yes, the issues and challenges that those in the region faces are real
and severe, but that is not the whole story.
We will also do all this
from a geographic prospective. On the
one hand this means a grab bag approach – environment, politics, economics and culture
are all fair game. On the other hand,
this also mean paying attention to geographic perspectives such as how humans
interact with the natural and built environment, how ideas and people diffused
through the region over time, and how the region came to be defined as it.
1.
Develop an understanding of the diversity of the
Middle East. The “
2.
Understand how the
3.
Be able to critically examine what you hear about the
Middle East
Patterns: Places, People and Politics,
5th or 4th Edition. By Colbert Held. Westview Press. ISBN: 0813341701
Supplemental
Monday, January 16 – No Class Meeting,
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Monday, February 6 – Exam One
Monday, February 27 – No Class Meeting, At AAG Conference
Wednesday, March 7 – Exam
Two
Monday, March 12 thru Friday, March 16, November 11 – No Class
Meetings, Spring Break
Friday, April 6 – Travel
Guide Due
Wednesday,
April 25 – Final Exam, 12-2 pm
Grading
There will be 500 total points available in this class, broken
down as follows:
100 points: Travel Guide
75 points: Attendance and Participation
100 points: Exam
1
100 points:
Exam 2
125 points: Final Exam
500 points Total
The
grading scale is A = 100-93%, A- = 92.9-90%, B+ = 89.9-87%, B = 86.9-83%, B-
=82.9%-80%, C+ = 79.9-77%, C =
76.9-73%, C- = 72.9-70%, D+ = 69.9-67%,
D = 66.9-63%, D- = 62-60% F = 59-0%, which translates to, in points:
A : 500 thru 465 points
A-: 464 thru 450 points
B+: 449 thru 435 points
B: 434 thru 415 points
B-: 414 thru 400 points
C+: 399 thru 385 points
C: 384 thru 365 points
C-:
364 thru 350 points
D+: 349 thru 335 points
D: 334 thru 315 points
D-: 314 thru 300 points
F: 299 thru 0 points
Each exam will be a combination of multiple choice,
matching, map identification, and short answers/miniature essays, drawn from
lectures, readings, videos, etc. – basically anything covered in class or
assigned in reading.
The first two exams are non-cumulative, meaning they
cover material not previously tested. The
Final Exam, however, is slightly different – mostly, it is an exam over new
material covered since the second exam; but it also will have one 10 point
essay which summarizes the course, and an expanded map section that requires
you to label all the countries in the region – which should be easy by that
point in the semester. So the Final Exam
is basically the same as the other exams, just with one comprehensive question
and a few more map items.
Exam 1: 100
pts
Exam 2: 100
pts.
Final: 125 pts
While more
specifics will be given soon, you will be required to produce one travel guide
covering somewhere in the Middle East on a place (or places) randomly chosen
for you by Prof. Smith. This will be
worth 100 points. The reason this is
being assigned is threefold 1) to make you think about the everyday, very
material geographies of the Middle East (what to eat, how to travel, where to
stay, what to do) 2) help you appreciate that there is more to the region than oppression
(and, in fact, that many people in the Middle East actually do enjoyable
things) 3) to help those who are not great test takers, with some non-test
points It will be due on Friday, April
6 at the beginning class, and must be submitted in both physical form (typed
and stapled) and electronically via turnitin.com. You will lose 10 points for every day it is
late.
Attendance and
Participation Points, Reading & Classroom Etiquette
There will be oodles – oodles I say! – of
information covered in this course. You
need to be in class to learn it all. This is especially true because lectures,
while drawing on the readings, will expand upon them as well. You will not do well on the tests unless you
come to class.
Similarly, if you do not do the readings, you will not do well on
the tests. This is especially true on
essays questions based on more conceptual readings – though we will cover the
readings in class, you will not understand them fully unless you read and then
re-read them.
To reward you for reading and attendance, I will
have various easy point opportunities throughout the semester. Sometimes they will be announced tasks –
like bringing three questions to class about the reading for discussion. Other times, they will be unannounced – like
having a quick individual quiz about the reading that asks a few, really simple
questions. If the reading is
particularly theoretical, I will put you into groups during class so you and
your classmates can hash it out together.
These are meant to be low stress, and providing everyone makes a good faith
effort (and attends), these points should be easy to get. Even easier to get are the points where I
simply mark down everyone who is there and brought there name cards with them.
However, these points can also be taken away, at the
instructor’s discretion, in extreme circumstances, due to regularly bad
behavior. Reasons for losing points
include being aggressive, rude or dismissive towards your fellow students or
the instructor. Though people may
express opinions different than your own in this class, you are free to
disagree – providing you do so in calm, courteous manner. This is especially important because we will
be covering some sensitive, divisive subjects during this class. Points can also be taken away if a student
shows lack of engagement by talking to other students while the instructor,
guest or another student is speaking, repeatedly reading the newspaper, using their cell phone or mp3 player, doing
homework for other classes, or using their notebook computer for IM’s (not
note-taking). However, I doubt it will
come to this. So basically, respect
everyone, and this should be a great semester.
If points are taken, the student will be notified as to why.
Attendance quizzes and activities will
contribute a maximum of 75 points to your final grade. There will likely be more than 75 points
made available during the semester, meaning if you miss a class or have an off
day, you will still be able to receive full attendance credit.
Teaching Website,
On-Line Articles, and Updates
At the top of this document, you will find the
address for my teaching homepage, which is http://www.fiu.edu/~bsmith/teaching.htm . There will be a copy of the syllabus there,
as well as the course schedule and instructions for the paper and paper
proposal. Additionally, I will post study guides for the exams there and there
only – meaning I will not be handing out copies of the study guides in
class.
Also, I will post supplemental on the online.fiu.edu
website – those should be posted shortly.
Office Hours &
Making Contact
My
office hours are posted at the top of this document. If you
are having trouble at all, I strongly encourage you to stop by or call during
office hours, or make an appointment to do so. My job is to make sure you learn the
material, not just to assign grades.
I will
also try my best to answer questions via e-mail, but realize that apart from
teaching this class, I am also teaching a second course, doing research, and
administrative work, thus the quickest, best way to get an answer is to see me
right after class, or stop by or call me during office hours. Please do not call outside of office hours,
and just email instead – games of phone tag usually don’t end well. If you e-mail me, please put “GEA 3635”
or “Geography of the M.E.” in the subject line – so I know what class you are
in. Also, pretty please put your name
in the email, so I know who I am replying to.
Earning the Grade
You Want & (A Small Amount of) Extra Credit
If you
are doing poorly in the class, the time to ask how you can do better is not
right before, and especially not right after, the Final. If you do badly on the first or second test
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE come
to office hours or make an appointment to see me as soon as possible after that
test, and I will help you devise strategies to study more effectively.
However,
there might be an opportunity to receive a small amount of extra credit in the
course by attending lectures affiliated with the Middle East Studies Center, if
any are offered this semester. Each
lecture will be worth two points each. There
will be no other extra credit opportunities.
Academic Integrity, Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating
and plagiarism are done by pathetic and desperate people – don’t be one of
them. If you plagiarize on your travel
guide, or cheat on an exam – you will receive at minimum a zero on
that assignment, which instantly drops your score for the course by
about two full letter grades. If you
find yourself in a desperate situation while taking a test or up against a
deadline – turn in the best work you can do at the time. Getting an F usually means you will get some
points – getting caught cheating means you get zero. Furthermore, depending on the severity of the
case, I can choose to pursue harsher penalties, including assigning an F0 for
the course or pursuing your expulsion.
It
is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with the FIU student handbook’s
sections on cheating and plagiarism.
Also, if you need to know more about how to not plagiarize, please check
out the following websites.
1)
“Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (
Excused
absences include serious illness; illness of a spouse or dependent; death of an
immediate family member; University-sponsored trips; and major
religious holy days. It is your
responsibility to inform me of the absence in advance of class by e-mail (and
within 2 weeks of the start of class if it is a university trip or holy day),
but no later than two class sessions after the missed class. In order to have an absence excused, you must
provide original documentation which I can keep. If this is done, and I determine the absence
to be excused, I will do my best make sure you make up what you missed.
Make-up
exams will only be given in extreme circumstances. The
make-up exam will not be the same one given to those who took the test on the
established date, and will be given during the final examination period, during
which time you will take both the make-up exam and the final. To sit a make-up exam, you must 1)
provide documentation to me in class within two class periods of the missed
exam addressing why your absence qualifies as excused 2) have that
documentation accepted by me 3) email me asking to be given a make-up exam and
4) receive back an email from me confirming a make-up exam will be given. PLEASE NOTE THE DAY AND TIME OF THE FINAL
EXAM: NO MERCY FOR THOSE WHO TRY TO
Your
choices to attend or not attend have consequences – just like they would at
work. I take my responsibilities and
role as a teacher seriously; I hope you hold your role and responsibility as a
student in equal respect.
HERE’S TO A GOOD
SEMESTER AND BEST OF LUCK!