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GEA 3635

Study Guide for the Final Exam – Final Update (4/16)

Note: Don’t forget to study the country map lists; you will have to be able to write out the names of the countries.

 

 

The Big City: Cairo and Urbanization

  1. Is crowding in cities just a 21st century thing? What are the two factors that have caused the growth of urban populations?
  2. What type of housing has this rapid urban growth of poor migrants created? Where else do poor migrants often locate when they first come to cities?
  3. What are the twin problems most cities face? What type of skill set do most migrants bring and what type of jobs are they able to get?
  4. What are the three major geographical materialist foci?
  5. What urbanization trends touched down in the late 19th century? 1920’s? 1970’s? Why did new regimes prioritize public buildings?
  6. What did nationalism come at the expense of? What was Cairo like pre-independence in terms of diversity? What happened to distinct quarters? What did Nasser do Cairo place names? What did he do to separate ethnic courts? Why was this both good and bad?
  7. In cities, what replaced the vertical organization of tribe and clan? What are the important groups/social divisions that make up most Mid-East cities?
  8. How did post-independence governments deal with unions?
  9. What two things did middle/upper classes look for? What happened to many of Egypt’s richest families under nationalization? Who replaced them? What are Duffa networks?
  10. What happened to the employment and higher education under Nasser? What is Baksheesh?
  11. What happened when currency and export controls were lifted? What happen to the gap between rich and poor?
  12. Physiographically, where is Cairo located? What dynasty built their capital in Cairo and founded the Al-Azhar mosque? What else is Al-Azhar besides a mosque? What is Khan al-Khali? What form of transport was the Islamic city of Cairo built for?
  13. What ruler built the colonial city of Cairo? Where was it built? What inspired him?
  14. What type of road structures have been built to relieve traffic congestion in Cairo? What other mass transport solution is available in Cairo?
  15. What is Heliopolis? What is a “New City”? Where are they built? Name two in Egypt. Why are they not favored by new migrants? Why don’t they like provincial cities?
  16. What is Zamalak?
  17. Shubra? What is in the City of the Dead besides the dead?
  18. What type of suburb is Giza? What two sites does Kupinger highlight there? What is the difference in global connectedness between them? What might happen because of an “informal settlement” label.

 

Turkey: You Know the Country

  1. What was the Committee on Union and Progress also known as? What did they restore? Where did they place authority? What did they reform?
  2. What was the last non-Muslim minority in the Ottoman Empire? What happened to them?
  3. What was Mustafa Kemal’s background? Where does he declare the seat of government in exile to be? What type of party does he lead? What type of state does he make? What country does Turkey exchange ethnic nationals with in 1923?
  4. What did Kemal believe was necessary for Turkey to catch up to the West? What were the reforms he put in place? I
  5. How was Ataturk treated by the state after his death?
  6. When did Turkey go through economic liberalization? Is it a large economy? What economic problem has been particularly terrible in Turkey?
  7. What is the PKK? What percent of the population are the Kurds? Where did they traditional live in Turkey? Where else are they found now? Who are the Alevi?
  8. What is the AKP? What does Turkey promote itself as a bridge between? What must Turkey do to join the EU?
  9. Was Turk always a desirable label? What division helped lead to the AKP’s rise to power?
  10. Why does Turkey have the most evenly spread out population of any country in the region? What do even the smallest villages have? What is a gecekondu?
  11. What is GAP? Where is it supposed to bring development to? Who does it take water from?
  12. What is the most popular sport in the region? What region does Turkey qualify for the World Cup in? What about Egypt? What about Saudi Arabia? What are Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Fenerbache? What are Zamalek and Al-Ahli?   What European clubs are own by Gulf investors?
  13. What is Kuzcunguk? What happened to its population over time? What does it mean that landscape makes things look natural? What are the two meanings of mahelle? What helps to further the nostalgic narrative around Kuzcunguk?

 

Mundane Geographies of Palestine and Israel

  1. Is Israel well connected currently with its neighbors? How and how not? How are Palestinians viewed in the region?
  2. What three climates can be found in Israel/Palestine? What is the Negev?
  3. What level of water use did Israel plan for? Is it an issue in military conflict/peace negotiations? Does Israel recycle water? Where is most water used?
  4. What are Olim? Sabras? Was the post-1948 flood of immigrants well planned for? What happened with respect to Iraq? What is the biggest recent source of immigrants? Are any Israelis emigrating, and if yes, where are they going?
  5. Is Hebrew the only language used in Israel? What do you need to get citizenship? Were all post-Soviet immigrants Jewish? Do all Israelis regularly practice their religion?
  6. What is the voting population divided by? What are the Ashkenazi? The Mizrahim? Where were the Mizrahim put and how were they used in the economy? Are Arab Israelis well off?
  7. What is a kibbutz? What happened to the majority of Arab villages? What is the planned capital city of Israel?
  8. What is the Jewish National Fund, Jewish Agency and Histradrut? Where does Isarel’s aid come from and what is it spent on?
  9. What is a brain gain? What does Israel manufacture? What is El Al?
  10. What cities are included in the West Bank? What are settlements? What do the settlement roads do? Who works as laborers on settlements? How is the economy vs. the other occupied territories.
  11. How big is the Gaza Strip and how many people does it have? What is UNWRA? What is the unemployment rate? What are some other problems? What happened to the Jewish settlers there? How are conditions currently?
  12. What is the Golan Heights? What small religious sects live their? What type of economic/government activities has Israel located there?
  13. Did the Palestinian Authority ever control most of the West Bank? What was rife in the PA? What state things did they get? What did they built that now sits empty?

 

Iran: So Far Away

  1. Is Iran an Arab state? What advantages does Iran have? Has it spread its wealth out equally?
  2. What were Iran’s diverse political factions? What factors led to the rise of the Islamic Republic?
  3. What was the biggest constituency for the clergy? Who was Khomeini? What got him exiled? How were revolutionary sermons spread?
  4. In what year did destabilization take place? What was SAVAK? In what year does the Shah leave? What is vali-e-faqih? The Council of Guardians? What did he put in place to reassure the middle class? What was taken over in November?
  5. Who is Khamenei? Khatami? Who was the conservative mayor of Iran?
  6. What has the Islamic Republic done well?
  7. What are the four regions of Iran? What is Qom known for? Esfahan? Shiraz? Kish Island?
  8. What ethnic group is most associated with Tabriz? Where are the upper class neighborhoods in Tehran? What historic route is it located on? Where does the Afghan refugee population live?
  9. What percentage of the population are Persians? Who are the Azeris? Where do the Arabs live? Armenians? Where did the upper classes go after the revolution?
  10. What did Shah spend oil money on in the 1970’s? What was the problem with that? What was an unusual factor that has helped to increase unemployment? Does Iran just have oil?
  11. What did the reformist government around the millennia allow for women? Who is Shirin Ebadi? What is the situation like for upper class women in practice?

 

Oil Sure Changed Things: The GCC

  1. What is the GCC? Who is in? Which country is much bigger?
  2. What do these countries have in common? How do they maintain support for their regimes?
  3. Who staffs most of the private sector? Where did they come from before the first Gulf War? After? Are there Shi’i?
  4. What benefits has oil brought? Why have high population growth rates been a challenge, and why specifically in Saudi Arabia? What is Saudisation?
  5. How does the nature of government need to be changed in the GCC? Why and how does the rule of law need to be standardized? What may happy to local elite privileges if that happens (eg sponsoring businesses)?
  6. What needs adjusted in the relationship between church and state?
  7. What are Khalaf’s housing patterns for expats? For nationals? What mode of transport are Gulf cities designed for?
  8. How do the policies of Saudi Arabia create opportunities for neighbor states? Whose sons continue to rule the country?
  9. What are the three big population centers of Saudi Arabia? What is considered to be the least conservative city in KSA and why? What are Jubayl and Yanbu? What is King Abdullah Economic City?
  10. What makes Bahrain’s physical environment different from that of Qatar? What helps it act as a pressure release valve for Saudi Arabia? How do Sauds get there? Where does its oil come from? What economic sectors has it moved into?
  11. What happened in Bahrain in 2002 and again in 2006? Which group is disadvantaged in Bahrain? Why is it the Persian Gulf’s quiet success and most inequitable state?
  12. What was Dilmun? What did it leave all over Bahrain?
  13. What make’s Dubai’s economy unique? What type of “center’ is it for the Persian Gulf? Whose prohibitions (and economic boycott) does it profit from?
  14. What is re-export? What did the rulers do to sure up trade in the early 1800’s? Early 1900’s? 1960’s?
  15. What type of Free Zones has Dubai opened and what do they allow? Do they allow foreign owned real estate in Dubai? Did real estate create a bubble in Dubai? What is Emaar? What types of assets does Dubai own abroad?
  16. What did Dubai’s rulers allow its guest workers do? Are all the landscapes in Dubai one’s of wealth? What regional group of migrants is the majority of Dubai? Do they figure prominently in Dubai’s marketing plans? What is the unique situation faced by Filipinas?
  17. What was the growth engine for Dubai in the 2000’s? What went wrong in 2008-09 and who bailed Dubai out?

The French Colonies: Syria and Lebanon

  1. Why was present day Syria a great crossroads for the region? What is Palmyra an example of?
  2. What part of Syria do most people live in? What is its climate? What country now contains many of the ports that once belonged to Greater Syria?
  3. Why have minorities been relatively secure in Syria? What minorities are in Syria? What sect do the al-Asads come from?
  4. What sector is a major focus of the Syrian economy? What made Syria move from an importer to exporter of wheat? What river is their big dam on? What other countries take exception to this?
  5. What type of oil did Syria originally find? What did they have to do to it in order to sell it?
  6. Is Syria more Islamist or secular? Why? What group has been most confrontational with the government and what happened at Hamah? What country did Syria occupy with troops in the 1990’s?
  7. What three regional cities compete for the title of oldest continuously occupied city?
  8. What time period was the wall that surrounds the Damascus Old City built? What is the name of main mosque, and what was it built over? What ethnic group’s quarter is also inside the Old City?
  9. What is the Ghutah and what is done there? What groups came to occupy the northern suburbs?
  10. What was the largest city in Syria from 1500-1900? What is build on an artificial mound in the center of this city? What is a Khan? Does it have a Christian population?
  11. What are the reasons behind the protests in Syria? What city has had the worst siege?
  12. What city was Beirut compared to, and what country was Lebanon compared to pre-Civil war? Why?
  13. When was the Lebanese Civil War? What group was at the center of hostilities in the 1980’s? In today’s growing conflict?
  14. In what years did Israel conduct major operations in Lebanon?
  15. Why has Lebanon been home to so many sucessful trading cities? What types of services did Lebanon offer Arab speakers pre-Civil War? What is the university in Beirut with the highly respected medical school? What happened to the service sector during the civil war? What city is trying to steal Lebanon’s crown?
  16. How is Beirut divided in terms of sects? What is a Corniche? What is Solidiere and why was it controversial? What is the district with most of the night clubs, what sect did it come from?
  17. What is the second largest city in Lebanon and what sect is it associated with?
  18. What country is the cuisine leader in the region? What is mezze? How are meats grilled? What is shawarma?

Movin’ Around: Migration and a Brief Conclusion

  1. Do the countries of North Africa send many migrants? Why so many from Algeria in particular?
  2. What do the economies of Libya and Algeria depend on? What about Tunisia and Morocco?
  3. What country is the cuisine leader in the region? What is mezze? How are meats grilled? What is shawarma?
  4. From Moroccan migrant reading: Did Haddou come from a city area himself? Did he migrate to Europe on his first quest for work? What type of work has he done? What did his money go towards? How did the people of Nador view Haddou? His own children? What is the importance of the telephone? Why does he think Morocco is dependent on Europe?
  5. What are the three types of migration? Which is the most common? Do more men or women emigrate internationally from the region? Which are the only states in the region that gain more than they lose? What does it mean to be a “guest worker”? Why are fewer Arabs used as guest workers in the Gulf?
  6. Why have Muslim/Middle Eastern migrants fared much better in U.S. and Canada than Europe? What is the difference between acculturation and assimilation? What countries serve the same economic/labor function for the U.S. that North Africa/The Middle East does for Europe?
  7. What type of countries get special privileges to come to Europe? What is asylum, and what have been some of the biggest sending countries to Europe? Besides Middle Easterners, who else is migrating to Europe and how are the fears surrounding them different?
  8. Did the Europeans think the guest workers would stay permanently? What are remittances and are they a big deal for countries in the Middle East? Why is their impact bigger than their percentage of population?
  9. What self image held by Europeans are immigrants testing? What practice has been particularly focused on by Europeans? Until the last few years in Germany, were third generation migrants from Turkey given citizenship automatically for being born in country?
  10. Why were children of migrants failed by the state in France? What prominent French institution do migrants participate in while still facing racism? How have the French responded to the challenge of immigrants in their educational system?
  11. What North African country has become a staging ground for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa? What type of economic arrangement is the EU looking for by 2010? What is Europe’s 5th largest trading partner and are they trying to establish a free trade agreement with them? What happened to Danish dairy products after the prophet Muhammad cartoons?
  12. Where did most Arab migrants come from in the 19th century? Where did Palestinians go in Latin America?
  13. What country is home to the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East? Why did they leave? What type of activity did most end up involved in and at what levels? What country is home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America?
  14. What is the epicenter of Arab American culture? What type of services can you find there? Who came there first and why did so many more Arabs follow? What is ACCESS?
  15. What city is home to the largest Iranian population outside Iran? Is the community diverse there? What tie did Tehran and this city have before the revolution? What is NITV?
  16. How has the Middle East been economically, politically, culturally, and technologically a part of global trends? (Note: can use both this lecture and any material from course to answer this)