Scuola di Studi Superiori "Ferdinando Rossi" dell'Università degli Studi di Torino - SSST

The course offers an introduction to the study of the contemporary Middle East. Its goal is to provide advanced tools to understand one of the most complex political, social and cultural spaces on the planet: its roots at the crossroads of great civilizations, its history, its social structures, its culture and its prospects for development, with particular reference to the transformations produced in recent decades by the processes of globalization and the evolution of world politics. The layout of the course is multidisciplinary and is aimed at establishing the main historical, political-institutional, social, economic, cultural and religious peculiarities of the contemporary Middle East and its complicated relationship with the European and Western world

The course is articulated in 4 modules.

The first module (prof. Tuccari) outlines the more general context within which the history of the contemporary Middle East must be read today. It will introduce to the great transformations produced on a planetary scale by the processes of globalization and by the evolution of world politics after 1989. It will then focus on the multiple effects that these transformations have caused in the political, social and cultural space of the Middle East.

The second module (prof. Kamel), held in English, via Webex, will be focused on the emergence of the late modern and contemporary Middle East, as well as on several key-concepts commonly adopted to approach the region, including tribes, sects, minorities. We will also analyze the key components underlying the ongoing ‘fragmentation’ of the Middle East, and of its fluid and overlapping identities.

The third module aims to introduce students to Islamic political thought interpreted along with the category of retrospective utopia: i.e. in order to build up the future it is compelling to look at the past (Prophet Muhammad’s experience). Classical concepts as caliphate, sultanate, consultation, consensus have been resumed by contemporary Islamist movements. In this creative ongoing framework, the so-called Arab springs represented a moment of predicament and crisis. On the contrary it must be stressed the importance of European Islam.

The fourth module aims to understand the current Muslim diaspora (specifically from the Middle East to Western European countries) and the European debate on the link between integration paths and religious (i.e. Muslim) identities. It will cover the main issues dealing with the debate on Muslims’ welcoming and insertion in the host societies in current times, effecting by the so-called “Human rights crisis”: e.g. the role and impact of cultural diversity in the Western countries and in the various societal domains, how Western societies are coping with religious requests emerging from Muslim groups, to what extent children differ from their parents in managing religious identities. Empirical research studied in this course draws substantially from European contexts, but also extensively uses cases from mainly Germany, the UK and Italy.

Take-home-exam (written paper)

Module 1 (9 h)

THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE GLOBAL ERA

Teaching staff: Francesco Tuccari

- Globalization: problems and interpretations
- From the unipolar moment to the return of mul-tipolarism
- The Middle East between modernity and tradi-tion
- The Middle East among the Great Powers

Module 2 (9 h)

‘OUR’ AND ‘THEIR’ MIDDLE EAST

Teaching staff: Lorenzo Kamel

- Visualizing the Middle East: on the relevance of historical continuities 
- The decostruction of Islam: a historical perspec-tive 
- The end of the Ottoman order: states, borders, ethnic groups 
- Stateless nations: Kurds and Palestinians as case studies 

Module 3 (9 h)

ISLAMIC POLITICAL THOUGHT

Teaching staff: Roberta Aluffi

- The Prophet’s “state” in Medina.
- The problem of caliphate: sovereignty and au-thority.
- Evolution of the classical political concepts and their contemporary meaning.
- From the Arab spring to European Islam.

Module 4 (9 h)

RELIGIOUS IDENTITIES ON THE MOVE

Teaching staff: Roberta Ricucci

- Muslim diaspora in the EU
- European debate on Muslim and integration dy-namics in Europe
- Crucial issues concerning religious practice
- Comparing and contrasting case studies