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Semester 2

Gulf Histories, Cultures, and Societies (IMES10112)

Subject

Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

4

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Although this course does not have any pre-requisites, it is designed for students who have studied more than two full years of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies beforehand. If you have not studied this subject area to that level, it is your responsibility to ensure the course is an appropriate level for you during the first week of teaching, and you must drop this course (before the Course Change Deadline) if you do not have the required background knowledge/skills.

Course Summary

The course offers a comprehensive introduction to the cultures and societies of the six Arab States of the Gulf region (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait) that form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It will examine key issues and debates relating- but not limited to the political, economic and social transformations in the region that came on the heels of oil explorations and the advent of the rentier state thereafter. The course will consult various academic and literary sources, as well as audio-visual material to study the region creatively.

Course Description

The Arab States of the Gulf are home to diverse communities of both citizens and noncitizens, the latter which consists of second and third generation residents, who continue to grapple with challenges relating to identity, belonging and exclusion. The course examines the histories, cultures and societies of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait) through the lenses of transnational networks of migrations and circular settlements. The circulation of people, be they seasonal economic migrants or long-term residents, has not only shaped Gulf societies, but various communities around the world as well. The societies, cultures, and laws of the Gulf States have impacted generations of residents, who engage in various modes of capitalist consumption, religious observance, and economic belonging. How Gulf capital interacts with global dynamics, enabling the inbound and outbound mobilities of various communities and diasporas bears complex implications on the production and export of human and material capital, as well as religious thought and practice. By looking at Gulf societies and cultures through their material, spiritual and social expressions of identity and selfhood, students will develop a more nuanced understanding of the diversity that constitutes and continues to shape the peoples of the region. The course begins by mapping the interactive histories of the Indian Ocean and the migratory patterns through which different communities were indigenised by ways of Hajj, slavery or trade. The course then disrupts the prevalent accounts of monolithic societies by examining the diversity of the region through concepts of authenticity, indigeneity, citizenship and belonging, gender and gendered spaces, among others. The course will convene in weekly two-hour sessions, which will be a combination of lectures and discussion-based seminars. Students are expected to engage with their learning through in-class activities such as group presentations and discussions. This UG course shares its weekly 2-hour seminar with PG students.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

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