Political Science 4333: Islam and Democracy
Professor Roy Edward Casagranda
In Memory of Edward Said (November 1, 1935
- Septermber 25, 2003)
To Achmad Sukarno, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mohammad Mosaddeq, Jamal Abdel Nasser, Ahmed Ben Bella, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabbaz, and Naji Al-Ali
Fall 2003
Section: 12175
TTh 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Room: 138-SR
Office: PGH 395
Phone: 281-357-3741 or 713-743-3934
Email: Roy.Casagranda@mail.uh.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30-3:30
Syllabus: http://www.casagranda.com/POLS4333.html
(case sensitive)
Class listserv: groups.yahoo.com/group/POLS4333
Orwell’s Essay: “Politics and the English Language” www.casagranda.com/orwellpolitics.html
Cartoon by Naji Al-Ali, 1936-1987
This is a senior level undergraduate lecture on Islam
and Democracy.
Be warned that the core question that the title of the
course implies is impossible to asnwer. It is impossible for two reasons.
First, the question itself is most certainly incorrectly stated. If
the question is in error, then one can only imagine the condition of the
answer. This is especially true since one is tempted to answer "yes"
or "no." Any social science question that begs a binary answer is
almost certainly flawed.
The second reason is that in order to answer the question
(assume, for the sake of addressing this second flaw that the implied question
of the class is not fundamentally flawed to its very core) we would have
to know what Islam and democracy are. And perhaps even more daunting
we would probably also have to know Arab history, Islamic history, recent
global history, democratic theory, democratization, the democgraphics of
the Muslim world, Arab culture, Islamic culture, democratic culture, a large
amount of economics, some psychology, and even the history of petroleum.
This probably an impossible undertaking for a life time. To
do this in the brief period of a semester will require a very modest approximation.
And considering the uniqueness of the subject (especially from a propaganda
standpoint) I cannot assume that anybody knows anything. As a result
an attempt must be made to cover everything.
As Carlos Casteñeda would put it we are going to
undertake in an "intentional folly."
The aim of all my classes are never merely to acquire
theoretical and factual data. Rather the primary goal is always to
make the classroom as much a part of the vita activa (a la Hannah
Arendt's The Human Condition) as is possible.
Class Attendance: You will be expected to participate actively
and regularly. I reserve the right drop anyone who has missed three
class sessions or more at my discretion.
Readings: You will need to read the books listed on the syllabus and
posssibly outside texts in preparation for every class session. The
lectures will not necessarily be about the readings, however, questions
regarding the readings should still be asked during the lecture. You
will be responsible for all material assigned and discussed in class even
if you are not present for such discussions or it is not on the syllabus;
even people with excused absences are still responsible for any missed material.
Get notes from one another. Please note that 20% of your fiinal
grade is based on classroom participation.
Three-page Papers: The 3 three-page papers will concern an essential concept or basic theoretical issue relating to the class. You will be expected to address fundamental theoretical issues, not merely technical questions. You will likely have to read unassigned material relating to the subject. Papers should be edited for grammar, punctuation, consistency of thought, theoretical soundness, and spelling. Do not let the length of these papers confuse you. These papers should be treated with professional and academic care. Note: the three-page papers are not summaries! Do not summarize! Reading comprehension is a given at the senior level; these papers must transcend the obvious. They need to tackle the substance of issues. Take risks and be innovative.
Geography and Demographics Test: You will be required to learn the names and locations of all the Muslim nation-states and learn some essential demographic elements of such nation-states.
Research Paper: The coupe de main of the course will be a 12 to
18 page research paper. You should start thinking about your area
of research from the first day of class. You may choose to do either
a case study or a comparative study.
A case study analyzes a specific instance of whatever your research theme
is. For example if you wanted to research a Islamic theocracy and
democratization you might look at Iran since the revolution.
A comparative study is just that. It compares several cases in order
to discover a pattern. For example lets say you wanted to look at
the relationship between Arab flags and democratization. First, you
would need to hypothesize that some characteristic found in some Arab flags
had some effect on that sate's democratic nature. Next you would need
to find some way to measure democracy in each Arab state. Then you
would have to create a data set that compared the flag data with the degree
of democratization across nations. And finally, you would draw your
conclusions based on your results. Note: this is not a completely
unreasonable study, but probably because it is a proxy for measuring something
else. Also you would probably have to control for several factors
such as flag changes over the years. Also note that your research
may discover that there is no pattern; this is a valid research outcome.
To begin either type of paper you must first find a suitable topic area
that gets my approval. I want you to start thinking about what you
want to research as of yesterday. The longer you put it off the less
likely you are to complete the assignment with the degree of quality required
of it. After you have a suitable topic you will need to develop a
hypothesis (if you have not already done so), a list of your assumptions,
a methodology for testing your hypothesis, a means for collecting data,
and a conclusion that describes your results. All of this must be
in your paper. Note: a very valid conclusion to any science research
is that your hypothesis was wrong.
You are to turn in your topic area for approval by September 25 (1 point).
Keep in mind that this is a political science class. Keep asking yourself,
“what is the political science question that I am trying to answer.”
You must submit an outline or rough draft of your paper by October 16 (3
points). A first draft is due November 4 (5 points). The Final
draft is due on December 16, no later than 2:00 PM (36 points).
Your final draft will need to be turned into me, in hard copy and soft copy;
I must receive both the hard copy and the soft copy by 2:00 PM December
16. Since email is not always delivered in a timely fashion I receommend
emailing me your soft copy no later than the 15th of December. You
must turn in your hard copy to PGH 447 (the political science office) no
later than 2:00 PM December 16, 2003, where they will stamp the time it was
received on your paper. Since you will have 12 days from the last
class until you have to turn the Research paper no excuse will be accepted
for late papers.
I am going to publish your final papers on http://www.casagranda.com/POLS4333.html
under your name. In the event your paper is accepted for publication
by a journal or publisher you will need to send me proof of acceptance before
I will remove your paper from http://www.casagranda.com/POLS4333.html.
In other words I will retain the copyright for your paper until you get
it published elsewhere. Should you chose to publish with SOMA (Student
Organization for Media Accuracy) your work will be on both sites. By
turning in a final draft of your research paper you are agreeing to the
above terms.
You are also encouraged to chose at least two reliable (e.g. The Guardian, Reuters, The Independent)
and two main stream media sources (e.g. New York Times, ABC, CNN).
Use these sources follow coverage of your research topic. This is
not merely in order to keep up with current events. You should also
be looking for news media bias, propaganda, ommission, and lies.
Tentative Reading Schedule
August 26: Introduction
History, Culture, and Religion
August 28, September 2, & 4: Hourani
September 9 & 11: Ruthven
September 16, 18, & 23: Mernissi
September 25: First three-page paper due
Research Topic due
Deconstructing the Image of Islam
September 25, 30, & October 2: Said
October 2: Geography Test
October 7, 9, 14, & 16: Said
October 16: Research Outline or Rough draft due
October 21 & 23: Finkelstein
October 23: Second three-page paper due
Democracy and Democratization
October 28 & 30: Crick
November 4: Research Paper First Draft due
November 4 & 6: Schmitter
November 11: Third three-page paper due
Case Studies
November 11, 13, & 18: Jahanbakhsh
November 20, 25, & December 2: Ibrahim
November 27: Thanksgiving
December 4: The Future
December 16, 2:00 PM: Final Draft of Research Paper is Due in both hard
and soft copy (hard copies maybe turned it into the political science office
room PGH 447)
Final Grade Formula
The final grade will be calculated as a sum of the following components. Each component will receive a simple percentage, which will then be multiplied by the points it is worth.
1st Three-Page Paper 5
2nd Three-Page Paper 10
3rd Three-Page Paper 15
Map quiz
5
Research Paper
45
Participation/Improvement 20
Total 100
For example a person getting 80% on the Research Paper assignment will
get 36 points towrad her or his final grade. A person getting an 70% on
the first three-page essay will receive 3.5 points toward her or his final
grade.
Iranian Democracy Films:
1953 Coup (Moe)
18 Tir (Jamshir
Jam)
Ahanabad (Hatef)
Khiaabaan-e
Khaab-haa (Alireza Assar)
Academic Dishonesty: Work tainted by dishonesty has no academic
value. University Rules and Regulations define academic dishonesty
as the following acts among others: cheating; knowingly assisting another
student to cheat; plagiarism; and unauthorized possession of examinations.
Any act of academic dishonesty will automatically result in a grade of "zero"
for affected work. In addition, any act of academic dishonesty will be referred
to University authorities for disciplinary action where harsher penalties
are likely to be mediated out. Plagiarism is a serious offense.
So far I have pursued every case of plagiarism committed in my classes.
In every case the result was that the guilty student was dropped from
my class with an "F." However, harsher penalties such as probation,
suspension, and expulsion can also be meted out by the department and the
university.
"Plagiarism is the unacknowledged borrowing of information, wording, organization,
or ideas. Whether the original source is public (e.g., a newspaper or critical
article) or private (e.g., a classmate's paper), you need to indicate your
indebtedness in any of the above areas. Where you repeat the exact language
of your source, you must treat the borrowed material as a quotation and place
it within quotation marks. However, by merely changing a few words or the
word order or by paraphrasing, you do not avoid plagiarism. In all cases,
you should cite your sources (using any recognized format, including APA).
There is nothing wrong in acknowledging an intellectual debt to someone."
In fact a good quotation will strengthen your argument, show your knowledge
of the literature, and help you avoid reinventing the wheel every time you
write something academic. "Your reader is only concerned that you
have something new to say about the material which you have used, that it
contributed in some way to the development of your ideas in your writing.
To assemble material without developing it in any way is a waste of your
time and the reader's. The danger of plagiarism is not the pain of discovery,
for which the penalty is sure, but the delusion of accomplishment where
there has been none."
--From handout by Department of English, Trenton State College (copied from
J. D. Yoder website)
Recommended Reading:
El Saadawi, Nawal | Woman at Point Zero | Zed Books/0862321107
Glubb, John | A Short History of the Arab People | Scarborough House/0812813510
Ghabdian, Najib, Michael W. Suleiman (Editor), John P. Entelis (Editor)
| Democratization and the Islamist Challenge in the Arab World (State,
Culture & Society in Arab North Africa) | Westview Press/0813327849
Gill, Graeme | The Dynamics of Democratization: Elites, Civil Society
and the Transition Process | Palgrave Macmillan/0312231725
Arendt, Hannah | The Human Condition | University of Chicago Press/0226025985
Rampton, Sheldon and John C. Stauber | Weapons of Mass Deception
| J. P. Tarcher/1585422762
Dye, Thomas | Irony of Democracy | Wadsworth Publishing/0155061216
Uhlin, Anders | Indonesia and the "Third Wave Democratization":
The Indonesian Pro-Democracy Movement in a Changing World | Palgrave
Macmillan/0312173830
Abrahamian, Ervand | Iran Between Two Revolutions | Princeton
Univ Pr/0691101345
Herman, Edward and Noam Chomsky | Manufacturing Consent: The Political
Economy of the Mass Media | Pantheon Books; (January 15, 2002)/0375714499
Parenti, Michael | Inventing Reality: The Politics of News Media
| Bedford/St. Martin's; 2nd edition/0312020139
Iraq and Kuwait: A History Suppressed by Ralph Schoenman
9-11 by Noam Chomsky
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the
Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance Fraudsters
by Greg Palast
Democracy for the Few by Michael Parenti
Media Power in Politics by Doris A. Graber (Editor)
Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in
the Gulf War (American Politics and Political Economy Series) by W.
Lance Bennett (Editor), David L. Paletz (Editor)
The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering
by Norman G. Finkelstein
Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians (South
End Press Classics Series) by Naom Chomsky, Edward W. Said
Acts of Aggression: Policing Rogue States (Open Media Series) by Noam
Chomsky, Edward W. Said (Contributor)
Our Media, Not Theirs: The Democratic Struggle Against Corporate Media
(Open Media Series) by Robert W. McChesney, John Nichols, Barbara Ehrenreich
1984 by George Orwell