This research seminar will discuss the events leading to Indian independence in 1947 and creation of the modern Middle East since World War II. During the opening weeks, the focus will be on the rise of nationalism in India, and the creation of the state of Pakistan. The discussion will subsequently focus on the Middle East, not only on the Palestine question but also on the overthrow of the Musaddiq government in Iran by the British Secret Intelligence Service and the CIA in 1953; and, not least, the consequences of the discovery of oil and its production. The founding of the state of Israel receives special attention.
The subject is political and historical with an emphasis on professional writing, not only on assessments that might appear in such newspapers as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal but also especially on the equivalent of policy papers and critical evaluations that are made in government agencies and businesses as well as academic journals. I use my own experience as a former chairman of the State Department’s committee on publication of historical records (The Foreign Relations of the United States) to give students guidance on the technical as well as analytical methods of assessment.
The required reading includes Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, important for the assumption of satyagraha, or nonviolent resistance that gave inspiration to his followers throughout the world; and George Antonius, The Arab Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement, the first book to make Arab nationalism comprehensible to a British and American readership. Students prepare one-page critiques of each of the books. The critiques are circulated and then returned to the author for a final copy. This is an exercise that contributes to the professional writing dimension of the course.
To reemphasize, this is a research seminar. In the latter part of the course, the focus will shift to the partition of India and the post-war Middle East with special attention given to critical events such as the creation of the state of Pakistan in 1947; and parallel developments in the Middle East leading eventually, for example, to the Iraqi revolution of 1958.
Members of the seminar will have the opportunity for original research in the documentary series on the Transfer of Power in India and the archival documents published by the Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Archive Editions. The requirement is a research paper of about 20 double-spaced pages (6000 words), which is the length preferred by most academic journals and policy publications (for example, Foreign Affairs, and the corresponding British journal, International Affairs). Drafts of the research papers are circulated to all members of the seminar for annotation, comment, and discussion.
The seminar upholds the principles of the Modern History Faculty at Oxford—to enhance (1) intellectual curiosity; (2) conceptual clarity; (3) accuracy and attention to detail; (4) lucid and succinct style; (5) capacity for hard work.
Grades are determined by attendance and participation in discussion (25%); the weekly critiques (25 %); and the research paper (50%).
History is the home department for this course.