History of Colonialism

This course provides an overview of the history of colonialism in the Muslim world from 1750 to 1950. It will discuss pre-colonial Muslim polities and their interaction with the rising “west”. The anti-colonial revolts such as those of Emir Abdelkader, Imam Shamil and Sayyid Muhammad Abdullah Hasan will be studied as well as the intellectual resistance to the “west” like Muhammad Abduh, Al Afghani and the Young Ottomans. Both direct colonialization, like Algeria and more sinister penetration like Egypt and the Ottoman Empire will be contrasted. The course will try to include a section of each region of the Muslim world, from West Africa to the Philippines. 

Course Materials:

All course materials and readings will be provided online and free of cost to students. Course materials encompass the following:

• Readings: selected chapters/pages from books (PDF will be made available)
• Video recordings of the classes

Grading Policy:

Course Evaluation and Style:

This course will be taught in a flipped-classroom setting. Students are expected to carefully read the weekly material, take notes, and prepare comments and questions for the instructor and/or other students before class. While the instructor will ensure structure to the class and that the substantive material is discussed during the live session, it is imperative that students participate and contribute to the learning experience— while students only retain roughly 10% from lectures, this figure increases to 50% where students themselves articulate the ideas.

For this reason, students’ live participation and assignments are strongly weighted in the final grades. Grades will be calculated according to the following distribution: 

• Attendance and Participation: 33%
• Book Review 33% 
• Final research paper: 33%

Participation:

Since there is no large exam, students are expected to join in every class discussion. This includes sharing thoughts on the readings or responding to other students. Cameras should be turned on during class to confirm attendance. Anyone who misses a class should turn in a one-page summary of the readings before the next session.

Book Review:

This assignment will be based on a book that we have read in class or one of your choosing after discussing it with the instructor. You will give your opinions on the author’s scholarship, their biases and any other pertinent information found in the text. 

Final research paper:

The final paper will be based on the research conducted for the book review and the reading from class. Students will pick a topic from what we have discussed in class and come up with a thesis to argue. It could be about a specific event, an era of colonial history or about the entire historical period covered in the course. Students should reference at least six books. If possible, students should include some primary sources in their research paper. The papers should be between 8 and 10 pages and will need to be double-spaced, written in Times New Roman, in 12 font size, and referenced with footnotes in the Chicago style.

Attendance:

Please notify the instructor in advance if you need to miss a class. Absences for sickness or travel are handled with understanding, but communication is necessary for planning. Each unexcused absence results in a 5% deduction from the final grade (up to 25% total).

• Academic Integrity: [Statement on academic honesty and consequences for violations]
• Accommodations: [Policy for accommodating students with disabilities or special needs]