The Maghreb: Contemporary History and Politics of North Africa

The Maghreb: Contemporary History and Politics of North Africa

Dr. Daniel Zisenwine

Course Description:
This course is will introduce students to key events in modern North African history and developments that affected the region's Jewish communities. The course highlights ongoing security and political issues that affect North Africa, and an appraisal of the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Libya.
The course will focus on political developments that have shaped events in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia during the 20th and early 21st century (colonialism, nationalism, and the rise of radical Islamist movements), The recent uprisings in the Maghrib (Tunisia, Libya) and the impact of these events on the region's contemporary politics will also be discussed.
Drawing from a broad range of historical and political approaches, this course provides students with a comparative perspective on regional North African developments that can be applied to the study of other Arab settings and offers perspectives on the study of North Africa's modern Jewish history.
 

Class Format
This course uses a lecture and discussion format. Learning as a dynamic process in which the student and teacher interact over the material under discussion. You will learn best by asking questions; all questions are welcome and, if they are of interest to the class as a whole, we will stop and discuss them together.
 

Course Requirements
Attendance and Participation (16%):
Students must attend every class session prepared to participate.
The course participation grade serves as an in-class oral examination extended throughout the semester. Informed and thoughtful participation is critical for the course and will be noted. To achieve the maximum participation score, students should attend class regularly, prepare the readings for each class, contribute to the discussion, and be respectful and responsive to other students.
In-Class Presentation (10%): A 20 minute presentation on one of the selected readings (to be assigned by the teacher), outlining the main points and possible critique of the text.
Mid Term Take Home Exam (19%)
This will be a short paper with four questions (students will be required to answer two) from the readings that will serve as a prompt for students to write a paper that argues a general point, backed up with evidence from the readings. This paper will be due in the middle of the semester, and cover the early readings of the course (primarily the historical background to contemporary North Africa).
Final Research Paper (6-10 pages) (55%): on a course related topic of the student's choosing. Each student must submit a paper proposal which must be approved by the instructor. Suggested topics/themes will be distributed by the instructor. Paper proposals should be submitted for approval by the 5th week of the semester.
 

Grading Policy:
-No student can pass the course without completing all of the assignments.
-Students are responsible for retaining a copy of their papers until they have received a grade.
Reading Assignments:
There are several assigned textbooks which will be used for this course. The selections from these books, along with other required readings will be posted online:
Susan Gilson Miller, A History of Modern Morocco, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013
ISBN 978-0-52100899-0
Kenneth Perkins, A History of Modern Tunisia, 2nd Edition, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014
ISBN 978-1-10765473-0
John Ruedy, Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation, 2nd Edition, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005
ISBN 978-0-253-21782-0
Dirk Vandewalle, A History of Modern Libya, 2nd Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
For supplemental reading and research, there are multiple scholarly journals which focus on North Africa. The leading one is the Journal of North African Studies.
The supplementary readings are intended to help students interested in various topics learn more about them and use them as sources for papers.
 

Course Schedule:
Week 1: Introduction: The Maghreb-"Unit of Analysis"; Studying North Africa's Jewish Communities: Background
L. Carl Brown, "Maghrib Historiography: The Unit of Analysis Problem", The Maghrib in Question: Essays in History and Historiography (eds. Michel Le Gall and Kenneth Perkins), Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1997, pp. 4-16.
Susan Gilson Miller, A History of Modern Morocco, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013, pp. 1-6.
Daniel J. Schroeter, "On the Origins and Identity of Indigenous North African Jews", North African Mosiac: A Cultural Reappraisal of Ethnic and Religious Minorities (eds. Nabil Boudraa and Joseph Krause),, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007, pp. 164-177.
Daniel J. Schroeter, "From Sephardi to 'Oriental': The "Decline" Theory of Jewish Civilization in the Middle East and North Africa", The Jewish Contribution to Civilization: Reassessing an Idea (eds. Richard Cohen and Jeremy Cohen), Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2007, pp. 125-148.
North Africa at the Dawn of the Colonial Era:
John Ruedy, Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992, pp. 16-44.
Dirk Vandewalle, A History of Modern Libya, 2nd Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, Ch. 1.
 

Weeks 2-3: The Conquest of Algeria; The Tunisian and Moroccan Protectorates:
Ruedy, pp. 45-79; 80-113.
Kenneth J. Perkins, A History of Modern Tunisia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. 10-38; 39-72.
Miller, Ch. 1, pp. 7-27; Ch. 2, 28-56.
Miller, Ch. 3, pp. 56-87; Ch. 4, pp. 88-119.
Supplementary Readings:
Susan Slymovics and Sarah Abrevaya, "Jews and French Colonialism in Algeria: An Introduction", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 17 No. 5 (2012), pp, 749-755.
Fredrick Cooper, Colonialism in Question: Theory, Knowledge, History, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2005, pp. 3-32; 153-203.
Colonial Libya:
Dirk Vandewalle, A History of Modern Libya, 2nd Edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, Ch. 1,2.
 

Weeks 4-5: Anti Colonialism and Nationalism in Algeria and Tunisia
The Rise of Algerian Nationalism:
Ruedy, pp. 80-113; 114-155.
Joshua Schreier, Arabs of the Jewish Faith: The Civilizing Mission in Colonial Algeria, Rutgers University Press, 201, , pp. 1-22; 56-85.
Optional Film: The Battle for Algiers
Tunisia: Perkins, pp. 73-104; 105-129
Faycal Cherif, "Jewish Muslim Relations in Tunisia during World War II: Propaganda, Stereotypes, and Attitudes, 1939-1943", Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa, (eds. Emily B. Gottreich and Daniel J. Schoreter, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011, pp. 305-320.
Paper proposals due at the end of week 5.
 

Week 6: Moroccan Nationalism and its impact on the Moroccan Jewish Community
Miller, Ch. 5, pp. 120-161.
Daniel J. Schroeter and Joseph Chetrit, "Emancipation and Its Discontents: Jews at the Formative Period of Colonial Rule in Morocco", Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 13 No. 1 (2006), pp. 170-206.
Susan Miller, "The Mellah of Fez: Reflections on the Spatial Turn in Moroccan Jewish History", Jewish Topographies: Visions of Space, Tradition, and Place (eds. A. Nocke, J.Baruch, A. Lipphardt), London: Ashgate, 2008.
Jamma Baida, "The Emigration of Moroccan Jews, 1948-1956", Jewish Culture and Society in North Africa, (eds. Emily B. Gottreich and Daniel J. Schoreter, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2011, pp. 321-333.
 

Week 7: Political, Social, and Economic Challenges in the late 20th Century Maghrib I
Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya:
Perkins, pp. 130-156; 157-184.
Miller, Ch. 6, pp. 162-186.
Vandewalle, Chapters 3,4.
 

Week 8: Political, Social, and Economic Difficulties in the Late 20th Century Maghrib II
Algeria and the Rise of Radical Islam
Ruedy, pp. 195-230; 231-256.
William B. Quandt, Between Ballots and Bullets: Algeria's Transition from Authoritarianism, Washington: Brookings Institution Press, 1998, pp. 83-124.
Luis Martinez, The Algerian Civil War 1990-1998 (tr. Jonathan Derrick), London: Hurst, 2000, pp. 1-20
Supplementary Readings:
James McDougall, "Savage Wars? Codes of Violence in Algeria 1830-1990", Third World Quarterly, Vol. 26 No. 1 (2005), pp. 117-131.
Luis Martinez, "The Distinctive Development of Islamist Violence in Algeria", The Enigma of Islamist Violence (eds. Amelie Blom, Laetitia Bucaille, Luis Martinez), New York: Columbia University Press, 2007, pp. 121-135.
 

Week 9: Morocco: Political and Social Challenges in the Early 21st Century:
Miller, Ch. 7, pp. 187-213; Ch. 8, pp. 214-220; Ch. 9, pp. 221-236.
Aomar Boum, Memories of Absence: How Muslims Remember Jews in Morocco, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013, pp. 109-131
Libya in the Qaddafi Era
Vandewalle, Chapters 5,6,7.
Supplementary Readings:
Reconsidering Islamist Politics in Morocco
Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, "Islamism, Moroccan-Style: The Ideas of Sheikh Yassine", Middle East Quarterly, Vol. X No. 1 (Winter, 2003), pp. 43-51.
Avi Max Spiegel, Young Islam: The New Politics of Religion in Morocco and the Arab World, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015, pp. 1-18; 193-198.
The Western Sahara Crisis:
Stephen Zunes and Jacob Mundy, Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Resolution, Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2011, Ch. 7, 8
Jacob Mundy, "Performing the Nation, Pre-Figuring the State: The Western Saharan Refugees, Thirty Years Later", Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 45 No. 2 (June 2007), pp. 275-297.
 

Week 10: "The Arab Spring": Revolutions in Tunisia and Libya, Constitutional Reform in Morocco, Protests in Algeria:
The Ben ‘Ali Regime in Tunisia 1987-2011
Perkins, pp. 185-212.
Mehdi Mabrouk, "A Revolution for Dignity and Freedom: Preliminary Observations on the Social and Cultural Background to the Tunisian Revolution", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4 (2011), pp. pp. 632-635.
Driss Maghraoui, "Constitutional Reforms in Morocco: Between Consensus and Subaltern Politics", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4 (2011), pp. pp. 679-699.
Dirk Vandewalle, "Libya's Uncertain Revolution", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn), London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.17-30
Supplementary Readings:
Michael Collins Dunn, "The Al-Nahda Movement in Tunisia: From Renaissance to Revolution", Islamism and Secularism in North Africa (ed. John Ruedy), London: Macmillan, 1994, pp. 149-165.
Clement Henry, "Tunisia 'Sweet Little' Regime", Worst of the Worst: Dealing with Repressive and Rogue Nations (ed. Robert Rotberg), Brookings Institution, 2007.
Francesco Cavatorta and Rikke Hostrup Haugbolle, "The End of Authoritarian Rule and the Mythology of Tunisia under Ben Ali", Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 16 No. 3 (2011), pp. 435-441.
George Joffe', "The Arab Spring in North Africa: Origins and Prospects", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4 (2011), pp. 507-532.
Irene Fernandez-Molina, "The Monarchy vs. the 20 February Protest Movement: Who Holds the Reins of Political Change in Morocco", Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 16 No. 3 (2011), pp. 435-441.
John P. Entelis, "Algeria: Democracy Denied, and Revived", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4 (2011), pp. pp. 653-678.
Lisa Anderson, "Authoritarian Legacies and Regime Change: Towards Understanding Political Transition in the Arab World", The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World (ed. Fawaz A. Gerges), New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014, pp. 41-59.
Tunisia's Post Revolutionary Transition
Andrea G. Brody-Barre, "The Impact of Political Parties and Coalition Building on Tunisia's Democratic Future", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 13 No. 2 (2013), pp. 211-230.
Duncan Pickard, "Prospects for Implementing Democracy in Tunisia", Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 19 No. 2 (2014), pp. 259-264.
Raphael Lefevre, "Tunisia: A Fragile Political Transition", Journal of North African Studies, Vol. 20 No. 2 (2015), pp. 307-311.
Francesco Cavatorta, "No Democratic Change…and Yet No Authoritarian Continuity: The Inter-Paradigm Debate and North Africa after the Uprisings", British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 42 No. 1 (2015), pp. 135-147.
Libya: The Revolution and Its Aftermath
Frederic Wehrey, "NATO's Intervention", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn), London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.105-126.
Ian Martin, "The United Nation's Role in the First Year of the Transition", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn),London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.127-152.
Peter Bartu, "The Corridor of Uncertainty: The National Transitional Council's Battle for Legitimacy and Recognition", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn), London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.31-54
Sean Kane, "Barqa Reborn? Eastern Regionalism and Libya's Political Transition", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn), London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.205-228
Mary Fitzgerald, "Finding Their Place: Libya's Islamists During and After the Revolution", The Libyan Revolution and Its Aftermath (eds. Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn), London: Hurst and Co., 2015, pp.177-204.