HIST 242 Final, Fall 2007

History 242 Fall 2007-08 FINAL EXAM To complete this exam, you must answer THREE short answer questions and TWO long answer questions. You will have three hours to complete this exam, which will count for 30% of your final course grade. Make sure to “ground” your answers by identifying when (time period - e.g., early 1800s, 1940s, 1920s-1950s) an event/development occurred; who was involved (e.g., King X, Sultan Y, peasants in Egypt, artisans in Ottoman Syria); where it took place, what the event/development was, and why it happened (or what consequences it had, depending on the particular question). Before you hand in your exam, give your answers one final read. Do your sentences flow? Have you clearly explained the terms you use? Do you provide historical examples to support your explanations? SHORT ANSWER SECTION Answer THREE of the following questions (20-30 minutes for each question). 1. Sherry Vatter’s article on journeymen (apprentice textile workers and weavers) in 19th century Damascus looked at the way in which they challenged the guild system when it stopped functioning in a way that protected them. What happened – how had the guild system changed, and why; and how did journeymen stand up for their rights? Were they effective? What larger conclusion does Vatter draw from this about the development of working class consciousness? 2. The Gulf states are often described as rentier states. Explain what this means, and how it differs from the “regular” state model. Describe how a dependency on rent has affected the development of the Gulf states in terms of their relationships with their citizens, the development of modern infrastructures, the creation of “welfare” systems, and their relationship with non-citizens. (Use examples.) How have these states tried to deal with the “natural resource curse” by diversifying their economies? What diversification programs have worked, and what have been unsuccessful? 3. According to Sami Zubaida, the role of music and musicians in Baghdad society changed considerably during the first half of the 20th century. Describe how music was experienced in the early 1900s, in terms of how Baghdadis heard music (how often, where/performance context), who heard it (men or women, wealthy or poor), and discuss the status of musicians in society (how were they paid? How were they viewed by non-musicians? Any religious, ethnic, and/or gender distinctions?). Contrast this with how music was experienced and how musicians were viewed by the 1950s. 4. Starting in the late 1700s, Ottoman intellectuals, sultans and government bureaucrats began to see France as a model for the Ottoman Empire to follow. Explain why these men all found France an appealing model, in terms of military strength and national identity (how did the French model influence the government’s decision to promote “Ottomanism”?), as well as the training of the Ottomans’ officer class. 5. One of the first acts of the Free Officers’ government in Egypt was to institute a process of land reform. Describe the situation of land ownership in Egypt before land reform, and what the reform process was intended to achieve. Explain how the land reform program was designed, including what limits were established, how the process worked, and what supporting social and economic structures the government created to assist new landowners. How successful was the land reform – after ten years? After twenty? LONG ANSWER SECTION Answer TWO of the following questions (30-45 minutes for each question). 1. One of the long-running tensions of the twentieth century in the Middle East & North Africa (and other colonized/newly independent regions) has been whether particular groups within a country should put the national cause above working for their own interests. The two primary examples of this tension are workers’ movements and women’s groups. Using specific examples from readings and lectures, explain how these groups dealt with conflicting pulls of national and group loyalty and assess how well their status and living/working conditions improved as a result of their decision to prioritize one cause over the other. 2. Shortly after Lebanon became independent, its government established an economic model for the country that Carolyn Gates calls the “merchant republic”. Define and analyze the characteristics of this model. Explain how this model capitalized on Lebanon’s unique strengths, and who benefited from this model. Analyze the model: what weaknesses did it have, and how did these start to become visible by the late 1960s? Could the merchant republic model have been sustainable in the long term? If so, what modifications might have made it more likely to succeed? 3. The era of Tanzimat reforms stretched from 1839 to 1876. Put the Tanzimat reforms in context by explaining what prompted the Ottoman government to begin these reforms. The Tanzimat reforms can be broadly divided into two categories: reform of the Ottoman Empire’s social/religious/political hierarchies and land reform. Define and give examples of both categories. Why were the reforms concerned with hierarchy and land? Explain what the government hoped to accomplish with these reforms in terms of strengthening the Ottoman state. Analyze the impact and results of these reforms. Did they strengthen the Ottoman state? Why or why not?