Comprehensive Exams
The oral comprehensive examination is designed to provide a cross-disciplinary
conclusion to the student's course work and total educational experience in the
program. Students who reach the stage of the comprehensive examination have already
demonstrated mastery of the content of a series of individual courses by passing
their respective examinations; the comprehensive examination is not intended to
duplicate that process. Rather, the oral comprehensive examination is a vehicle
by which the student has the opportunity to demonstrate his or her ability to draw
upon and synthesize knowledge across the various disciplines.
A list of 8-10 themes for each concentration is listed below. These themes should
be a guide for students in preparing for the comprehensive exams. In addition to
the listed themes, examiners may also draw from course material.
Format
The examination is administered by three Arab Studies professors (two of them
specializing in the student's concentration), selected by the Program Director.
At least two of these professors are typically selected from among those with whom
the student has studied. Normally, each professor asks the student one broad question
(with corollary questions). The examination lasts approximately one hour. The student's
performance is rated as Pass with Distinction, High Pass, Pass, or Fail. High Pass,
Pass and Fail are determined by majority vote; Distinction is awarded with unanimity
only, and only to students who have maintained a minimum grade average of B+ in
the MAAS program.
A student who does not pass the oral comprehensive examination is permitted one
retake only. It is advisable not to rush into a retake. Ample time to remedy whatever
deficiencies the examiners observed should be allowed. In no instance is a retake
administered less than one month after the initial examination.
Concentration Themes
Culture & Society
Theories on identity in the Arab world.
Nationalist projects and ideologies and the role of Arab culture and society in their development.
The role of modernity and tradition in contemporary Arab culture and society
Shared and unique characteristics of modern Arab society
Role of family and community in contemporary Arab society
Globalization and Arab culture and society
Cultural production and modern trends (literature, music, film, etc.)
Power and resistance – theories, applications, examples, analysis
Gender in contemporary Arab society
Economics
The Origin of state intervention in the economy
Dynamics of economic growth and policy reform
Population growth and labor market outcomes
Poverty, inequality and social safety nets
Doing business and the investment climate
Regional integration and the world economy
The nature of state-business relations
Oil markets and national oil companies
The political economy of policy reform
Political Economy of the ME (oil, rentierism, development, economic liberalization, globalization, labor migration, etc...)
History
Patterns in the political, economic, social and intellectual development of the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire, 18th-19th centuries.
The Arab historiographical tradition.
Colonialism and issues of identity: North Africa and the Arab East
Nationalism and nationalist movements: issues of class and gender
Islamic movements, from the Wahhabis to the Muslim Brotherhood(s)
Women and gender: major trends in family and society in the 19th and 20th centuries
Independent nation-states: institution building in North Africa, Egypt, the Arab East, and the Gulf
Imperialism: 19th to 21st century empires and the Arab World
Arab Culture and Society in historical perspective: the development of social and cultural practices in the 19th and 20th centuries
Culture and representation: ideology, power, and identity in modern Arab history
Politics
Islam and politics and the rise of Islamist movements
Authoritarianism & authoritarian states and their dynamics
Nationalisms and identity politics in the ME
US foreign policy toward the ME
Political Economy of the ME (oil, rentierism, development, economic liberalization, globalization, labor migration, etc...)
ME as a regional political system (IR of the ME)
Arab-Israeli conflict
Women & Gender
Women, colonialism, and Empire (Algeria, Egypt, Syria)
Women and nationalism, past and present (Egypt, Palestine, Syria)
The rise of feminism (Egypt and Palestine)
Women and resistance ( Palestine and Algeria)
Women and war narratives (Lebanon)
Women and education (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Libya)
Suffrage (Egypt, Lebanon and Kuwait)
Women's health (Egypt and Sudan)
The veil in modern societies (Morocco, Egypt and Tunis)
Women in Islamic law and religious text (include Islamic feminism)
Women and social work (Qatar and Bahrain)
