The American University in Cairo
Political Science 4030: Seminar: Media Depictions of Contemporary Egyptian Politics
Fall 2018 U 5:00- 7:30 Instructor: Dr. Maye Kassem
Office: 2009 HUSS, 1530 Office Hours:
E-mail: [email protected] Course Description
This course offers an in-depth analysis of the nature and dynamics of modern Egyptian politics. In order to familiarize students with post-1952 Egypt, assessments of Egyptian politicswill be made through movie depictions of each regime. Once the trends and general imprints of each eraare established, this course will then focus on the major issues and themes confronting and shaping as a republic and eventually leading to Egypt's post 2011 political arena. Such themes will include but are not limited to the following: The fall of Mubarak regime, the rise of the second republic, and the subsequent parliamentary and presidential elections. This second part of this course will analyze the patterns civil participation, the role of the military, as well as the role of Muslim Brotherhood and their fall from power after the 30th of June.
Course Requirement
Class participation is mandatory. This will not only indicate whether students have done their assigned work, but equally important, it will prove useful in allowing participants to sharpen their analytical skills. Therefore attendance is imperative. As per AUC policy, “a student who misses more than the equivalent of three weeks of class meetings during a semester for any reason may be assigned a reduced grade for the course — including the grade of “F” — solely on the basis of inadequate attendance, regardless of excuse... Students are personally responsible for making up any academic tasks and assignments missed due to their absence.”There are no exceptions to this rule.
Course Format
Students are expected to present a 10 to 15-minute presentation pertaining a topic of their choice based on the course subject matter. A midterm exam will be held in class and students will be expected to answer an essay question from a choice presented in the exam. The same applies to the final exam that will be held according to the university schedule. Two reflection papers of 1,500 words addressing two assigned movies to be watched at home will also be submitted on an assigned date, the topic of the reflection papers can be derived from a topic of your choice.
Grade Distribution
Participation 10%
Presentation 10%
Reflection Papers 20%
Midterm Exam 30%
Course Grading:
Please note that the course is based on the following grading system:
A Category (A, A-) 100-90%
B Category (B+, B, B-) 89-80%
C Category (C+, C, C-) 79-70%
D Category 69-60%
F Category 59 and Below
POLS 4030 Reading List*
Unit 1: Egypt Under Nasser September 9: El Karnak
September 16: Discussion Session Required Readings:
• Gamal ‘Abd al-Nasser Iconology, Ideology and Demonology by Leonard Binder
• Nasserism’s Legal Legacy: Accessibility, Accountability, andAuthoritarianism by Nathan J. Brown
• Nasser and Nasserism as Perceived in Modern Egyptian
Literaturethrough Allusions to Songs by Gabriel M. Rosenbaum
• Nasser and Nasserismby Peter Mansfield Unit 2: Egypt Under Sadat
September 23: Zawgot Ragol Mohim September 30: Discussion Session Required Readings:
• Egypt under Sadat: Elites, Power Structure, and Political Change in a Post-Populist State Author(s): Raymond A. Hinnebusch
• Peace Before Freedom: Diplomacy and Repression in Sadat's Egypt by Jason Brownlee
• Egypt after Nasser by Peter Mansfield
October 7: Midterm (Abstracts due) Unit 3: Egypt Under Mubarak October 14: Al Abwab Al Moghlaka October 21: Omaret Yacoubian
October 28: Discussion Session
Required Readings:
• The Politics of Laughter: Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarek in Egyptian Political Jokes Author(s): Samer S. Shehata
• Egypt under Mubarak by Banerji, A.K
• Evaluating Egyptian Reform by Michelle Dunne
• In the Guise of Democracy (Chapter 1: Patronage in Controlled Democracies) by Maye Kassem
• In the Guise of Democracy (Chapter 3: Political Parties) by Maye Kassem
• The Muslim Brotherhood: The Organization and Policies of a Global Islamist Movement (Chapter 3: The Muslim Brothers in Egypt) by Ana Soage and Jorge Franganillo (2010)
• In the Guise of Democracy (Chapter 4: The Islamists) by Maye Kassem
Unit 4: 2011 Revolution and Aftermath
November 4: Documentary: Peaceful #Jan 25 November 11: Discussion Session
Required Readings:
• Timeline: Egypt’s Revolution (2011)
• Analysis: Egypt Revolution Chips Away at Sadat’s Legacy by Jonathon Wright (2011)
• Egypt’s Uncertain Revolution by Brian Katulis (2011)
• (Revolutionary Movements): Muslim Brotherhood, National Association for Change, Revolutionary Youth Coalition, April 6th Youth Movement, Kifaya, “We Are All Khaled Saeed” Facebook Page) Carnegie Endowment (2011)
• The Brotherhood’s Dilemma by Marc Lynch
• The Egyptian Elections: Why the Islamists Won by Samuel Tadros (2012)
• The Rise and Fall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood by Khalil Al-Anani
• The Idea of the Civil State in Egypt: Its Evolution and Political Impact following the 2011 Revolution by Limor Lavie
Unit 5: Egypt Under Sisi
November 18: Movie Eshtebak November 25: Discussion Session
Required Readings:
• The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Failures by Ashraf El- Sherif
• Grading Egypt’s Roadmap Toward Democracy by Nathan J. Brown (2013)
• Al-Sisi’s Job will be Harder Than Nasser’s by Alexey Malashenko (2014)
• The Sisi Doctrine by Michael Wahid Hanna (2014)
• Egypt One Year after Morsi’s Ouster by Lisa Wantanabe (2014)
• Egypt’s Failed Transition by Nathan J. Brown
December 2: Presentations
December 9: Concluding Remarks and Review December 16: Final Exam
Important Dates and Deadlines:
Midterm: October 7, 2018 Abstract: October 7, 2018
Reflection 1: September 28, 2018 Reflection 2: December 2, 2018 Presentation: December 2, 2018 Final Exam: December 16, 2018
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY AND PLAGIARISM
Students are expected to commit to the principles of academic integrity.
Academic integrity includes a commitment to not engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty include cheating or copying, plagiarizing, submitting another persons' work as one's own, using Internet or other sources without citation, fabricating field data or citations, stealing examinations, tampering with the academic work of another student, facilitating other students' acts of academic dishonesty, etc.
Plagiarism for assignments and/or reports may result in a zero grade for the assignment and/or the report in question. Cheating during an examination may result in a zero grade for this examination. Further action, according to university regulations, would also be implemented.
You should be aware that all written work might be submitted to
“Turnitin.com”, the detection prevention software. By signing this syllabus, you will acknowledge that you have understood that any detected plagiarism will have to be reported.
The University's statement on academic integrity, from which the above statement is drawn, is available at
http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/integrity/Pages/default.aspx
I have read the Syllabus and I understand the requirements for this course.
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