UTVB3140 The Middle East: History, Society and Islam Course description

The course description was approved 17 February 2020 by the Academic Affairs Committee, Faculty of Education and International Studies.

The Department of International Studies and Interpreting at the Faculty of Education and International Studies, Oslo Metropolitan University, offers interdisciplinary courses in Development Studies and North-South relations, leading to a bachelor’s degree of 180 ECTS credits in Development Studies. This course on “The Middle East: History, Society and Islam” is at the intermediate level and represents a 10 ECTS credits module in the 5th semester of the Bachelor Programme.

The course aims at giving the students a basic but broad understanding of the history of the region, current social, political and economic conditions, and the relevance of Islam in the contemporary Middle East.

The course will be taught in English or Norwegian, depending on needs according to the participants’ language abilities. The exam papers can be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

At the end of the course the student has obtained the following learning outcome:

Knowledge

The students have

• basic knowledge of the history of the Middle East
• insights into current social, political and economic conditions in the region
• an understanding of the basic concepts in the religion of Islam and of religious practices, and the relevance of Islam in contemporary politics in the region
• a basic understanding of the interaction of history, economics, politics and religion in the Middle Ease

Skills

The students will be able to

• reflect on historical change in the Middle East
• theorise on socio-economic development in the Middle East
• reflect on the role of Islam in historical and socio-economic processes
• identify relevant academic literature for further studies and research on the region

General competence

The students will be able to

• use their knowledge about the Middle East and Islam in investigating history, society and religion in other regions
• pursue further academic research on the Middle East and other regions

There will be lectures and discussions. Students are expected to participate actively in discussions. They are asked to present the topic of their term paper, which is part of the exam, for approval. There will be discussions on selected topics on OsloMet’s digital learning platform.

The course description was approved 11.05.17 by the Academic Affairs Committee, Faculty of Education and International Studies. Revised by the Academic Affairs Committee 24.05.18.

The Faculty of Education and International Studies at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) offers interdisciplinary courses leading to a Bacherlor's degree of 180 ECTS credits in Development Studies. This course on is at the intermediate level and represents a 10 ECTS credits module in the 5th semester of the Bachelor programme.

The course will be taught in Norwegian (or in English, depending on needs according to the participants' language abilities). Exam papers can be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

See programme description.

At the end of the course the student has obtained the following learning outcome in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has knowledge of key types of development intervention - including development aid, policy coherence for development; advocacy and transnational activism; and corporate social responsibility
• has knowledge of how the development enterprise, as a field of practice, may be systematically and critically studied

Skills

The student

• has the ability to critically discuss various types of development interventions
• understands the ethical challenges in the field of practice and in the study of this field

General competence

The student

• can identify and make use of relevant literature in discussion of topics in the Field
• can give both written and oral presentations of a topic in the field, based on sound social sciences method

• Lectures on the curriculum. If exchange students attend, lectures will be held in English.
• Seminars, supervised by the responsible teacher, where students, working in groups, discuss given seminar assignments. If exchange students attend the course, seminars will be held in English.
• The course is taught intensively during four weeks. Students are expected to commit themselves to full-time studies.

Stadig flere organisasjoner blir klar over trusler og risiko ved global oppvarming og bærekraftsutfordringer knyttet til arbeid, økonomisk vekst, god helse, utdanning for alle og mindre ulikhet. Samtidig ser mange hvilke muligheter disse utfordringene gir når det gjelder å tenke innovasjon, utvikle nye forretnings- og organisasjonsmodeller, bygge merkevare, bruke teknologi og sikre medarbeiderengasjement og involvering.

De fleste organisasjoner må tenke nytt rundt hvordan de skaper verdi gjennom nettverk og økosystemer, heller enn å fortsette å konkurrere på lavest mulig pris. Denne utviklingen krever at ledere har kunnskap, effektive verktøy og inspirasjon for å lykkes.

I den grad ledere klarer å mobilisere organisasjoner knyttet til bærekraftspørsmål og finne innovative løsninger, vil dette gi langsiktige effekter til gode for både den enkelte ansatte, organisasjonen, bransjen, og samfunnet i en bredere forstand.

Bærekraftig ledelse innebærer således en forståelse for de underliggende verdiene for bærekraft (shared values) og formålsorientert lederskap (purposeful leadership), hva bærekraft er (literacy), systemtenkning, samhandling og nettverksorientering.