Ottoman and Middle East History

Final Paper
Assignment – Option A
In this course, we have considered
several different ways of grouping the peoples of the Middle East over the long
nineteenth century: by socioeconomic status (class), by gender, by religion,
and perhaps even by language and national culture. Your assignment is to
determine which of these groupings explains the transformations of the period
the best. Is the long nineteenth century a story of major changes in how men
and women interacted with one another? Do differences between the laborers, the
merchants, and the landholders explain it better? Perhaps religious differences
became paramount instead, or maybe differences in national culture and
language. It is your call, so long as you support your position with evidence.
In a
paper of three to five pages, you should answer the following three
questions.
1.
Which major social grouping, from the ones given
above, explains historical change the best?
2.
What role does geography play in producing
different outcomes for people of the same grouping?
3.
What historical event(s) changed daily life the
most in the period of 1789 to 1923?
Start your paper by formulating your response to each
question. Review the course readings for supporting examples – peoples, events,
and socioeconomic trends that you have read about during the semester. Be as
detailed as the sources allow you to be. You do not do outside research for
this paper. If there is an outside source you wish to draw on, please consult
with the professor first.
Start your introduction with your answer to the following
two questions: A) what makes the nineteenth century long? In other words, why
does it start in 1789 and end in 1923, instead of running from 1800 through
1899? B) what relevance does the nineteenth century have for the twenty-first?
In your conclusion, offer your thoughts on why this
historical period might be important to one of the following groups: a)
American high school sophomores, b) doctors who work in the New York City
metropolitan area, c) the residents of an assisted living center for the
elderly, d) an American celebrity of your own choosing.
Citations should take the form of Chicago style
footnotes.
Your final paper should be between three and five pages
long. No more, no less.

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