With the current political turmoil and upheaval occurring throughout the Middle East, students may be looking for information about what is happening there and why. At St. Edward’s University, there was a class for that.
Associate Professor of Humanities Richard Bautch has taught a course entitled “The Middle East: Regimes and Reform Movements” at St. Edward’s for two spring semesters, and he hopes the course helped students better understand the circumstances in the Middle East.
The course discusses current economic, cultural and political issues in select countries in the Middle East including Egypt, Syria, Iran and Morocco. Bautch’s curriculum allows students to discuss the complex interactions between the regimes and the reforms, as well as the role of the global political, economic and cultural forces present in the region.
One such topic was that of the unique political and cultural situations in Egypt before the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and former President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak’s subsequent resignation after a 30-year reign. Egypt is currently under interim military rule following the end of Mubarak’s tenure.
The class also discussed a referendum created in 2005 that would have allowed citizens of Egypt to directly elect their officials. The referendum did not pass because it called to limit the variety of candidates and thus made the proposed direct election ineffective. Students talked about the new spirit of change that this referendum inspired, as well as the roles women play in modern Egypt.
In the spring 2010, St. Edward’s alumna Kadie Rackley wrote an article entitled “The Impact of Personal Status Laws on the Women’s Movement in Egypt.” In the article, Rackley discusses a strong tradition of independence among Egyptian women that became an example for others living in Middle Eastern countries. She examined movements that would eventually become the undercurrent for today’s news.
Students examined the dissemination of democratic notions through a project that sought to revisit the Alexandria Statement. In 2004, 165 civil society leaders and government officials from 18 Arab countries organized themselves at Egypt’s Alexandria Library to deliberate on the reforms needed to help Arab countries grow.
The goal was to identify measures required in undertaking a democratic endeavor. Students represented the countries of Iran, Israel, The Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Syria and held a mock reenactment of the Alexandria Statement. Students examined region-appropriate values and political leanings unique to each Middle Eastern country.
The class was not offered this spring, but Bautch said he hopes to continue teaching the class in the future.
“For the past two years, our course about the Middle East has focused on the type of change that is now sweeping that region,” Bautch said. “As a result, the students know not only what is happening, but most importantly, they know why it is happening as it is.”
