Postgraduate Course: Unfolding Afghanistan in a Globalised Context (IMES11119)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course critically examines contemporary Afghanistan, situating its societal features within global dynamics. It explores how key aspects related to areas such as modern political history, culture, religion, gender, transnational migration, and international relations can be understood in relation to global networks of power and influence. Since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, media coverage and political discourse have often reduced Afghanistan to selective aspects of Islam, emphasising radicalism and violence while essentialising local culture. This course challenges such portrayals by offering a more complete and sophisticated understanding of Afghanistan.
Students will engage with critical approaches and develop in-depth knowledge of Afghanistan in a globalised context, examining themes that may include, but are not limited to, the country's modern political history, conflict and post-conflict politics, religiosity, ethnicity, women's rights and masculinities, forced migration and diaspora, and regional relations. The course is highly interdisciplinary and interactive, fostering students' analytical and critical thinking skills through lectures, reading, discussion, active participation, writing, and research. Students are expected to attend each session having engaged with the week's readings and to reflect critically on the discussion questions. |
| Course description |
Marked as one of the most Muslim-majority, conflict-torn countries in the world, Afghanistan is located at the crossroads of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. In this course, students will critically engage with debates about Afghanistan using theoretical concepts including globalisation, transnationalism, and postcolonialism, and will develop in-depth insights into the country's social, cultural, and political structures in relation to global dynamics and influences. The course will incorporate a range of approaches and research across disciplines (e.g. sociology, anthropology, political science, and history). The seminars will be organised thematically to examine topics such as Afghanistan's modern political history (particularly since the 19th century), identity politics (Muslimness and ethnicity), gender and women's rights, forced migration and diaspora, and relations with regional neighbours including Iran in the Middle East.
This course will be delivered through a mix of lectures and student-led discussions based on questions from the readings and seminar materials. The course sources are diverse and interdisciplinary, including critical texts as well as visual materials such as documentaries. It is designed to be highly interactive, emphasising students' critical thinking and analytical engagement through raising questions, participating in discussions, and producing essays and research. Students are expected to attend each session, participate actively in the discussions, and reflect critically on their learning and the weekly reading questions.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 10 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
1,500 word book review (40%)
2,500 word research based essay (60%) |
| Feedback |
- Comments provided by lecturer and peers during discussions and essay outline presentations (formative).
- Comments provided by lecturer the selection of book for review (formative).
- Individual written feedback on the review by marker (summative).
- Individual written feedback on research based essay provided by marker (summative). |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically examine and analyse the major components of Afghanistan's social and political structure.
- Explain and assess the main social, political, and cultural dynamics of contemporary Afghanistan in a globalized context.
- Critically evaluate and engage with arguments and assumptions raised in the readings and other sources of information related to the course themes.
- Critically synthesize and apply theoretical concepts in the study of Afghanistan.
- Apply and support arguments using appropriate theoretical and empirical literature for independent research pertinent to the course topics.
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Reading List
Essential:
Barfield, Thomas J. 2010. Afghanistan: A cultural and Political History, Princeton studies in Muslim politics. Princeton, N.J. ; Princeton University Press.
Jalalzai, Zubeda, and David Jefferess. 2011. Globalizing Afghanistan Terrorism, War, and the Rhetoric of Nation Building, American encounters/global interactions. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Manchanda, Nivi. 2020. Imagining Afghanistan : the History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Seddon, David. 2003. "Imperial Designs: A Deep History of Afghanistan." Critical Asian Studies 35 (2):175-194. doi: 10.1080/1467271032000090107.
Recommended:
Barfield, Thomas J. 2012. "Sharia in Afghanistan." The review of faith & international affairs 10 (4):45-52. doi: 10.1080/15570274.2012.739886.
Centlivres-Demont, Micheline, ed. 2015. Afghanistan: Identity, Society and Politics since 1980, Library of Modern Middle East studies ; 165. London: I.B. Tauris.
Edwards, David B. 2017. Caravan of Martyrs : Sacrifice and Suicide Bombing in Afghanistan. 1st ed. ed. Berkerley: University of California Press.
Heath, Jennifer, and Ashraf Zahedi. 2011. Land of the Unconquerable The Lives of Contemporary Afghan Women. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Manchanda, Nivi. 2018. "The Imperial Sociology of the 'Tribe' in Afghanistan." Millennium 46 (2):165-189. doi: 10.1177/0305829817741267.
Monsutti, Alessandro. 2016. War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan. Translated by Patrick Camiller, Middle East Studies: History, Politics, and law. London: Routledge.
Shahrani, M. Nazif, ed. 2018. Modern Afghanistan: The Impact of 40 Years of War. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
Further Reading and Visual Sources:
Saikal, Amin, Ravan Farhadi, and Kirill Nourzhanov. 2004. Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival. London & New York: I.B.Tauris.
Documentary: Khaja, Nagieb (director). 2013. Mit Afghanistan: livet i den forbudte zone [My Afghanistan: Life in the Forbidden Zone], 87 min. N. Det danske Filminstitut. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
- Critical thinking, analysis and evaluation skills
- Curiosity for learning and engaging with different perspectives and contexts
- Oral and written communication skills
- Independent and reflective learning
- Contribution to class discussions and collaboration with the academic community |
| Keywords | Afghanistan,globalisation,politics,power,social changes,war on terror,conflict,gender |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sayed Mahdi Mosawi
Tel: (0131 6)50 6686
Email: mahdi.mosawi@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Hope Hamilton
Tel: (0131 6)50 4167
Email: hope.hamilton@ed.ac.uk |
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