SENATE                  

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. ACADEMIC PLANNING .COMMITTEE 

PROGRAM IN AFRICAN/MIDDLE EAST 

STUDI.ES...... 

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9 ......1971 

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MOTION: 

1. "That Senate approve the establishment of a program 

in African/Middle East Studies. 

2. That the program initially consist of a minor in 

African/Middle East Studies requiring 15 credit hours 

in courses at the 300 and 400 level, and 18 credit 

hours at the 100 and 200 level, 9 of which shall be 

in either French or German or Russian; furthermore, 

that if this minor is taken in conjunction with a 

major the upper division courses for the minor shall 

be taken outside the student's major department. 

3. That responsibility for the program rest in the 

Division of General Studies with the organization 

and administration to be as set out in Section 3a of 

Senate paper 424 revised. 

That the implementation date of the program be no 

earlier than September, 1971." 

To ............................... Memb.ers...o.f .... Senate .................... ....... ................... 

.From ....... ... ...... Academic. .P.l.anning... Commit.te.e.................... 

...................... Program ... th ... Afr.ic..ntMidd1.e ... Ea.s.t 

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9.,

1971

Studies 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

1.

That Senate approve the establishment of a program in African/ 

Middle East Studies. 

2.

That the program initially consist of a minor in African/Middle 

East Studies requiring 15 credit hours in courses at the 300 and 

400 level, and 18 credit hours at the 100 and 200 level, 9 of which 

shall 

be in either French or German or Russian; furthermore, that 

if this minor is taken in conjunction with a major the upper division 

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courses for the minor shall be taken outside the student's major 

department. 

3.

That responsibility for the program rest in the Division. of General 

Studies with the organization and administration to be as set out 

in Section 3a of Senate paper 424 revised. 

4.

That the implementation date of the program be no earlier than 

September, 1971. 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

A national need exists to develop a corps of people with an understanding 

of the complex backgrounds of problems relating to Africa and the Middle 

East. The Canadian Government is heavily involved in Africa and the 

Middle East in the area of technical assistance where the needs it can 

attempt to satisfy are enormous. 

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Government involvement overseas is matched by the provision of training 

facilities within Canada. The Columbo Plan has been in operation for 

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almost two decades and on October 31, 1969, no less than 724 persons 

were studying in Canada under its auspices. On the same date, there 

were 64 students from Algeria, Syria, Tunesia, and the United Arab 

Republic, 228 from other French speaking African states and 427 from 

Commonwealth African countries. 

The second rationale creating the national need relates to the commercial 

and industrial needs of Canada. Until Canada develops broad based 

secondary industries, trade will continue to be directed toward 

established industrial areas. However, once secondary industries 

develop, Canada will have to compete in established markets and in the 

potential markets represented by underdeveloped countries. Potential 

markets already exist for two Provincial primary products in Africa 

and the Middle East areas which lack protein and workable soft woods. 

In summary, a continuing national and a potential commercial need exists 

for a body of people trained in a wide variety of discipline relating to 

a thorough understanding of Africa and the Middle East. 

From its inception, Simon Fraser University has enjoyed a clear field 

regarding Africa and the Middle East. No existing University in Canada 

has a concentration of faculty with teaching and research interests 

in these areas nor does any University possess library resources directed 

towards concentration in triese areas. Faculty recruitment at Simon 

Fraser University commenced in 1964 and led to the employment of faculty 

with interests ranging from Africa to the Middle East to India. At 

present, there are 17 faculty interested in the coordination of 

activity regarding Africa and the Middle East. At the present time, 

Simon Fraser University is the only institution in Canada with interests 

in the modern Middle East; it places twice as much emphasis on Africa 

as any other institution in Canada and it is the only University interested 

in linguistics. 

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These interests have developed within departments. The point has now 

been reached whereby, in the interests of faculty and students concerned 

with Africa and the Middle East, emphasis must be placed on an inter- 

disciplinary approach. Both faculty and students are affected equally 

for a person working primarily in one field must be aware of developments 

in numerous other fields and must be able to draw on the knowledge, 

research and advice of others specializing in such fields. 

The objectives of the program proposed are: 

A.

To encourage inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of Africa 

and the Middle East. 

B.

To provide students with a basis for a continuing interest in the 

area of their choice after graduation. 

C.

To facilitate the inter-change of ideas and knowledge between faculty 

and students. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

The program will be implemented no earlier than the fall semester of 1971. The 

nucleus of the program at this stage will consist of the staff 

currently at Simon Fraser University who teach African/Middle East 

content orientated courses, and will include the current course 

offerings relating to Africa and the Middle East (see Appendix 1). 

If student and societal demand prove the viability of this program, 

the establishment of a major in African/Middle East Studies will be 

considered. 

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APPENDIX I 

A. Courses currently taught relating to Africa and the Middle East 

History 

162

Afro-Asia Today 

History 

262

European Intrusion into Afro-Asia in the 19th Century 

History 

291

Africa: ? 

Waning Empires and Emerging Nationalism 

History 

460

The Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, 1774-1922 

History 

465

The Twentieth Century: 

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The Middle East 

History 

466

The Twentieth Century: 

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North Africa 

History 

469

Administration in Tropical Africa: 

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Great Britain 

History 

470

Administration in Tropical Africa: 

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Prance 

History 

474

Regional Studies in Tropical Africa: 

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West Africa 

History 

476

Regional Studies in Tropical Africa: 

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East Africa 

History 

292

Middle East: 

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Waning Empires and Emerging Nationalism 

P.S.A. 

172

Anthropological Concepts 

P.S.A. 

271

Types of Authority in Traditional Societies 

P.S.A. 

274

Traditional Economy and Technology 

P.S.A. 

371

Kinship, Marriage and Property Systems 

P.S.A. 376   

Regional Studies in Anthropology: 

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Africa 

P.S.A. 

466

Problems of Social Change in Developing Societies 

P.S.A. 

476

Types of Conquest and Cultural Fusion 

Archeology 

272

Old World Archeology 

Archeology 

473

Regional Studies in Archeology - Africa 

Economics 455 

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Economic Development (relevant content) 

B. Courses which may be devoted to Africa or the Middle East 

History 493 

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Directed Honours Readings 

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History 494 

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HonoUrs Essay 

C. Courses listed in the Calendar and taught once. 

Geography 464 

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Intertropical Africa (Summer, 1966) 

D. Courses listed in the Calendar but not yet taught. 

Geography 465 

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The Middle East 

History 471 

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Administration in Tropical Africa: Belgium andPortugal 

History 475 

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Regional Studies in Tropical Africa: Central Africa 

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