Vikash Yadav

Hobart & William Smith Colleges

POLS 401-03: Taliban Seminar

Class: M 1:30-4:15 pm
Room: 101 Stern Hall
Office: 110 Stern Hall

Course Description

This junior-senior seminar examines the history, ethos, structure, and politics of the Taliban movement/government and the "Neo-Taliban" insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  We will explore the Taliban's Deobandi intellectual roots and tribal linkages, as well as the anti-traditional/anti-progressive ethos of this group which has articulated a radical vision of an alternate modernity.  The Taliban movement, regime, and insurgency will be placed in the context of broader regional and global struggles for power and influence in South Asia and Central Asia.

Course Format

A seminar is an intense academic experience. This is why these courses are reserved for junior and senior majors in Political Science and International Relations. Students will be expected to immerse themselves in the topic and learn as much as possible over the course of the semester. There is a sharp learning curve at the beginning, so it is best to attack the course with vigor from the outset.

A productive seminar experience is contingent on the formation of a community of scholars. We will engage one another’s thoughts and work critically in order to improve our own understanding of the texts and to make each of our arguments rigorous and forceful. We will treat one another with respect. True respect for a colleague’s work demands that we treat their arguments to critical (but constructive) analysis. Apathy and passivity towards the work of our colleagues is disrespectful.

Participation: Thoughtful participation is the lifeblood of the learning process; learning is not a passive process. Students are required to come to class prepared to discuss all of the assigned readings in an intelligent and critical manner. On days with scheduled presentations, students in the audience are expected to ask critical questions at the end of the talk. Effective participation is contingent on preparation. Even though this class meets only once per week, students are expected to devote at least two to three hours every single day in preparation for the class and conducting research for their term papers. Proper preparation for class sessions entails reading the course material carefully and critically, writing marginal notes in the text (highlighting is not sufficient), and typing or writing out one’s notes after each chapter. All students should come to class armed with the text (or a photocopy) and a typed brief (see below).  Students are expected to take notes at each class session. Students may not bring a laptop computer or other electronic device to class (except for days in which they are making a presentation).

Briefs: All students must come to class each week with at least six pages of typed notes on the reading for that session. Briefs should provide a summary of the thesis and argument for every assigned chapter/article, as well as genuine discussion questions and critical commentary on the text which will be useful to the student in writing their term paper.  Students are expected to properly cite the text in footnotes so that the briefs can serve as notes for their rough draft.  Briefs will be collected at random twice during the semester and graded.  The professor reserves the right to collect additional briefs from a student who is not participating actively or effectively.

Presentations: A pair of students will present a critical analysis and/or defense of the arguments from the assigned readings during the course of the semester. The presentation will be timed at exactly 20 minutes in length plus five to ten minutes for questions from the audience.  Both student presenters must actively and equally participate in the oral presentation. One suggested format is a debate. Students will be graded by the professor partially on the basis of comments provided by their peers.  The criteria for evaluating the presentation are: creativity, professionalism, critical content, and clarity.

Rough Drafts: A ten and twenty page rough draft of the seminar paper must be submitted for evaluation in weeks 9 and 12 respectively.  Rough drafts must be extensively footnoted and properly formatted.  Rough drafts which do not meet the minimum page requirement will be penalized.

Peer Evaluations: Students will be asked to submit a two page constructive critique on the first draft of a colleague’s paper and a three page constructive critique of a colleague’s second draft. A copy of the critique will be distributed to the author and a second copy will be provided to the professor. Students will be expected to modify their research papers in response to comments from the professor and their peer evaluator.  Reviewers are encouraged to focus the majority of their comments on the author’s substantive argument and the quality of evidence presented to support the argument.  A good review will pose and answer the following questions:  Is the thesis clear?  Is the paper’s topic and argument compelling?  Is the logic of the argument transparent and solid?  Is the outline of the rest of the argument apparent in these first ten pages?  What could the author do to improve each of these points?

Seminar Paper: Students are required to write a thirty page original research paper. The topic of the paper, which will be selected in consultation with the professor, must include relevant arguments and issues from all of the required readings in the course.  Students will also be expected to incorporate relevant primary and secondary source materials in their work based on independent research at the library and on-line. The final paper is due on 5/09/2011 at 1:30 pm in hard copy turned into my office at Stern 110.

The value of the assignments and exams in the tabulation of the final course grade will be weighted as follows:

5%           Active and Vigorous Participation in seminar discussions
5%           Research Paper Assignments
                                Initial Research Topic (1 sentence)
                                Initial Research Question (1 sentence)
                                Initial Working Hypothesis (1 sentence)
                                Initial Bibliography (1 page)
                                Initial Research Paper Outline (2 pages)
15%        Formal Co-Presentation (20 minutes)             
20%        2 Briefs (6 pages every week; collected at random)
15%        2 Rough Drafts (10 page; 20 page)  
10%        2 Peer Evaluations (2 page; 3 page)
30%        Seminar Paper (30 pages)

 

Attendance and Participation Policy

Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class session.  Students who come to class late will be counted as absent.  There are no excused absences in this course and students need not explain the reasons for their absences to the professor.  On the second marked absence from class (i.e. the equivalent of two weeks of class time), the student will automatically fail the course.  The only exception to this rule is for NCAA athletes participating in post-season games (these students will be required to submit a 6 page brief for each class session missed).  Students are strongly cautioned to take this attendance policy seriously and to manage their time accordingly.  Exceptions for illnesses and family emergencies beyond the allotted absences will not be granted.

Required Books

The following texts are required for the course.  A copy of each book will also be placed on reserve in the library.  In order to facilitate discussion, please bring a copy of the text (or a photocopy of the relevant chapters) to each class session.

  • Crews, Robert D., and Amin Tarzi. The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008.
  • Edwards, David B. Before Taliban: Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
  • Giustozzi, Antonio. Koran, Kalishnikov, and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
  • Giustozzi, Antonio, ed. Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field. Columbia University Press, 2009.
  • Gul, Imtiaz. The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier. Viking Press, 2010.
  • Sinno, Abdulkader H. Organizations at War in Afghanistan and Beyond. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2008.
  • Rashid, Ahmed. Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. New York: Viking, 2008.
  • Rashid, Ahmed. Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven: Yale Nota Bene, 2001.
  • Zaeef, Abdul Salam. My Life with the Taliban. Columbia University Press, 2010.
  • Zahab, Mariam Abou and Olivier Roy. Islamist Networks: The Afghan-Pakistan Connection. Columbia University Press, 2007.
  • Turabian, Kate L. et al. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 7th Edition. University of Chicago Press, 2007.

 

Office Hours

My walk-in office hours are on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 pm at 110 Stern Hall.  If that time is not convenient, students may schedule an appointment (Tu-Th 9-5) by calling me at my office (315-781-3176).  I also check my e-mail frequently, so feel free to drop a note if you prefer.

Honor Code

Students are expected to adhere to the HWS Principles of Academic Integrity at all times.  If students are aware of a violation of the Principles, they must report the violation to the professor directly.  Violations of the Principles may result in failure of the assignment or failure of the class, depending on the severity of the infraction.

Center for Teaching and Learning

Hobart and William Smith Colleges encourage students to seek the academic collaboration and resources that will enable them to demonstrate their best work. Students who would like to enhance their study skills, writing skills, or have other academic inquiries should contact the CTL. You may visit the CTL web site to learn more about the services and programs that are available. http://www.hws.edu/academics/ctl/index.aspx

Students with Learning Disabilities

If you are a student with a disability for which you may need accommodations, you are required to register with the Coordinator of Disability Services at the CTL and provide documentation of the disability.  Services and accommodations will not be provided until this process is complete. The web site for information pertaining to registration with the CTL and documenting disabilities is: http://www.hws.edu/disabilities

Students with learning disabilities should contact the professor to discuss appropriate accommodations before 1/31/11 (please bring the appropriate forms from the Coordinator of Disability Services at the CTL).

Research Resources

Once a topic is selected an approved, students should begin conducting research and collecting primary and secondary source documents.  The collections of the HWS Library will need to be supplemented with resources obtained via Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and articles from electronic databases and on-line.

HWS Library Databases:

  • JSTOR
  • Lexis/Nexis
  • Project Muse
  • Academic Search Premier

General Internet Portals:

Other Sources:

 

Photo: A U.S. soldier of the 101st Airborne Division takes picture of an Afghan man for identification during a house search with Afghan police in Mandozai, in Khost province, Afghanistan, Friday, April 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)