This course focusses on factors and processes of continuity and change connected to the demise of the Ottoman Empire and the formation of modern nation-states after WWI.
At the end of classes, students are expected to show a thorough understanding of major historical events and processes; analyze factors and actors; identify cause-effect relationships, with a particular focus on the direct and indirect consequences of WWI in the region.
Students are expected to show critical engagement with reading materials, primary sources, diverging opinions. Students are also expected to show the abiity at personal elaboration with appropriate vocabulary.
Course Prerequisites
A solid knowledge of world geography and modern history is definitely required in order to engage with this course. The use of a good world atlas and/or digital map collections is warmly suggested.
Teaching Methods
This course promotes a strong interactivity in the classroom, through the individual or group presentation of the readings that are listed on the Kiro platform.
Assessment Methods
Oral exam based on the assessment of comprehension, critical thinking, and communication abilities through open-ended and follow-up questions. The instructor is available for further explanation of the assessment method.
Texts
All students are required to read the following materials (in Italian):
1. Oğuz, Çiğdem (ed.). Storia dell'Impero ottomano e della Repubblica turca. Brescia: Morcelliana, 2023, pp. 41–93, 145–332.
2. Di Peri, Rosita; Mazzucotelli, Francesco. Guida alla politica mediorientale. Milano: Mondadori Università, 2021, pp. 1–42, 49–66, 101–107, 116–131.
3. McMeekin, Sean. Il crollo dell'Impero ottomano. La guerra, la rivoluzione e la nascita del moderno Medio Oriente. 1908–1923. Torino: Einaudi, 2017, pp. VII–X, 3–93, 480–492.
Contents
This course offers a historical study of Western Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean in a global history methodological approach. In particular, this course will show are many current regional conflicts are rooted in the disgregation of the Ottoman imperial model within the context of colonialism, incomplete decolonization, and the Cold war.
This course is divided into ten major units, each of them approximately corresponding to one week of classes. 1. Methodology and sources. From the Abbasid Caliphate to the Ottoman Empire. 2. The Ottoman Empire and its institutions. 3. Transitions and reforms in the Ottoman Empire. 4. From the Treaty of Berlin to the Balkan Wars. 5. The First World War. 6. The Treaty of Sèvres and its effects. 7. The formation of the Turkish republican state. 8. Kemalist Türkiye. 9. Türkiye during the Cold War. 10. Türkiye today.
Course Language
Italian
More information
Further sources and/or suggestions will be presented in class.
