TAR423

School of Humanities \ History

3

6

Elective

Turkish

-

History department; all departments

This course examines the Ottoman expansion in the Balkans, starting from the period under Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian rule, covering the institutions and Balkan nationalisms, using both a chronological and thematic method.

Mark Mazower, The Balkans: a short history, New York: The Modern Library, 2002. Dimitris Stamatopoulos (ed.), Balkan Nationalism(s) and the Ottoman Empire, Istanbul: The Isis Press, 2015. (3 volumes) Halil İnalcık, Tanzimat ve Bulgar Meselesi, Istanbul: Kronik, 2017.

This course aims to introduce students to the developments and important debates in Balkan history from the late Middle Ages to the period when Balkan nationalisms led to statehood, as well as to acquire the skills to analyze primary sources of Balkan history from an analytical and comparative perspective.

1. Students who successfully complete this course will have a basic background on the main events, topics and specific debates in historiography in the relevant period in Balkan history.
2. At the same time, they will have acquired the skills to conduct independent research on primary sources of Balkan historiography and to participate in discussions on these sources as moderators and discussants.

Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Week 2: Imagining the Balkans
Week 3: The Balkans under Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian rule
Week 4: Ottoman Expansion in the Balkans
Week 5: The Issue of Islamization
Week 6: The Institutionalization of the Orthodox Church
Week 7: The Rise of the Merchants, Midterm Exam
Week 8: Balkan Nationalisms: Theories
Week 9: Greek Nationalism
Week 10: Bulgarian Nationalism
Week 11: Serbian Nationalism
Week 12: General Assessment

• Participation 10 %
• Homework 10 %
• Presentation 20 %
• Midterm Exam 20 %
• Final 40 %