Curriculum and Courses for the Northwestern Summer Program at BILGI (Istanbul): The study program “Turkey and The Eastern Mediterranean World: Civilizations, Societies, Cultures” offers two credit courses on these societies and cultures by leading scholars in the field combined with study tours in Istanbul and its environs.
HISTORY 391: City and Civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean
World: This course examines the major historical civilizations
of the eastern Mediterranean world with Istanbul, the city par
excellence of this region, as its focal point, looking
in depth at their cultural, social and political institutions
with a combination of lectures and study tours in Istanbul,
Bursa and its environs, and Edirne (Adrianople) and the historic
town of Safranbolu. The course begins with an examination of
continuities and change in the transition from Late Roman society
to the establishment of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople.
The rise, fluorescence and expansion of Muslim Turkic tribal
societies in Anatolia and the Balkans is then discussed. The
Muslim conquest of Istanbul and continuities and change in Ottoman
social and cultural institutions in the former Byzantine capital
are considered. The tensions between Turkic nomadic traditions
and the sedentary Byzantine, Persian and Arab political and
cultural institutions adopted by the Ottomans are examined.
Ottoman society and culture provide major points of concentration
in the course from the zenith of the Ottoman Empire as a hegemonic
world power in the 16 th century to its demise in the early
20 th under the impact of the western powers. Never colonized,
yet clearly under the increasing influence of the West, Ottoman
society provides a fascinating locus for understanding the interchange
between Islamic and Christian European societies. Modern day
Turkish society and culture are examined as they reflect the
syntheses and tensions between Islamic and (Christian) European
institutions and cultural traditions. Late Roman, Byzantine,
Ottoman and Turkish republican art and architecture are viewed
throughout the course in the context of the dense, multilayered
history of Istanbul and its hinterlands. Lectures in
Istanbul are accompanied by study tours to Roman, Byzantine,
Ottoman and contemporary Turkish sites pertaining to the lectures.
A full-day study tour to Bursa, the first Ottoman capital, south
of the Sea of Marmara provides insights into the transition
to Ottoman society and culture and a perspective on a historically
important and dynamic provincial city. A day trip to Edirne
(ancient Adrianople), located at the Bulgarian border and the
second Ottoman capital, provides interesting insights into the
interface of city life from ancient to modern times as well
as an opportunity to see some of the most famous Ottoman of
architecture. An overnight trip to the town of Safranbolu, 395
kilometers west of Istanbul and famous for its scenic beauty
and vernacular architecture, provides insights into traditional
Anatolian urban life and culture.
RELIGION 359: Islam and the West: Istanbul was the
seat of the Islamic Caliphate from the early 16th century
until 1924, and in that sense, the capital of the Islamic
world. Ottoman society was, during that long period, the major
point of interchange and confrontation with the West. Indeed,
for most of that time a significant and in many respects predominant
part of Ottoman society was located in Europe itself. It is
therefore especially appropriate to consider the relation
of Islam and the West in this multi-cultural city at the meeting
point of two civilizations. It is also appropriate because
many of the most contentious issues in relations to Islam
and the Christian West have their loci in former Ottoman territories
–-- in the Balkans, in the Caucasus and in the Levant.
Understanding the historical context provides an important
insight into today's issues. In considering the issues in
today's world, however, it will necessary to move beyond this
regional approach and to examine the impact of globalization
and western political and cultural hegemony since World War
II on the issues at hand. This will be done taking into consideration
many of the concerns that have led some within and outside
the region to view these civilizations as being in some fundamental
sense in conflict today. Islam and the issue of governance
will be examined with a special focus on the dilemmas of democratization
facing today's Islamic world, where Turkey stands out as a
model for democracy and many of the states of Arabian peninsula
represent an authoritarian alternative.
Back to top.
|
