Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies
Course 70252, Geopolitics of the Middle East and Turkey, 4 ECTS,
6th semester.
Tutor: I. Iliopoulos, Assistant Professor
I_iliopoulos[at]turkmas.uoa[dot]gr
Aims and Objectives
As a result of taking this course, the student should be able to:
1. Assess the historical trajectory of the region, its peoples and cultures.
2. Examine the role of the pre-modern Empires in the region as well as the changes that the advent of Modernity brought in the region.
3. Assess the reflection of European power politics and conflicts in the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East.
4. Outline the historical perspective of the conflicts in the region and analyze the political issues in their origins.
5. Apply the knowledge acquired in assessing recent developments in Turkey and the Middle East.
Course Outline
- The Rise and Expansion of Islam
- The Development of the Islamic Civilization to the 15th century
- The Ottoman and Safavid Empires
- Egypt and Iran in late 19th century
- The Beginning of the End of the Ottoman Empire: The Greek Question; The Eastern Question
- The Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century.
- The Decline of the Ottoman Empire: The Balkan Wars
- Britain and the Middle East in late 19th century
- WWI and the End of the Ottoman Empire
- The Asia Minor Campaign
- Palestine and the Birth of Israel
- Nasser and Egypt
- The Oil Factor
- Syria and Iraq
- The Resurgence of Islam and the Iranian Revolution
- The U.S. Moment in the Middle East
- The Arab Uprisings and their aftermath
Course Assessment
Written Paper (3,000 – 4,000 words)
Bibliography
Basic Reading:
- Cleveland, William L., A History of the Modern Middle East, third edition, UK; US: Westview Press, 2004.
- Gelvin, James L., The Modern Middle East: A History, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
- Zürcher, Jan-Erik, Turkey: A Modern History, London: I. B. Tauris, 2004 (first published 1993).
Recommended Reading:
- Daly, M. W., The Cambridge history of Egypt: modern Egypt, from 1517 to the end of the 20th century, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
- Elton, Daniel, L., The history of Iran, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001.
- Gelvin, James L, The Israel-Palestine conflict: one hundred years of war, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- Halliday, Fred, The Middle East in International Relations: Power, Politics & Ideology, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
- Ma'oz, M., Ginat, J., and Winckler, O. (Eds.), Modern Syria: from Ottoman rule to pivotal role in the Middle East, Brighton; Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 1999.
- Roded, Ruth, Women in Islam and the Middle East: a reader, London; New York: I.B. Tauris; in the U.S. and Canada distributed by St. Martin's Press, 1999.
- Shaw, Stanford J., History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, Cambridge [England]; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1976-1977.
- Taraboulsi, Fawwaz, A history of modern Lebanon, second edition, London: Pluto Press; New York: distributed in the United States exclusively by Palgrave Macmillian, 2012.
- Tripp, Charles, A history of Iraq, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.