Modern Middle Eastern history: 1500-1920

About this programme

It adopts both a chronological and a thematic perspective, in order to outline the most relevant dynamics that the regions included in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, with a particular focus on political and legal structures, socio-economic transformations and relations with emerging European empires such as Russia, the Habsburgs, Portugal, Britain, France, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. The purpose is to enable the students to outline regional dynamics within the Middle East over the course of the six centuries the Ottoman Empire reigned supreme in the Balkans, North Africa, Arabia, and Western Asia. In this respect, the course must also link the Middle East and North Africa to other regions in the larger Eurasian region and adopt a global perspective. This course will also help students understand the emergence of the two other great Muslim powers of the era, the Safavids and Mughal Empires. At the same time, the emergence of the Middle East as both a geopolitical concept and a field of studies will be discussed in a sociocultural context shaped by European imperialism and discuss the intellectual implications by way of consulting major works critiquing orientalism within the field of post-colonial studies. This will enable the students to develop a critical overview of their field of studies, its historical formation, and its current limitations as they include or ignore this critical era in the region’s modern history. The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. Attendance at all classes is mandatory.