From Empire to Nation – Politics of Transition in Turkey
Seminar
Lecturer: Tayibbe Zeynep Armagan
Time: Monday, 13.15 – 14.45
Place: NSG, Universitätsstraße 1, S 101
Examination: Essay
Description:
For a larger part of the last century, the topic of the fall of the empire and the consequent rise of the nation-state had predominantly been dealt with in a teleological manner. That being said, late 20th and early 21st century historiography has witnessed many a lengthy chapter written on the transition from empire to nation-state in which more critical analyses of the process have been adapted. The socially and discursively constructed nature of “imagined communities” that emerged out of collapsed empires as well as problematics arising from this artificial construction have begun to be acknowledged and addressed in this literature. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey at the onset of the 20th century is one case where seeds for such problematics have been planted. The objective of this course is to detect and tackle these problematics which were inevitable consequences of the transition from empire to nation-state, while at the same time, surveying the political, social and economic history of contemporary Turkey. Accordingly, the course is made up of three parts; the first of these provides background knowledge through an historical and theoretical overview. In the second part, the aforementioned problematics are investigated individually at thematic sessions. The final part, presents what could be viewed as the most recent phase of this transition where Turkish foreign policy and political economy undergo changes at unprecedented pace and scale. Overall, the course aims to provide an alternative perspective in understanding some of the chronic problems of modern day Turkey by analyzing them within the framework of empire to nation transition.
Introductory Literature:
A History of the Modern Middle East, William L. Cleveland, Westview Press, 4th ed., 2009.
The Cambridge History of Turkey, Volume 4 – Turkey in the Modern World, Resat Kasaba (Ed.), Cambridge University Press, 2008.
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