In
Summer 2011 the McGhee Center will host the following program:
Turkey and the Middle East: Culture, Politics, and
Imperial Legacy (May 26 – July 1, 2011)
This is a regional
studies program focused on the culture, politics, and modern history of
Turkey and the wider Middle East/Eastern Mediterranean region. Students earn
a total of six credits in two required courses: An Introduction to Modern Turkey and Empires and the Modern Middle East. Detailed course descriptions may
be found below.
All
courses are taught in English. No prior background study of the region or
the language is required. The program concludes with a week in Istanbul
and includes travel to Ankara, Konya, and sites of cultural and historic
importance in the Alanya area.
Students
will arrive in Alanya on May 26, 2011. Program
activities begin May 27-28 with an orientation to Alanya.
Classes begin on Monday, May 30, and run for 4 weeks through Thursday,
June 23, during which time regular class meetings and meals will take
place at the McGhee Villa. This time will also include various
co-curricular activities, including films, lectures, group activities,
and field trips to nearby points of interest. On June 25, the group will
travel to the capital city of Ankara, and from
there on June 26 to Istanbul. The final week of the program, June 27-July
1, will be dedicated to a study tour of Istanbul.
Course
Descriptions:
An Introduction to Modern
Turkey (3 credits): Prof. Kathryn Ebel Ágoston
This
course examines the culture and politics of modern Turkey with the goal
of helping students become more informed observers of both daily life and
current events in Turkey. The course will be organized around four
modules: (1) The Land – An
examination of Anatolia’s regional diversity in terms of climate,
culture, ethnic heritage, and historical record; (2) The Formation of Modern Turkey – An overview of the history
of the emergence of the modern Republic of Turkey from the ruins of the
Ottoman Empire and the consequences of that history for shaping Turkish
nationalism and national identity; (3) The Politics of Piety and Secularism – A closer look at the
contested roles of Islam and secularism/Iaicism
in Turkish national and cultural identity; (4) Rapid Urbanization – An examination of one of the most
important factors in Turkish political and economic development of the
past century, the transformation from a rural to an urban society. In
keeping with the study abroad setting, the course will combine
traditional classroom study (reading, writing, lecture, discussion) with
multi-media (film, music, cuisine, the arts, and mass media), and
experiential learning (field trips). The course also includes a required
Turkish language component worth 20% of the final grade and is designed
to provide basic linguistic functionality while traveling in Turkey.
Empires and the Modern Middle
East (3 credits): Prof. Gabor Ágoston
This
course seeks to understand how the grand strategies of European and
American imperial powers have influenced the modern Middle East – defined
as the Arab world, Asia Minor/Turkey, Iran, the Caucasus, and Central
Asia. With regard to Western powers, the course will focus on British,
Russian, Soviet, and American strategies and experiences in the region.
We will also give special attention to the ways in which regional powers
(including the Ottoman Empire, Safavid and Qajar Persia, and the modern states that comprise the
region) have responded to Western involvement in the Middle East. Whereas
the first part of the course examines geopolitics, imperial strategies
and hard power, the second part deals with soft power, including imperial
intelligence, education, ideology, propaganda, and the media.
Field
Trips/Study Tours (Included in the Program)
- Alanya Castle is a
medieval castle located on a high rocky peninsula extending into the
Mediterranean Sea. The castle was built by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad
during the 13th century. Remains of the buildings,
including churches, baths, and market buildings built in the 19th
century still exist today.
- Aspendos is home
to an ancient amphitheater built in the 2nd century A.D.
The amphitheater not only has a museum filled with interesting
artifacts, but is also still functioning for performances today and
can hold up to 15,000 people. A short distance from the town center
is one of the largest Roman aqueducts in Anatolia which supplied
water to the people of Aspendos for many
years.
- One of Perge’s most famous landmarks
includes the massive Hellenistic-Roman gate-towers which lead to
impressive historic colonnaded streets. The roman influences around Perge are significant and provide visitors with
incredible panoramic views of the city.
- The
religiously conservative city of Konya has been greatly influenced by Rumi’s
work. The city is now the final resting place of the famous poet,
but his Persian literature influences still live on in the culture
of the city. The members of the order of the Whirling derviches can often be seen performing their
religious dances making a unique experience and town for all who
visit.
- The
mountain villages and fertile summer pastures filled with gardens
and orchards are not only what make Taurus Yaylas beautiful, but what help the nearby
residents. The intense summer heat makes it close to impossible for
those farmers who own sheep, cattle, and goats to provide a healthy
environment for the animals, so the farmers and animals move to
Taurus Yaylas
during the heat for some relief.
- The
capital city of Ankara
houses Turkey’s parliament and heads of the state. However, despite
the formality of the capital city with the government present,
Ankara is also famous for its unique animals, such as the Angora
goat, famous for its wool, and the popular family pet, the Angora
cat.
The
largest city in Turkey, Istanbul,
is also the only bi-continental city in the world. The Bosphorus divides the city into a European side and
an Asian Anatolian side. Famous for its many Ottoman mosques, the city is
also a booming energetic international city filled with restaurants and
galleries.
