POLS 203 History of Modern Turkey I Fridays 10:00-12:50 / GRAD 215 Instructor : Assist. Prof. Hakkı Taş E-mail : htas@ipek.edu.tr Office & Phone : GRAD 202 & ext. 4633 Office Hours : Thursday 10:30-12:30, or e-mail to schedule an appointment! Assistant : Alp Eren Topal [GRAD 210, aetopal@ipek.edu.tr] Course Description: This course provides a systematic historical review of Ottoman-Turkish politics up to modern Turkey's democratic transition in 1945. While special attention will paid to the political structures, forms of political participation and intra-elite political struggle; socio-economic, cultural and intellectuals dimensions are also covered throughout the course. Course Objectives: The primary objective of the course is to familiarize the students with the milestones of Turkish political development and to realize the complexities within that trajectory. Another significant objective is to provide them a historical perspective to render their own political analyses of the Turkish political system. Learning Outcomes: to identify and comprehend the basic concepts and approaches to explain the Ottoman and Turkish polities; to develop viable research questions addressing Turkish politics; to engage in interpretation and reasoned criticism of arguments in Turkish politics; to examine historical events within their historical context and from different perspectives; to apply abstract logical tools and concepts to actual events. Required Textbook: Erik Jan Zürcher. History of Modern Turkey, 3. ed. (London: IB Tauris, 2004). Suggested Books: Bernard Lewis. The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 3. ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). Carter Vaughn Findley. Turkey, Islam, Nationalism and Modernity: A History. (New Haven: Yale Uni. Press, 2011). Reşat Kasaba (ed.) Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge Uni. Press, 2008). Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). Karen Barkey. The Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni. Press, 2008) M. Şükrü Hanioğlu. Ataturk: An Intellectual Biography (Princeton: Princeton Uni. Press, 2013). M. Şükrü Hanioğlu. A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire (Princeton: Princeton Uni. Press, 2008) Andrew Finkel. Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford, New York: Oxford Uni. Press, 2012). 1
Course Schedule Week 1 - October 16 : Overview of the Course : Watch Akira Kurosawa s film Rashomon (1950) and discuss how it is related to the course. Week 2 - October 23 : Basic Themes in Ottoman & Turkish History : After class, watch a documentary on the Ottoman Empire (BBC Documentary www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt-wdbhjvwo) Supplementary Reading : Heath Lowry, Early Ottoman Period, pp. 5-14, in Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). Presentation : Kadızadeliler (17 th cc); Katip Çelebi (1609-1657) Week 3 - October 30 : Sultan Selim III and the New Order, The Reign of Sultan Mahmud II : By Nov. 6, you need to submit what project you are going to launch. Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 2,3,4, pp. 21-49. Supplementary Reading : Şükrü Hanioğlu, Modern Ottoman Period, pp. 15-25, in Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). Presentation : Koçi Bey (d. 1650) Week 4 November 6 : The Era of Tanzimat Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 5, pp. 50-70. Supplementary Reading : Carter Vaughn Findley, The Tanzimat, pp. 11-37, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Presentation : Mecelle, Namık Kemal (1840-1888), Ahmed Midhat (1840-1912), Week 5 November 13 : The Reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 6, 7, pp. 71-90. Supplementary Reading : Benjamin Fortna, The reign of Abdulhamid II, pp. 38-61, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Presentation : Ahmet Rıza (1859-1930), Prens Sabahattin (1879-1948), Mizancı Murat (1854-1917) Week 6 November 20 : MIDTERM I 2
Week 7 November 27 : The Second Constitutional Period Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 8, pp. 93-132. Supplementary Reading : Şükrü Hanioğlu, The Second Constitutional Period 1908-1918, pp. 62-111, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Hasan Kayalı, The Young Turks and the Committee of Union and Progress, pp. 26-34, in Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). Presentation : Enver Pasha (1881-1922), Colmar von der Goltz Pasha (1843-1916) Week 8 December 4 : Struggle for Independence Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 9, pp. 133-165. Supplementary Reading : Hasan Kayalı, The struggle for independence, pp. 112-146, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Presentation Sean McMeekin, World War I and the Establishment of the Republic, pp. 35-43, in Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). : Çerkez Ethem (1885-1948), Mehmet Akif Ersoy (1873-1936), Kara Vasıf (1872-1931) Week 9 December 11 : Formation of the Turkish Republic Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 10, pp. 166-175. Presentation : Ziya Gökalp (1876-1924), Nutuk (Speech), Cavit Bey (1875-1926) Week 10 December 18 : Atatürk Era Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 11, pp. 176-205. Supplementary Reading : Andrew Mango, Atatürk, pp. 147-172, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Presentation : Turkish History Thesis, Turkish Language Thesis Week 11 December 25 : MIDTERM II 3
Week 12 January 1 : New Year s Break : By January 7, you need to submit your finalized project. Week 13 January 8 : Atatürk Era Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 11, pp. 176-205. Supplementary Reading : Andrew Mango, Atatürk, pp. 147-172, in Reşat Kasaba (ed.), Cambridge History of Turkey, vol. 4. (Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Presentation : Recep Peker (1889-1950), Esat Bozkurt (1892-1943) Week 14 January 15 : İnönü Era Required Reading : Zürcher, History of Modern Turkey, Chapter 12, pp. 206-220. Supplementary Reading : Clement H. Dodd, The Turkish Republic, pp. 53-64, in Metin Heper and Sabri Sayarı, eds. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey (London, New York: Routledge, 2012). Presentation : Hasan Ali Yücel (1897-1961) Janary 18-29, 2016 : FINAL EXAM Grading Scheme I. Midterm Exam... 20% II. Midterm Exam... 20% Final Exam... 30% Project... 20% Presentation & Participation... 10% 4
Course Format and Policies Exams: Midterms are not, but the final exam is going to be cumulative. Before the final exam, I am going to provide a list of some possible questions for you to study. No electronic devices are allowed during the exams. Students who miss an exam and wish to write a make-up must contact the professor within 24 hours after the exam and must provide proper documentation for a reasonable excuse (e.g. a doctor s note) before the make-up. There will be only one make-up per exam. Students who miss both the regular exam and the make-up will receive an exam mark of 0. Project: For your term project, you are supposed to choose one of the three options provided below. a) Pick a period of the Ottoman & Turkish history and create a 5-minute video documentary on it. You can cover a whole period or just focus on a political figure, a historic institution etc. Being in Ankara is a total advantage for you in this regard. You can use some footages from existing videos/documentaries but at least some parts of the documentary must show you in the field. b) Pick a period of the Ottoman & Turkish history and create a lecture song on it. Make sure that your song lyrics cover some basic information about that period. You need to submit the song in video format (i.e. video clip). c) If you are interested in oral history, you can make interviews with elderly people (be it your grandfather, neighbor, or any acquaintance) to find out the local stories around Atatürk those stories that you cannot find in textbooks. You need to record the interview(s), provide the transcripts, and finally compare and contrast in a page the local stories with the official narrative. In your projects, 1) You can work individually or in pairs (In that case, indicate who did what parts). 2) Make sure that your topics do not overlap with the ones you have chosen for HTR 101-102. 3) You should submit the video or audio recordings in formats compatible with Windows Media Player. 4) In any option, you should never be judgmental (blaming or praising any political figure etc.). 5) You will be graded according to a) the originality of your work (How ambitious, imaginative and challenging is the production?), b) organization (How well organized and efficient is the production?), c) the effort you put on it, and d) how successfully you cover the content. 6) For details about your project, you may consult the course assistant Alp Eren Topal. Presentation: For each week, I have assigned one or two important figures, and presentations will cover a) a short life background, b) why they are important for Ottoman& Turkish history, c) some of their ideas along with one or two direct quotations, if possible. The presenter is supposed to provide a one page handout for each student that summarizes the main points. The presenter should later also submit the soft copy via Blackboard. Presentations can get you extra credits. In all the three exams (both midterms and the final), there will be a 5 point bonus section that will cover these presentations only. 5
Participation: Regular attendance is a must, it is incumbent upon every class member to make the commitment to be at all class meetings on time and to participate as fully as actively as possible. You are expected to have completed the readings on each topic before the first lecture on that topic, because lectures largely engage with the readings and move beyond them. Also, those pre-class readings are essential for you to follow the lessons which will cover a plenty of new names, places, and institutions. Besides, you need to study regularly whatever taught in the previous class. That is necessary to digest the lessons and remember them in the long run. Other Notes: You need to familiarize yourself with a bunch of Turkish names and old Turkish terms, get ready for that! If you want to take pictures of the slides in class, you are allowed to do so, but you are strongly encouraged to take your own class notes as power point presentations do not cover everything taught and you are responsible for. Students are expected to behave as mature and self-aware individuals in the classroom. Disruptive behavior such as engaging in side conversations, using cell phones and other electronic devices, sleeping, working on personal activities or assignments of other courses, interrupting the professor or other students will result in the significant reduction of the participation grade. Grades: Grading system is as indicated in Ipek University - Undergraduate Education, Training and Examination Regulations. (available at http://student.ipek.edu.tr/pictures/files/undergraduateeducation-regulations(1).pdf) Ipek E-mail Accounts: All email communication to students from the Department of Political Science will be via official Ipek university e-mail accounts and/or Blackboard system. As important course and University information is distributed this way, it is the student s responsibility to monitor their Ipek and Blackboard accounts. Oral Examination: At the discretion of the instructor, students may be required to pass a brief oral examination on your papers and essays. Academic Honesty: Honesty and trust are important to us all as individuals. Students and faculty adhere to the following principles of academic integrity. Individual accountability for all individual work, written or oral: Copying from others or providing answers or information, written or oral, to others is cheating. Providing proper acknowledgment of original author: Copying from another student s paper or from another text without written acknowledgment is plagiarism. Recycling a paper written for another class also falls under this category. Study or project group activity is effective and authorized teamwork. Unauthorized help from another person or having someone else to write one s paper or assignment is collusion. Cheating, plagiarism, and collusion are serious offences resulting in an F as your course grade and disciplinary action. 6