Nurten Kilic-Schubel

This capstone seminar is taught by Asian Studies Program faculty in rotation and is organized around a common theme that integrates the various disciplines and regions of Asia. Through readings, films, guest lectures and other activities, the course leads students to synthesize their academic and personal (e.g., off-campus) experiences in a broader comparative perspective. Students produce work that examines one or more topics of their own interest within the comparative Asian framework. Required for Asian studies concentrators and joint majors. This interdisciplinary course does not count toward the completion of any diversification requirement. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor required. Senior standing. Offered every spring.

This course surveys the history of the Islamic(ate) world from the rise of Islam in the sixth century to the rise of post-Mongol-Muslim empires -- the Ottomans, the Safavids, the Mughals -- in the 16th century. The course especially focuses on the formation and expansion of Islam as a global civilization and the historical development of the social, cultural, religious and commercial networks and institutions that connected the Islamicate world during these centuries. Among the topics to be covered are the life and career of the Prophet Muhammad and the emergence of Islam; the expansion of the Islamicate world through conquests, conversions and commercial networks; the formation of various Islamic polities and empires, such as the Abbasids, the Fatimids, the Seljuks and the Mamluks; and the issues of authority, power and legitimacy that confronted these polities. It also examines the historical development of Islamic institutions such as Sufism and religious law. This counts toward the premodern and Asia/Africa requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every year.

This course introduces the history of one of the great empires of the premodern period. Founded in the late 13th century and lasting until the 1920s, the Ottoman Empire was one of the longest-lasting and most successful polities in history. Although founded and ruled by Muslim Turks, the Ottoman Empire was in reality a multiethnic, multicultural religious entity, which at its height contained territories in the Balkans, "the Middle East" and North Africa. It left a significant political and cultural legacy, which continues up to our time. In this course, we examine the entire span of Ottoman history, from the formation of the empire until its dissolution in the aftermath of World War I. Topics to be covered include the rise of the Ottoman state in the 13th century and how it became an empire; the role of Islam in Ottoman cultural and political life; the problems of governing a religiously and ethnically pluralist empire; the changing nature of Ottoman politics and administration; some aspects of Ottoman cultural and social life; women and gender in the Ottoman empire; Ottoman relations with Europe; Ottoman responses to modernity; the rise of nationalism; and the events leading up to the eventual creation of the modern Turkish republic in the Ottoman heartland. This counts toward the premodern and Asia/Africa requirements and the colonial/imperial field for the major. No prerequisite: Sophomore standing.

This course examines the social, economic and political transformation people have experienced in the Middle East, with a focus on the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include the impact of the changing world economy and European imperialism, the emergence of nation-states, gender relations, and the role of religion in political and cultural life. The geographical focuses of the course include Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and the central Arab lands. This counts toward the modern and and Asia/Africa requirements and the colonial/imperial field for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every one or two years.

Both film and fiction have played significant roles in the so-called "Modern Middle East" as means of interpreting the past as well as constructing present realities and issues. This seminar uses novels and film as lenses to explore major historical dynamics and trends in the history of this region in the 20th century. We examine works created by artists from a number of different countries, including Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Afghanistan and Algeria, as well as examples of Western imaginings of the region. Themes to be explored will include "Orientalism" and representations of the "Middle East," colonialism, nationalism and resistance, responses to development and globalization, understandings of ethnicity and identity, images of gender relations, and the changing roles of religion. This counts toward the modern and Asia/Africa requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Sophomore standing.

This seminar examines women's history and the cultural constructions of gender in the so-called Middle East in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Examining a rich variety of historical sources – religious texts, literary writings, women's personal writings, films and images – we explore women's lives in a variety of cultural and historical contexts. The course addresses a variety of topics, including the role of religion in the construction of discourse concerning women, the impact of colonialism and nationalism on gender politics, and the nature of women’s movements. This course also discusses the rise and impact of transnational feminism, particularly in the context of current conflicts in the region. This counts toward the modern and Asia/Africa requirements and the women and gender field for the major. No prerequisite. Sophomore standing.

This course focuses on the conceptual frameworks used by historians and on debates within the profession about the nature of the past and the best way to write about it. The seminar prepares students of history to be productive researchers, insightful readers and effective writers. The seminar is required for history majors and should be completed before the senior year. Open only to sophomores and juniors. This counts toward the practice and theory requirement for the major. Declared history or international studies major only.

The goal of this course is to give each history major the experience of a sustained, independent research project, including formulating a historical question, considering methods, devising a research strategy, locating and critically evaluating primary and secondary sources, placing evidence in context, shaping an interpretation and presenting documented results. Research topics are selected by students in consultation with the instructor. Classes involve student presentations on various stages of their work and mutual critiques, as well as discussions of issues of common interest, such as methods and bibliography. Open only to senior history majors. This counts toward the senior research seminar requirement for the major. Prerequisite: HIST 387. Offered every fall.

Individual study is available to students who want to pursue a course of reading or complete a focused research project on a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum. This option is restricted to history majors and cannot normally be used to fulfill distribution requirements within the major. To qualify, a student must prepare a proposal in consultation with a member of the history faculty who has suitable expertise and is willing to work with the student over the course of a semester. The two- to three-page proposal should include a statement of the questions to be explored, a preliminary bibliography, a schedule of assignments, a schedule of meetings with the supervising faculty member and a description of grading criteria. The student also should briefly describe prior coursework that particularly qualifies him or her to pursue the project independently. The department chair must approve the proposal. The student should meet regularly with the instructor for at least the equivalent of one hour per week. At a minimum, the amount of work submitted for a grade should approximate that required, on average, in 300- or 400-level history courses. Individual projects will vary, but students should plan to read 200 pages or more a week and to write at least 30 pages over the course of the semester. Students are urged to begin discussion of their proposals with the supervising faculty member and the department chair the semester before they hope to undertake the project. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study by the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval. Proposals must be submitted by the third day of classes to the department chair.