Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Middle Eastern Studies (research), specialisation Turkish Studies or to the Research Master Middle Eastern Studies. Proficient reading skills in modern Turkish (level B2 European Common Framework, i.e. having had approximately 80 EC = 2240 hs of language training courses). Students who are interested in taking this course, but who are not sure whether they meet the language requirement are requested to contact the convener, Prof. Dr. Erik-Jan Zürcher. Students who are interested in taking this course, but are not admitted to the research master program are kindly referred to the regular MA course.
Description
Modern Turkey came into existence in the period 1908-1945, in which traumatic and revolutionary developments followed each other in quick succession: the constitutional revolution, eleven years of war, mass migration and mass murder, the end of a 600-year old empire and almost the partition of the remains among the victors in World War I. At the same time it is the period of political experiments, the building of a national economy and the birth of Turkish nationalism. The republic is both heir to all of these developments and a daring experiment in nation building and modernization.
Course objectives
The course aims to use the historical context of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of a new nation state, the Republic of Turkey, to discuss and analyze four major issues that played a dominant role in the history of this period: the emergence of the modern state, the impact of war, nationalism and nation building, and the role of religion and secularism.
Course schedule and reading materials
The course is divided into four blocks. First three blocks follow a chronological sequence but the last block is designed as a discussion of ideological currents that have been influential in the chronological narrative of the first three blocks. Please be informed that all the reading material listed in Blackboard under the categories of “Secondary Texts” and “Primary Sources” are mandatory to read. In addition to that, students are required to independently read chapters 1-12 of E.J. Zürcher, Turkey. A Modern History by way of preparation for the course. Please remember that student reactions to the texts and lively in-class participation constitute % 20 of your overall grade. Students are expected to read all mandatory materials before they come to the classes. It is not required to read the “Optional Text(s)”, they are included to encourage further discussion.
Timetable
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (werkcollege)
Attendance and participation are obligatory. Students are allowed to miss a maximum of two classes, provided they have a valid reason (to the discretion of the instructor). Students, who miss more than two classes, are required to resit the entire course.
Course Load
280 hs = 32 hours in class, 128 hours reading/preparation, 120 hours research/term paper.
Assessment method
The final grade of this course will be composed of the following elements:
In-class participation and preparedness (20%)
Presentation on a course related topic in class (20%)
Term paper rough-draft (10%)
7,000-word essay (term paper) (50%)
All students are required to submit an abstract of their term paper during the semester. They then hand in the draft version of their paper I the third week of January and get feedback from the teacher. The deadline for the final version of the paper is two weeks after the handing in of the draft.
In order to pass the course, students must obtain an overall mark of 5.50 (=6) or higher.
Students who get a mark lower than 5.50 (=6) owing to insufficient participation, including the presentation, will have to sit a written examination on the subjects discussed during the course. The result will contribute 50% to the final mark.
A new version of the final assignment may be written if the overall mark for the course is “5.49” (=5) due to an insufficient grade for the paper. If students take this option, they must choose an alternative topic. They will not be permitted to resubmit the same paper. The deadline for this version will be determined in consultation.
Students who do not deliver a term paper on time will automatically fail the course.
Blackboard
Note: there is no separate Blackboard page available for this ResMa course. Please subscribe to the Blackboard page of the regular MA course.
Reading list
A full set of selected readings can be found in the course description on Blackboard.
Additional reading will be determined by the convener at a later stage taking into account the students’ fields of interest. Extra sessions will be organized to discuss this extra literature.
Registration
Students are required to register through uSis. To avoid mistakes and problems, students are strongly advised to register in uSis through the activity number which can be found in the timetable in the column under the heading “Act.nbr.”.
Contact information
Remarks
Students with disabilities
The university is committed to supporting and accommodating students with disabilities as stated in the university protocol (especially pages 3-5). Students should contact Fenestra Disability Centre at least four weeks before the start of their courses to ensure that all necessary academic accommodations can be made in time conform the abovementioned protocol.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to be familiar with Leiden University policies on plagiarism and academic integrity. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. If you submit any work with your name affixed to it, it is assumed to be your own work with all sources used properly indicated and documented in the text (with quotations and/or citations).