• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Empire, Identity and Heritage in South-East Europe and the Middle East (1800-1950)

Module description

At its height the Ottoman Empire encompassed most of South-East Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It spanned more than six centuries and only came to an end in 1922, although the long process of ‘decolonisation’ and nation-building in the Balkans and the Middle East continued well into the 20^th century. This module will introduce you to the rich history of the late Ottoman and the post-Ottoman worlds in all of their linguistic, cultural and religious complexity. We will also examine the importance of this past for many contemporary conflicts in South-East Europe and the Middle East.

No prior knowledge required.

Module aims - intentions of the module

• Identify the main traits of modernisation and development in the Middle East and South-East Europe in late 19^th and early 20^th century
• Critically assess the historical background of nation-building in the Middle East and South-East Europe
• Analytically compare nation-building processes vis-à-vis history-writing and heritage in the two regions
• Unpack the complex relationship between religion, ethnicity, national identity, gender and class in the age of nationalisms and imperial decline
• Engage with primary and secondary sources on the Ottoman and the post-Ottoman world

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Make close specialist evaluation of the key developments within the period, developed through independent study and seminar work.
• 2. Evaluate the different complex themes in the history of the late Ottoman Empire from a transnational perspective.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Analyse key developments related to the imperial histories of South-East Europe and the Middle East.
• 4. Understand and deploy relevant historical terminology in a comprehensible manner.
• 5. Analyse closely original sources and assess their reliability as historical evidence.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Independent and autonomous study and group work, including presentation of material for group discussion and presentation of complex arguments orally.
• 7. Select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• The Ottoman Empire in a global context
• Identity, belonging and coexistence in the Ottoman Empire
• Reform, resistance and nation-building
• Modernity and development in the Ottoman Empire
• Nationalism and decolonisation
• Gender and class
• Geography and the environment
• Culture and heritage in the Ottoman and post-Ottoman world
• Conflict and violence
• Post-imperial legacies in South-East Europe and the Middle East

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Barkey, K. (2008). Empire of Difference: The Ottomans in comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Blumi, I. (2003). Rethinking the Late Ottoman Empire: A Comparative Social and Political History of Albania and Yemen, 1878-1918. Istanbul: Isis Press.
• Brown, L C., ed. 1997. Imperial Legacy: The Ottoman Imprint on the Balkans and the Middle East. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Bryant, R. (2016). Post-Ottoman coexistence: sharing space in the shadow of conflict. Space and Place. New York: Berghahn Books.
• Ginio E. and Kaser K, eds. (2013). Ottoman Legacies in the Contemporary Mediterranean: The Balkans and the Middle East Compared. Jerusalem: The European Forum at the Hebrew University.
• Mikhail, A. (2020). God’s Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World New York: Liveright.

Key words search

Ottoman History, Imperial History, Nations and Nationalism, Heritage and Identity, Development