EU476      Half Unit
Turkey and Europe

This information is for the 2015/16 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Esra Ozyurek Baer COW 2.08

Availability

This course is available on the MSc in EU Politics, MSc in EU Politics (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities, MSc in European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in History of International Relations, MSc in Political Economy of Europe, MSc in Political Economy of Europe (LSE and Sciences Po) and MSc in Theory and History of International Relations. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit.

Course content

The Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey have been an integral part of European power dynamics since the early modern period. This course aims to introduce the foundations of Modern Turkey and major social, political, and historical dynamics that shape her relationship to Europe. These include questions of secularism and religion; religious and ethnic minorities; role of the state; human rights; democracy; legal reforms; and Turkish immigrants in Europe. The course will end with a focus on the recent Gezi protests to have a deeper understanding of the most recent social and political reconfigurations in Turkey. Students will be required to follow media reports on Turkey and be prepared to discuss them. Each student will make a presentation about the background of an issue that is covered lately in the media and turn in a 10-page paper about this issue discussing it historically and how it unfolded through the year.

Teaching

20 hours of seminars in the MT. 2 hours of lectures in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Formative coursework

Students will be expected to produce 1 essay in the MT.

Indicative reading

Zurcher, Eric J. 2004, Turkey: A Modern History; Ozyurek, Esra. 2006, Nostalgia for the ModernTugal, Cihan. 2010, The Silent Revolution; White, Jenny. 2012, Muslim Nationalism and the New Turks; Danan-Brink, Marcy. 2011, Jewish Life in Twenty-first Century Turkey:The Other Side of Tolerance; Mandel, Ruth. 2008, Cosmopolitan Anxieties: Turkish Challenges to Citizenship and Belonging in Contemporary Germany.

Assessment

Exam (60%, duration: 2 hours).
Essay (40%, 3000 words) in the MT.

Key facts

Department: European Institute

Total students 2014/15: 21

Average class size 2014/15: 11

Controlled access 2014/15: No

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Self-management
  • Problem solving
  • Communication