The Turks: Pre-Ottoman, Ottoman, Post-Ottoman

Thomas Price
Fall 2013
TUESDAYS |  
9:00 a.m. until noon
October 1 until December 17, 2013
Course Format: Hybrid
Location: Main Campus
Tuition: $195.00

Who are the Turks? Where did they come from, and how did they help build the Islamic world? What role did they play in the Crusades? A major world power for nearly 500 years, how did they rule so much of Europe before finally taking Constantinople in 1453, and with what consequences?

More recently, what role have Turks–both Ottomans and post-Ottomans–played in modern history? As the Sick Man of Europe for most of the 19th century, they provided fuel for the western imagination in literature, architecture, food, and fashion–not to mention wars. The dismantling of their empire created the current map (and many of the current problems) of the Middle East. Where are Turkey and the modern Turks headed as we approach two centuries since modern Turkey emerged?

Please note that due to popular demand this past spring this class is brought back in the fall of 2013.

Required Reading

Goodwin, Jason. The Janissary Tree. Picador, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-312-42613-2

Pope, Hugh. Sons of the Conquerors: The Rise of the Turkic World. Overlook TP, 2006. ISBN: 978-1585678044

Shafak, Elif. The Bastard of Istanbul. Penguin Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-0143112716

Recommended Reading

Goodwin, Jason. Lords of the Horizons. Holt Paperbacks, 2000. ISBN: 0-8050-6342-0

Finkel, Caroline. Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire. Basic Books, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-465-02397-4

Meet Your Instructor

Adjunct Instructor

THOMAS L. PRICE received his BA from Harvard College and his M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  He spent over 20 years as a U.S. diplomat, last posted in Islamabad, Pakistan, and responsible for making contact with warring factions in Afghanistan. He also spent three years as Coordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities for OSCE in Vienna, focusing on Central Asia, southeastern Europe, and the Caucasus. Mr. Price won the Humanities Seminars Superior Teaching Award in both 2006 and 2010.

Location

POETRY CENTER
Dorothy Rubel Room
1508 E Helen
Tucson, AZ 85721
United States

Located on the SE corner of Helen Street and Vine Avenue, one block north of Speedway and three blocks west of Campbell Ave.

Street map image of Poetry Center

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