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Listed in: Anthropology and Sociology, as ANTH-431 | Asian Languages and Civilizations, as ASLC-494 | History, as HIST-494
Christopher T. Dole (Section 01)
Monica M. Ringer (Section 01)
(Offered as HIST 494 [ME], ANTH 431, and ASLC 494.) At different points in its nearly 2000-year history, the city now known as Istanbul has been the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. In 2010, Istanbul was selected as the “Cultural Capital of Europe.” Over this long history, millions of people and multiple communities have called Istanbul their home—each shaping the city with distinct visions of the past and longings for the future. As innumerable identities (communal, religious, national, ethnic) have been both claimed and erased to serve a variety of political, economic, and social ideologies over millennia, Istanbul stands today as a city where the meanings of space and place are contested like few others. This seminar explores the connections between contemporary politics and society in Turkey through the contested histories of space and place-making in Istanbul, with special attention to the varied historical legacy of architecture of the city. This is a research seminar and a Global Classroom course. One class meeting per week.
Limited to 12 students. Preference to junior and senior majors. Spring semester. Professors Dole and Ringer.
Part of the Global Classroom Project. The Global Classroom Project uses videoconferencing technology to connect Amherst classes with courses/students outside the United States.
If Overenrolled: Preference given to junior and senior majors.