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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "HS 241"
COURSE NAME: "History of Islam II: Mamluks & Ottomans (1250-1918)"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session II 2018
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Stephen Ortega
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MTWTH 11:10-1:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A survey of the history of the Middle East from the time of the victory over the Crusaders to the end of the Ottoman Empire, with emphasis on intellectual, cultural, and religious life. The course will review the major political developments of this period, beginning with the dynamic thirteenth century that witnessed the Mongol conquest. Next, the course will discuss the politics and culture of the Mamluks (1250-1500) and the Ottomans (1500-1900), with a special focus on the question of regional autonomy and religious and cultural diversity. The political, commercial, and intellectual interaction between Europe and the Middle East during this period will also receive attention.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

This course will look to provide students with an overview of Middle Eastern history from the end of the Abbasid Dynasty in 13th century to the rise of the European power in the region in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Special attention will be paid to the Mamluk and Ottoman empires, as they occupied much of the area that we refer today to as the Middle East. Much of the course will look to help students understand developments in the region from a world historical perspective. Both secondary and primary sources will be used to provide different points of view.  Different topics will be covered such as the diversity of the region’s population, gender relations, struggles for power, ideas about decline, and the impact of the Europeans.  Given that the course will be taught in Rome, whenever possible, comparisons will be made between the Muslim empires of the Middle World and the Roman Empire. Rome also offers a unique opportunity to visit sites that contain a good deal of Islamic history, so whenever possible students will be asked to visit those sites to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. 

 

Section One: The Early Islamic Period, Late Antiquity and the Global Picture

Section Two   The Mamluks: Society and Culture

Section Three The Rise and Expansion of the Ottomans

Section Four    Questions of Ottoman Decline and the Challenge of Europe

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

LEARNING OUTCOMES: 
Students who have successfully completed the course will:

1)     Gain a broad knowledge of the periods covered, in particular the Mamluk and Ottoman epochs.

2)      Place Middle Eastern history within a global context.

3)     Write a research paper based on original primary source research

4)      Synthesize large amounts of material to produce new arguments. 

5)      Give a Petcha Kucha presentation and effectively communicate relevant ideas in a concise manner.

TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
The Formation of Islam: Religion and SocietyJonathan BerkeyCambridge University Press10: 0521588138     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Short responses Three short writing assignments: Two page response to three of the five questions posed on various dates in the syllabus 20%
Final Exam  25%
Research Paper Original research paper using primary sources 25%
Presentation Six minute Pecha Kucha presentation 10%
Participation  20%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

 

1

July 2nd

Introduction

 

 

 

2

July 3rd

The Islamic World to 750

Berkey, pp. 60-90, 102-109
skim 91-101

 How to do a Petcha Kucha Presentation

3

July 5th

An overview of the diversity of people and ideas in Muslim lands  

Berkey, pp. 113-123, 130-40, 152-158.
skim 159-175

 

4

July 6th

The Break-up of the Abbasid Empire: Primary Source

Ali Bahrani Pour, A STUDY OF AN UNKNOWN
PRIMARY DOCUMENT ON THE FALL OF ABBASID BAGHDAD TO THE MONGOLS (WRITTEN BY THE DEFEATED SIDE)

 

 

4

July 97h

A Worldview from the Crusades to the Mongols

Cole and Ortega, The Thinking Past, pp. 359-394

Discuss Research Paper

 

5

July 1010h,

Ibn Khaldun’s Ideas about the Rise and Fall of Dynasties

Ibn Khaldun, The Muqqadimah, 263-297.

 Short Writing Assignment Due, How does Ibn Khaldun explain the rise and fall of dynastic realms?

 

6

July 11th,

New Powers in the Islamic World

Jonathan Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society pp.  177--213

 

 

7

July 12th,

The Mamlukes: How can we understand  what has been referred to as a slave dynasty?

 A. Levanoni, ‘The Mamluks in Egypt and Syria: the Turkish Mamluk sultanate (648-784/1250-1382) and the Circassian Mamluk sultanate (784-923/1382-1517)’, in M. Fierro (ed), New Cambridge History of Islam, Cambridge, 2010, vol. 2, 237-273
skim conclusion 

 Paper topic due: One page write-up

 

8

July 16th

What did Mamluk Kinship Mean?

Koby Yosef “Usages of kinship terminology during the Mamluk Sultanate and the notion of the "Mamluk family" in Developing Perspectives in Mamluk History, Essays in Honor of Amalia Levanoni, pp. 12-40
skim 41-75

What does Yosef mean by the term kinship, and how does he it apply to the Mamluks?

 

9

July 17th,

Gender Relations and the Mamluks

Yosseff Rapaport,"Women and Gender in Mamluk Society: An Overview," Mamluk Studies Review, vol. 11, no. 2, 2007, pp. 1-26
skim pp. 26-47 

http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/MSR_XI-2_2007-Rapoport.pdf

 

10

July 18th

Ibn Battutah: A Traveler’s view of the Mamluks

Ibn Battutah, The Travels of Ibn Battutah,  ed. Tim Mackintosh-Smith, pp. 3-41

What does the travel diary of Ibn Battutah tell us about the social history of medieval Islam?

 

11

July 19th

Islamic Art in the Middle Period (Student Visit to the Museum)    

 Marshall Hodgson, The Venture of Islam Vol II, pp. 501-531

 How does the artwork that you at the Museo di Arte Orientale saw align with Hodgson’s ideas about Islamic art?

 

12

July 23rd

The Rise of the Ottomans

Caroline Finkel, Osman’s Dream, chapter 1, pp. 1-21

 Research Paper due.

 

13

July 24th,  

Empire Building: The Conquest of Constantinople and Arab Lands: Putting the growth of the empire within a comparative context. 

Kate Fleet, The Cambridge History of Turkey, volume 2, chap. 2, “The Ottomans 1451-1601: A Political History Introduction, pp. 19-43.

 

 

14

July 25th

Istanbul: The Imperial Capital and its Population (Student Presentation comparison with Rome as an imperial capital)

Ebru Boyar, A Social History of Ottoman Istanbul (Cambridge 2010), Chap. 2

 

 

15

July 26th

An Ottoman Traveler, A Description of the Empire.

Evliya Çelebi, An Ottoman Traveller: Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Celebi

 As a historical account how do you think that Çelebi’s writings help us gain insight into Ottoman society and/or politics?

Study sheet for final exam handed out

 

17

July 30th

Ottoman decline: What do we mean by it?

M. Fatih ᷀Çalişir, Decline of a Myth: Perspectives on the Ottoman Decline, The History School, January-April 2011, Number IX, pp. 37-60.

 

 How does Çalişir think that we should address the question of Ottoman decline?

 

18

July 31st

The French Invasion of Egypt to the Break-up of the Empire and the Growing Influence of the European Power.    

M. Sukru Hanioglu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire,  pp. 20-68, ebook. 

 

 

19

Aug 1st

Living in the Late Ottoman Empire

Ulrike Freitag, “Cosmopolitanism and Conviviality,” Some Conceptual Considerations Concerning the Late Ottoman Empire, European Journal of Cultural Studies, pp.

 

20

Aug 2nd

Final Exam