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Department of Biology University of St. Thomas, Minnesota USA

    Registration for this program is closed.
As of August 30, we are unable to accept additional registrations.

From Ottoman Empire
To Modern Middle East:

with

Dr. John Mazis

FALL 2007

Thursday Afternoons

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

September 6 - November 15, 2007

Auditorium
O'Shaughnessy Education Center
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul Campus

This program will examine the Ottoman Empire and its presence in Europe from the 14th to the 20th century.  We will see how East and West, Islam and Christianity, react(ed) to each other and examine the wider implications of that contact.  We will start with the slow decline of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the Ottoman state and way of life.  We will focus on the interaction between cultures (European/Christian and Asiatic/Muslim) and the reasons that contacts lead at times to cooperation, while at other times lead to conflict.  The program will culminate with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of modern Middle East.

Suggested Readings:

Fromkin, David  A Peace to End all Peace
Gerges, Fawaz A. America and Political Islam
 Goodwin, Jason Lords of the Horizons
Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations
 Jelavich, Barbara History of the Balkans
Lewis, Bernard What Went Wrong
 Manse, Phillip Constantinople: City of the World's Desire
Quataert, Donald The Ottoman Empire
Said, Edward Orientalism
 Stavrianos, Leften Stavros The Balkans Since 1453
 Sugar, Peter Southeastern Europe Under Ottoman Rule

 

1.     Sept. 6      The World in 1400:   A general overview of the world with emphasis on the powers of
                 the day and in particular, the declining Byzantine Empire.

     Sept. 13     No Session

2.    Sept. 20     The Ottoman Turks and Their World:   The Ottoman Turks appear on the scene.
                 Important elements that constitute their culture and how these elements became
                 instrumental in Ottoman success.

3.  Sept. 27    The Ottoman Ascendancy in Europe:   How and why the Ottomans were able to conquer Constantinople and threaten the rest of Europe.

4.  Oct. 4       The Ottoman Empire in Retreat:  How the Ottoman Empire lost its vigor both as a military entity and a well-governed state and became a shadow of its old self

     Oct. 11     No Session

     Oct. 18     No Session

5.  Oct. 25     The End of the Ottoman Empire:  A series of events, starting in the 1870's and culminating in 1918, spelled the end of the Empire and the creation of modern Turkey and the Middle East.

6.  Nov. 1     The Ottoman Empire's Successor States in Search of Identity:   The newly independent states of the Middle East search for true independence as well as an identity and a role in the world.

7.   Nov. 8    The Failure to Modernize and its Consequences. The Middle East's failure to modernize/westernize and its impact on contemporary events in the region.

8.   Nov. 15   Twenty-First Century Problems:  Clash of Civilizations?

Dr. John Mazis is Associate Professor of Russian and European History at Hamline University.  A native of Greece he earned a PH.D. in Russian history from the University of Minnesota.  Professor Mazis has published a number of articles on Russian history and is also author of the book The Greeks of Odessa: Diaspora Leadership in Late Imperial Russia Published by East European Monographs in 2005.  He is currently working on a biography of the Greek patriot and intellectual, Ion Dragoumis.

 

Registration fee: $60
Mail your check, payable to the University of St. Thomas and your completed
registration form to    Center for Senior Citizens’ Education
                                      LOR 309
                                      University of St. Thomas
                                      2115 Summit Avenue
                                      St. Paul, MN  55105-1096

                                     Telephone: ( 651) 962-5188

Center for Senior Citizens’ Education Web site: http://www.stthomas.edu/csce

 

 

All sessions will be held on the  auditorium of the O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Auditorium, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul campus, on Cleveland between Portland and Ashland Avenues. 

 

 

REGISTRATION FORM       
University of St. Thomas St. Paul Campus     FROM OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO MODERN MIDDLE EAST

Name(s)
 

Phone Number

Age

Street Address

City                                                                     

State

ZIP Code
 

E-Mail Address

Signature

Date
 

Please circle the highest year of education completed.
  Secondary School           9     10    11    12
  College                           1       2      3     4
  Other  __________________________________________

Are you a St. Thomas alumnus/a? ________

Occupation prior to retirement (if retired):


Year of Graduation:____________