HL90CZ: Middle Eastern Displacements: From Ottoman Migrants to Syrian Refugees

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2017

Instructor: Uğur Z. Peçe
Meeting time: Thursday, 2-4

HL90CZ: Middle Eastern DisplacementsThe current humanitarian disasters in the Middle East and North Africa have brought the plight of refugees in the region to the fore. Taking a long-term historical perspective, this course explores the centrality of migrants and refugees to the formation of the modern Middle East. Drawing on multiple cases of migration and displacement from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, we will investigate historical processes that resulted in the uprooting of diverse populations throughout the broader Middle East. Topics include war (inter-state and civil), population transfers and exchanges, voluntary and forced migration, assimilation and integration, and exile and memory. We will explore these themes by drawing on diverse primary sources such as fiction, poetry, memoirs, music, photography, and film.