HIST 365(S) Writing Violence: The Historiography of Middle Eastern Sectarianism and Communalism 1850-1947*

History is vendetta. Nowhere is this axiom more true than the Middle East in the modern period. The mechanization of death, economic dislocation, the proxy-based politics of the Great Power system, incipient nationalism, "ethnic cleansing," institutionalized confessional segregation, and religious chauvinism contributed to a climate of violence which affected the lives of millions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans in this approximately 100 year span of time. While such a climate was not unique to the region, this seminar will explore the general and specific themes and strategies employed by various historians, novelists and filmmakers who have dealt with this period. While examining discrete moments of violence in the region, appropriate parallels will be drawn with South Asia and Ireland at the same time. Students will be required to construct an extensive bibliography on a specific moment, deliver a 20-30 minute seminar paper and direct a discussion on histriographical issues raised by writing on that moment and complete a term paper on the same. Class evaluations will be based upon a midterm essay and a final essay. Group C

Hour: WATENPAUGH