CORE
3: TOPICS IN THE PRE-MODERN WORLD
IDS 1300(02)
"BLOOD
OF OUR ANCESTORS"
A
Formative History of the Modern Balkans
Spring
2003
Room: AC 222
MTWF 9:00 (only in some
weeks will we use our Tuesday class period)
Professor: Dr. Michael
L. Galaty (galatml@millsaps.edu)
Office: SH 343
Phone: Ext. 1387
Office Hours: MWF 11:00-12:00,
or by appointment
Contents:
Required Texts
Course Description
Course Goals
Skills
Class Policies
Assignments
Course Schedule
Required
Texts:
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1) Reader of various articles available in the bookstore.
2) Michael Wood. In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1997.
3) John Julius Norwich. A Short History of Byzantium. Vintage Books, New York, 1997.
4) Guglielmo Cavallo, ed. The Byzantines. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1997.
5) Jason Goodwin. Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. Henry Holt, New York, 1998.
6) Robert D. Kaplan. Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History. Vintage Books, New York, 1994.
Articles in Reader:
1) Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel. Excerpt from The Tapestry of Culture: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Sixth Edition. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA, 1998, pps. 323-328.
2) James Pettifer. Excerpt from the Blue Guide to Albania. Second Edition. A&C Black, London, 1996, pps. 13-20.
3) Nicholas Hammond. The relations of Illyrian Albania with the Greeks and the Romans. In T. Winnifrith (ed.) Perspectives on Albania, Macmillan, 1992, pps. 29-39.
4) Arrian. Excerpt from The Campaigns of Alexander. Penguin Classics edition translated by A. de Sélincourt, 1958, pps. 41-65.
5) Rebecca West. Excerpt from Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. Penguin, 1994 (1941), pps. 633-644.
6) Derek Williams. Excerpt from Romans and Barbarians. St. Martin's Press, 1999, pps. 166-200.
7) Jack Davis, ed. Excerpt from Sandy Pylos. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, 1998, pps. 178-191.
8) Isabel Fonseca. Excerpt from Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey. Vintage, 1995, pps. 83-112.
Course
Description:
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I hate the corpses of empires, they stink as nothing else.
--Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, 1941
The Balkan peninsula is today—and has always been—a strategic piece of territory, both a gateway to and a defender of continental Europe. Throughout history, outsiders have fought to control it, and from its shores remarkable leaders have launched epic campaigns. Alexander the Great of Macedonia, born in Pella in what is now northern Greece, went on to build one of the largest empires the world has ever known. Later, the Romans occupied portions of the peninsula and divided it into several provinces: Thracia, Moesia, Dacia, Illyricum, Macedonia, Epirus, and Achaea. After the fall of Rome, both the Byzantines and, subsequently, the Ottoman Turks also sought to conquer the Balkan peoples, though, like the Romans before them, they never fully succeeded. This class will trace the history of the Balkan peninsula, paying special attention to the process of empire-building. We will apply methods of comparative analysis, grounded in the fields of history, anthropology, archaeology, art history, literature, and religion, to reveal how both subjugation and resistance have affected the formation of a modern Balkan identity and ethos. We will trace the genesis of the various Balkan ethnic groups, thereby working to unravel the sources for the current Balkan wars. In the end, we will recognize how deeply tied are the modern Balkan nations to the tragedies and triumphs of their ancestors.
Course
Goals:
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This course is a formative historical study of the Balkan peninsula. Instead of simply looking at one country or culture at one particular point in time, the focus of this course will be to compare and contrast several distinct culture areas at various points prior to and during the pre-Modern age. More specifically, we will try to identify the processes that have contributed to the modern Balkan situation. To what degree is that situation (one we have come to associate with ethnic strife) the result of almost constant subjugation over the course of nearly 2000 years? Have the political styles, literature, art, folkways, worldview of Balkan peoples reinforced historical processes, or have they acted as buffers?
With these questions in mind, during the semester we will:
• learn to critically evaluate the concept of “ethnicity”. What does this term really mean?
• learn to closely read historical documents and to carefully analyze historical interpretations. How have scholars tried to understand and explain the history of the Balkans, especially given the recent problems there?
• compare and contrast the regional histories of different countries and peoples of the Balkan peninsula. Is the pre-Modern era characterized by homogeneity—that is, was the Balkan peninsula marked by similarity in beliefs, religion, customs, etc.—or rather was/is the peninsula a very diverse place?
Because historical change is the result of many complex processes, we must draw from various disciplines in seeking to explain such changes. For example, you cannot understand the appearance of Byzantine styles of icon painting unless you also investigate the religious, economic, and social systems in operation at the time. In order to look at cultures in a comparative and integrated manner, we will have to turn to data and ideas drawn from archaeology, history, cultural anthropology, folklore, art history, literature, and architecture, among others.
For most of us it is difficult to understand the importance of the ancient and pre-Modern worlds to our present lives. It is also hard to make sense of the past by examining its material culture, or archaeological remains, history, or artwork. We will find, though, that in order to "make sense" of the present, we must connect it to the past. In order to understand what is happening in the Balkans today (and whether anything can be done about it), we must look at what happened there during the Medieval period especially.
Skills:
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This Core 3 course is designed to present you (and me!) with new ideas and perspectives and to help in your development of Liberal Arts abilities.
1. Communication skills will be developed through regular in-class discussion (both small- and large-group discussions), and of course writing will play an integral role in this course. For example, you will be asked to react to and convey your thoughts on the various conflicts, past and present, that have shaped the Balkans. You will also need to produce a research paper, addressing some issue of Balkan history or identity.
2. Various types of reasoning will be asked of you. The course is designed to encourage us to evaluate ideas and interpretations. Can we say with any certainty what the cause(s) of present problems might be, and does studying the past help to provide solutions? The exams will cover facts and concepts and will encourage you to synthesize the material. We will also emphasize development of the ability to do comparative analysis, looking at the similarities and differences in the culture areas under study.
3. Quantitative thinking is approached indirectly as we evaluate the methods used by historians and archaeologists in the analysis of cultures.
4. This course should help you to develop historical consciousness by focusing on the accomplishments of pre-Modern peoples. Is the pre-Modern period very different from or similar to the Ancient period? Similar to or different from the Modern era? We will emphasize our connections to the past and George Santayana's warning will be daily with us, "Those who do not know their past are doomed to repeat it." This warning is especially apropos given recent events in the Balkans.
5. The class will examine art, architecture, written documents, and the growth of aesthetics, primarily in Europe during the Middle Ages. Comparing and contrasting these aspects of culture will make us aware of why things become judged as aesthetically pleasing and what purposes aesthetics serves in culture.
6. The ability to value and make decisions about data, theories and interpretations is one of the primary goals of this course. Examining social evolution from a cross-cultural perspective asks us to see both the relativity of culture as well as its universality.
7. Finally, the use of global and multi-cultural perspectives is one of the most important themes we will recognize throughout the course. In the pre-Modern world you will come face to face with people who lived different lives and held very different beliefs (in some ways) than do you.
Class
Policies
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The dates provided below are deadlines and not guidelines. All papers and projects must be turned in no later than the assigned due date. Those given to me late, should I choose to accept them, will be downgraded by one half letter grade per day overdue. You cannot make up an exam without a medical excuse or other information that makes it clear you had a valid reason for missing. No work will be accepted following the final exam date. Furthermore, tardiness is disruptive and will not be tolerated. Late arrival will count against your class participation grade. Should you choose to sleep in class, I will wake you up and ask that you leave.
You have all pledged to abide by the Millsaps Honor Code. I expect that you will respect the Code, especially with regard to issues of plagiarism. During the course of the semester, as you work on various writing assignments, if you have any questions at all about plagiarism, come talk to me. Better to be safe than sorry.
Note that if you are challenged with a learning disability it is your responsibility to register as such with Student Services and to inform me of any allowances granted by the college, especially in terms of test-taking.
To participate effectively in class, you must do all of the reading assignments. Keep up with your reading. In fact, read ahead if possible and take detailed notes. Information from the text and videos, as well as from lecture and discussion, is all fair game when it comes to exams.
A portion of your grade in this course will come from class participation, so you must regularly attend. Be prepared for class discussions. Many archaeological and historical concepts are best appreciated and understood through discussion and debate, so I will actively engage you with questions during class time. As a result, a portion of your final grade (see below) will be based on attendance. You will be allowed two unexcused absences for the semester before your grade begins to suffer.
Finally, if we use terminology during class that you do not understand, be sure to ask for clarification. My email address has been provided above. Feel free throughout the course of the semester to contact me via email anytime you need to. If something is unclear to you in the reading or if you have a comment or suggestion, email. I'll plan to check it every day. You should also feel free to drop by my office or make an appointment to meet with me.
Assignments
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Class preparation and participation, including attendance: 25 points (or 10% of 250 total possible points).
Geography test: 30 points (or 12% of total). You will need to memorize the names and locations of countries, cities, rivers, mountains, etc. on the Balkan peninsula. You will also need to know where certain ethnic groups are to be found as well as where various languages are spoken.
Three reaction papers: 3 pages each, 15 points a piece, 45 points total (or 18% of total). I have scheduled throughout the course of the semester six so-called reaction papers. Of these six, you will need to do three. These papers will allow you to examine a particular country or culture in some detail. What do you think about the country’s history? How does its past affect its present? Are the problems there intractable? What successes can be attributed to the country/culture?
Two essay exams, both of which will be administered in class, a mid-semester and a final. These will test you on concepts and issues surrounding our study of Balkan history and archaeology. They may ask you to compare and contrast, discuss the important points of an issue or idea, or evaluate the utility of a theory or model: approx. 3 pages each, 50 points a piece, 100 points total (40%).
Research Paper. You will be asked to write a Research Paper, similar to that written in LS 1000. This paper will investigate some aspect of Balkan culture or history. It will be important to ask a significant, answerable, interesting question and muster evidence to support your conclusions. A formal prospectus will be handed in at mid-semester. You should produce a 6-7 page paper, plus a bibliography (which lists 5 or more scholarly sources), and will need to formally revise your work at least once before final submission. This paper should be written using MLA style guidelines. In addition, this paper will be assessed and submitted to your writing portfolio. 50 points (20%).
Note that we will talk in more detail about each of these assignments as they approach.
"Blood of our Ancestors"
Week One Introduction: The Balkan peninsula
Reading Assignment: Syllabus; Rosman and Rubel; Introductory portions of Kaplan's Balkan Ghosts, pps. ix-xxxi
Assignment: Prepare for geography test, to be taken Monday, January 20; refer to the map in Kaplan, pg. xvii
(M) Jan 13 On this the first day of class, we will read together the syllabus for the course. We will discuss our goals and describe the skills we will sharpen during the semester. We will also discuss how this course fits into the Millsaps Core curriculum and, more generally, the Liberal Arts approach to learning.
(T) Jan 14 We will define and discuss the term ethnicity and try to determine to what degree it is applicable to the pre-Modern world. What causes ethnic conflict? Can we suggest any solutions?
[The Balkan Peninsula] is, or was, a gay peninsula filled with sprightly people who ate peppered foods, drank strong liquors, wore flamboyant clothes, loved and murdered easily, and had a splendid talent for starting wars.
--C.L. Sulzberger, A Long Row of Candles, 1969 (from Kaplan, 1994, xviii)
(W, F) Jan 15, 17 Borders and Barriers: Cultural and physical geography of the Balkans, including historical linguistics. Mapping the peoples and languages of the Balkans.
Week Two Classical Greece, Hellenism, and the northern tribes:
The Illyrians are a race of fighters, and the fear of them now made both parties agree on the advisability of a retreat...
--Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, Book IV:125
Reading Assignment: Pettifer; Hammond; homepage of the Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project: <http://river.blg.uc.edu/mrap/MRAP_en.html>;
Prologue and Prelude to Wood's Footsteps; Arrian Book I: 1-11.
(M, T) Jan 20, 21 GEOGRAPHY QUIZ. Tribal Albania (Illyria) and Processes of Colonization: Archaeology, history and the results of the Mallakastra Regional Archaeological Project
(W, F) Jan 22, 24 Phillip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, and the Illyrian campaigns; Video and Discussion: "The Speaking Tree", Part 1 of In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.
Week Three Contemporary Focus: Albanians and Macedonians
Reading Assignment: West
(M, W) Jan 27, 29 Video: Before the Rain
Writing Assignment: Reaction paper #1, due Friday, February 7
(F) Jan 31 discussion of Before the Rain.
Week Four Alexander's empire
Reading Assignment: Wood's Footsteps, Parts 1-4
Video Assignment: Parts 2 and 3 of In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great are on reserve in the library
Where is Great Alexander?
Great Alexander lives and reigns
--Medieval Greek proverb, quoted in P. Green, Alexander of Macedon, 1991
(T) Feb 4 Discussion of video: "Son of God", Part 2 of In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.
(F) Feb 7 Discussion of video: "The Road to Samarkand", Part 3 of In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.
Week Five Alexander's empire, cont.'
Reading Assignment: Wood's Footsteps, Parts 5-6, Epilogue
(M, T) Feb 10, 11 Video and Discussion: "To the End of the Earth", Part 4 of In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great.
(W, F) Feb 12, 14 Explaining the effects of Hellenism, anticipating the arrival of the Romans.
Week Six The Roman empire
Reading Assignment: Williams; Davis; re-read Pettifer and Hammond
(M, T, W) Feb 17-19 Roman conquests in the Balkans: Examples from Achaea (Greece), Illyricum (Albania), and Dacia (Romania).
(F) Feb 21 Mid-Semester Exam
Week Seven The fall of Rome and the rise of Byzantium
Reading Assignment: Norwich, Chapters 1, 4, 9; Kaplan, Part 1
Writing Assignment: Prospectus for Research Paper due Feb 28
(M, W) Feb 24, 26 Barbarians at the Gate: Alaric comes calling, 410 AD.
...[in 1987, Slobodan Milosevic] pointed his finger at the begrimed and defaced hills of Old Serbia [i.e. Kosovo], smelling of exhaust from a nearby factory and crisscrossed with power lines, and promised, "Never again will anyone defeat you"...
--R. Kaplan, Balkan Ghosts, 1994:40
(F) Feb 28 PROSPECTUS DUE. Contemporary Focus: The former Yugoslavia.
Writing Assignment: Reaction Paper #2 due Friday, March 7.
Week Eight Life in the Byzantine empire
Reading Assignment: Cavallo, Introduction and Chapters 1-2, 8-9; Fonseca
Video Assignment: the video “Curse on the Gypsies” is on reserve in the library.
(M, T, W) Mar 3-5 Being poor... and being rich! In the Byzantine empire.
(F) Mar 7 Contemporary Focus: The Roma.
Writing Assignment: Reaction Paper #3 due Wednesday, March 19.
March 8-16 - SPRING BREAK
Week Nine Life in the Byzantine empire, cont.
Reading Assignment: Norwich, Part 2; Kaplan, Part 2
(M, W) Mar 17, 19 The Apogee.
(F) Mar 21 Contemporary Focus: Romania and Hungary.
Writing Assignment: Reaction Paper #4 due Friday, March 28.
Week Ten Life in the Byzantine empire, cont.’
Reading Assignment: Cavallo, Chapters 3-7 and 10
(M, W, F) Mar 24, 26, 28 What was it like to be a woman or a merchant in the Byzantine empire? a teacher or a soldier? a priest or saint?
Monasticism, the breeding ground of Byzantine sanctity, did not at first seek publicity; indeed, it desired—or so we are led to believe—the very opposite… The future, however, lay with the exhibitionists. …monks inhabit huts or caves too small for the human body, they wear iron collars or chains, some of them never lie down, others remain entirely in the open… One monk spends ten years in a narrow cylindrical cage… St. Symeon Stylites… [spends] thirty-seven years standing on top of a column…
--C. Mango, “Saints”, pg. 273, from The Byzantines
Week Eleven Decline and fall…
Reading Assignment: Norwich, Chapters 27, 28, 29; Kaplan, Part 3
(M, W) Mar 31, Apr 3 Competitors (Venice, the Serbian Princes, and the Ottomans) and Conflicts: The end of the Byzantine empire and the fall of Constantinople.
(F) Apr 5 Contemporary Focus: Bulgaria.
Writing Assignment: Reaction Paper #5 due Friday, April 10.
Week Twelve The coming of the Ottoman Turks
Reading Assignment: Goodwin, Prologue and Part 1
(M, W) Apr 7, 9 The appearance and spread of the Ottomans; Rough draft of Research Paper due Monday, April 7.
(F) Apr 10 Skanderbeg and the defense of Albania
If we slackened our vigilance even for a moment or toned down our struggle against enemies in the least, they would strike immediately like the snake that bites you and injects its poison before you are aware of it.
--Enver Hoxha, former communist dictator of Albania, 1982
Week Thirteen The Ottoman empire
Reading Assignment: Goodwin, Part 2; Kaplan, Part 4
(M, T) Apr 14, 15 The Ottomans.
(W) Apr 16 Contemporary Focus: Greece
Writing Assignment: Reaction Paper #6 due Friday, April 25
Week Fourteen The Ottoman empire, cont’
Reading Assignment: Goodwin, Part 3
(M, W) Apr 21, 23 The organization and administration of the Ottoman empire. Final draft of Research Paper due Monday, April 21.
If it were desired that at an Ottoman funeral even the horses should be seen to weep, the Turks could make them weep.
--J. Goodwin, Lords of the Horizons, pg. 134
(F) Apr 25 The Ottomans versus the Byzantines: Which was worse, and which had the more lasting impact on the Balkans?
Final Exam: Tuesday, April 29, 9:00 am