"Byzance apres Byzance". Exercises in state- and nation-building
in South-Eastern Europe.
Semester II
Course description - four credits
Recent years have witnessed a revival of Balkan nationalism and a transformation
of the political system in Eastern Europe which had no comparable precedent
since the l9th century. The course considers the geographical area inhabited
by the European ' heirs of Byzantium' and covers the 16-19th centuries,
starting from the end of the Byzantine empire and lasting till the onset
of national movements.It is hoped that the students will learn to understand
better the origins of contemporary tensions and development gaps in the
Balkan peninsula.
Course objectives: The course focuses on the model offered by the Byzantine
empire for the various statehoods in the region.It will stress on the social
and political life of those countries which, being invaded or threatened
by the Turks ,safeguarded a common cultural tradition.As it is much discussed
today how much national ideology is influenced by religion,with a peculiar
accent on orthodoxy,the issue is a delicate one and may interest a large
audience.
Course requirements: Course assessment will involve a mid-term paper
(2o %),group exercises,report presentations,a theoretical examination (3o
%),a final paper which will testify the practical skills of the students
in the investigation of archives (30 %).Another 20 % of the two credits
is represented by participation to the weekly discussion.
Readings:
N.Iorga,Byzance apres Byzance,Bucarest,l935 (reprint l97l) x
N.Iorga,Le caractere commun des institutions de l'Europe du Sud-Est,Paris,1929
Dimitri Obolensky,The Byzantine Commonwealth,Weidenfeld and Nicolson,1971
E.J.Hosbawm,Nations and Nationalism since 1780,Cambridge,1990
Gellner, Ernest (1983), Nation and Nationalisms. Oxford, Basil Blakwell.
Greenfeld, Liah (1991) Nationalism, Five Roads to Modernity, Cambridge
, Harvard University Press
Jenkins, Brian and Sofos, Spyros A (1996) Nation and Identity in Contemporary
Europe London, Routledge
Medlin,W.K.,Moscow and East Rome,Geneva,1952
Schopflin, George (1991) 'The Political Tradition of Eastern Europe'
in Graubard, Steven R (ed) Eastern Europe? Central Europe? Europe, Boulder:
Westview
Smith, Antony D. (1983) Theories of Nationalism, NY; Holmes and Meier
Seton-Watson, Hugh (1977), Nations and States (London, Methuen).
Sugar, Peter and Lederer, Ivo (1969) Nationalism in Eastern Europe,
Seattle and London: University of Washington Press)
Sugar, Peter (1980) Ethnic Diversity and Conflict in Eastern Europe
(Santa Barbara, ABC-Clio).
