Course: The Balkans in Modern History

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Course title The Balkans in Modern History
Course code KHI/BMH
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminary
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 5
Language of instruction English
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Course availability The course is available to visiting students
Lecturer(s)
  • Balaban Milan, Mgr. et Mgr. M.A., Ph.D.
  • Peřinová Markéta
Course content
1. Historical Background: The Legacy of Empires 2. The Balkans in the first part of the 19th century. The awakening of nations: Revolutions and uprisings 3. Ottoman and Habsburg Balkan up to 1875 4. Great Eastern Crises, Berlin Congress and its aftermath 5. Balkan wars and First World War 1912-1918 6. The Balkans in the Interwar period - winners and losers. 7. Economic and social development 8. The Second World War on the peninsula 9. Socialist Balkan (Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania) and Greece 10. Transforming the Balkans: Societies, Gender, Religion, Popular culture 11. The End of Socialism. The break-up of Yugoslavia and Wars of Yugoslav Succession 1991-1999 12. Course wrap-up. The Balkan nowadays Required literature Mark Mazower, The Balkans: A Short History (Modern Library, 2000). Literature Misha Glenny, The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers 1804-2012 (Penguin Books, 2012). Robert D. Kaplan, Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History (Picador, 2005). Barbara Yelavitch, History of the Balkans, Volume 2 (Cambridge University Press, 1983). John R. Lampe, Balkan Economic History, 1550-1950: From Imperial Borderlands to Developing Nations (Indiana University Press, 1982). John R. Lampe, Yugoslavia as History: Twice There Was a Country (Cambridge University Press, 1996). Mark Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950 (Vintage, 2006). Stevan K. Pavlowitch, A History of the Balkans 1804-1945 (Routledge, 1999). Leften S. Stavrianos, The Balkans Since 1453 (NYU Press, 2000). Traian Stoianovich, Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe (Routledge, 1994). Maria Todorova, Imagining the Balkans (Oxford University Press, 2009).

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified
Learning outcomes
The course The Balkans in Modern History is focused on the history of the Balkan peninsula in the 19th and 20th Century. It will analyse the history of the abovenamed region and it will focus on several important patterns- history, economy, social structure, and international relations during that period. A comparative history perspective with a country-by-country approach will be used to explain the individual patterns. The course will also analyse different approaches to the history of the Balkans. It will give an overview of the main processes: revolutions and uprisings against the foreign rulers in 19th century, the establishment of the nation-states, changes in society, economic development, industrialization, Balkan and First World Wars, the establishment of Yugoslavia, comparative development in the different states during the Interwar period, Second World War, the formation of socialist regimes, Greek history from 1945, societal changes in the second half of the 20th century. The course will also analyse crises and the end of the socialist systems, the break-up of Yugoslavia, wars for succession and the post-transition development in the 1990s and until the present.
The purpose of this course is to present historical, social and economic perspective and introducing the students to the analysis of the most important patterns of the development of the Balkans in Modern History. Each week's work will examine a key episode in Balkan affairs through a combination of lectures, readings, and discussion of associated issues. Students will learn about the political institutions, social relations, cultural trends, significant similarities and differences in the Balkan culture and societies, as well as patterns of economic development in the area.
Prerequisites
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to use analysis to identify and evaluate the different processes which lead to the formation of modern Balkan societies and states.

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
Class participation (20 %) Essay (30%) Final exam (50%) The student's final assessment will be composed of class attendance, essay evaluation and final exam. The student will need to write a paper on his topic of interest, with the usage of recommended or chosen literature. The length of the paper should be around 3 to 5 pages, with the usage of references, footnotes and bibliography. The final exam will consist of two parts. The student will choose one question from the ballot questions, from the required reading (M. Mazower, The Balkans: A Short History) and the second part will be a discussion about the one chosen book, from the literature list.
Recommended literature


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA22) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA21) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA24) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA20) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA19) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023_N24) Category: Philosophy, theology - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023_S24) Category: Philosophy, theology - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA21) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): History (2019) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2023) Category: Philosophy, theology - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): History (2019) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Euroculture (2019) Category: Philosophy, theology - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA23) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA22) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA24) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA20) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA19) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): History (2019) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): History (2012) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -
Faculty: Faculty of Education Study plan (Version): Teaching History for Secondary Schools and Higher Primary Schools (NA23) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: -