Course Catalogue

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This is a course about a region that has come to be popularly associated with disintegration ('balkanisation') and become almost synonymous with violence (especially after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s). It covers the Balkans from the Serbian (1804-1813) and Greek (1821-1832) revolutions through the Berlin Conference of 1878, to the two world wars, the Cold War, the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s and the rise of Syriza in Greece in 2012. The course will explore why the region been the subject of so many wars and revolutions in the modern and contemporary era. It will look at the role of imperialism, nationalism, politics, economics and society.

One 2 hour class per week

This course may not be running this year. For further information please check the CEES Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

Mandatory Entry Requirements

General Honours entry requirements

Recommended Entry Requirements

Grade C3 in Central and East European Studies or cognate social science or humanities Level 2

One 2,500-3,000 word essay (worth 50% of the final mark).

A final 90 minute examination where you will answer two out of six questions (worth 50% of the final mark for the course)

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

• to introduce students to Balkan history in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries;

• to provide students with opportunities to learn about the geographical, social and economic contexts of this area through this time period

• familiarise students with the geography of the region and its impact on regional development;

• to alert students to the complexity of the various ethnic groups of the region and be able to differentiate between these;

• to encourage students to analyse the dynamics of economic and social change and their impact on the political fabric of the region and its polities;

• to support students' skills in identifying and analysing historiographical themes and debates about the causes of war and revolution in the Balkans;

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ identify aspects of the political, social, economic and cultural heritage of the region that have contributed to the causes of war and revolution;

■ analyse the various accounts, artefacts and theories of historical development and be able to compare states and societies, bringing out differences of ethnicity, class and other forms of identity;

■ use different sources critically and write analytically about regions with multiple and complex problems;

■ develop research skills and agendas of their own in Balkan history and relate Balkan history with other fields of history and interests.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.