Please note: there may be some adjustments to the teaching arrangements published in the course catalogue for 2020-21. Given current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic it is anticipated that some usual arrangements for teaching on campus will be modified to ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and staff on campus; further adjustments may also be necessary, or beneficial, during the course of the academic year as national requirements relating to management of the pandemic are revised.

The Ottomans in history, 1300-1922 HIST5131

  • Academic Session: 2022-23
  • School: School of Humanities
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
  • Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
  • Available to Visiting Students: No
  • Available to Erasmus Students: No

Short Description

This course uses the history of the Ottoman empire (1300-1922) to explore different methodological approaches within the discipline of history. It covers areas including gender history, environmental history, social history, consumption history, and historical sociology as well as more traditional political and diplomatic history.

Timetable

One two-hour seminar per week for ten weeks.

Requirements of Entry

Standard entry to Masters at College level.

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Essay (3500 words) - 70%

Poster Presentation - content equivalent to 1500-words (15 minutes) - 30%

Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No

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. 

Course Aims

This course aims to:

■ Explore the history of the Ottoman empire, an extraordinarily long-lived world empire which spread over three continents and lasted from the medieval period into the twentieth century.

■ Engage with different methodological approaches to history and the debates they have inspired within the discipline

■ Consider Ottoman history in a wider comparative perspective-and gain a comparative perspective on European history

■ Develop students' advanced skills in the formulation of research questions, pursuit of independent research, and critical reading of secondary (and some primary) sources.

■ Develop students' advanced skills in the formation and effective expression of well-supported oral and written arguments

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

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

■ Identify and analyse key factors in the Ottoman Empire's development over time, based on knowledge of the broad sweep of Ottoman history from the medieval period to the modern.

■ Construct analytical comparisons to relate Ottoman history to its wider context

■ Recognize a range of different methodological approaches within the discipline of history, and evaluate their application to the study of the Ottoman Empire.

■ Identify an original research question and explain through effective oral communication how it will be used to investigate the subject, and using what sources.

■ Pursue a research question to produce a convincing written argument drawing independent conclusions informed by the analytical and historiographical literature.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

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