TAR 203 - History of Europe-I

Europe has played a predominant role in the making of the world as it exists today. The aim of the course is to explain this vast historical process to the students and to enable them in developping the insight that world history is a chain of interconnected developments. Several topics concerning the early history of Europe will pass the revue, such as its geography and the political, social, economic and cultural transformations during the Early Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period (300-1500) that helped to form the western civilisation. The course also sheds more light on issues such as the ethnic composition of Europe, the migrations of Germanic tribes, feudalism, early modern state formation and centralisation, urban history, Christianity, the forming of the Papacy and the Crusades. It is aimed at rendering the student with general knowledge on the structural developments during this part of European history, with several moments of transition such as the Renaissance, the age of reforms, the emergence of capitalism, thirty years wars, etc. Going beyond the misleading Eurocentric assumptions and historical theories, the approach of the course nourishes a new and alternative reading of European history by situating it within the broader developments of world history. 

The course outlines the early history of Europe into four periods. The early medieval history of Europe (395-1000), the high medieval period (1000-1300), the late medieval period (1300-1453) and the early modern period, after the conquest of İstanbul (1453-1550).

Concerning the approach of this course, it presents an interpretation that goes beyond the usual and widespread Eurocentric historiography. As it is known, the traditional Eurocentric history writing was the result of a problematic and troublesome view of the world. It saw and still sees Europe or the West as the center of human history, assuming that it has produced a universal civilisation, which represents the unique source of every aspect of human life going from arts and politics to science and philosophy. Ever since Europe encountered various neighbouring cultures and societies in more distant places, it always defined itself with a discourse of superiority. This discourse usually depicted other societies and cultures as less civilised and primitive. Eurocentric historiography simplifies and blurs the complexities of world history, as it views the non-Western world according to the criteria of its historical development in Western Europe. The new aspect of this course is to present an alternative view history of Europe that is integrated and interconnected with the developments in world history. The innovative approach of this course is aimed at weakening the assumptions of the Eurocentric history writing without undermining the factuality of historical knowledge. There exists a vast and very rich field on the history of Europe, which produced influential studies on the legacy of antiquity, barbaric invasions, medieval Europe, Christianity, Renaissance, reform and counter-reform, the conflictuous relation between the Church and the states, ​​capitalism, colonialism, etc. The most important results of the scholarly literature on these topics will be shared with the students.