World War One and the Middle East

World War I did not only mark the end of the ailing Ottoman Empire, but largely shaped the Modern Middle East as we know it today. Using primary and secondary sources, this MA seminar will explore the international context, domestic pressures and imperial aspirations that motivated the Ottoman political elite to take risks and join the Great War in alliance with Germany; the political, social and humanitarian costs of those decisions; and the trajectory of war on different fronts between 1914 and 1918. Besides familiarizing the participants with the chronology, events, and individuals of this period, the course also delves into fundamental historiographical debates regarding decision making process of the Ottoman political elite, the experiences of the Ottoman subjects both soldiers and civilians, and ensuing spatio-demographic restructuring. The course will conclude with a discussion on the memory and legacy of the war, how it is remembered in the post-Ottoman world and how its legacy relied on and produced competing narratives and national identities.