AP/HIST 3385 3.00
Empires and colonialism in the Modern Mediterranean
This course introduces students to modern Mediterranean history through the colonial expansion of Britain, France and Italy from the late eighteenth nineteenth until the middle of the twentieth century. The end of the colonial era in the Mediterranean came when nationalist uprisings and movements gave rise to independent, post-colonial states in North Africa and the Middle East. The course will introduce students to the debates on the beginnings of modernization in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East and to debates on de-colonization and the unity of the Mediterranean.
The course will build on the students’ knowledge of modern European history and expand on the history of main European countries as colonial powers in the Mediterranean. The course will compare different forms of rule and colonial practices introduced by the colonial powers and will offer students the opportunity to specialize in the history of French, British or Italian colonization in the Mediterranean.
The course highlights major events in world history: from Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt to the colonization of Mediterranean islands and North Africa, the First and Second World Wars, de- colonization and the Suez Crisis, and the emergence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Overall, the course introduces students to such concepts as ‘orientalism’, ‘power’, ‘resistance’, ‘collaboration’ and ‘post-colonialism’ in the Mediterranean historical context; it is expected that students will also want to discuss recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East.