Northwestern students will have the opportunity starting Fall Quarter to take language courses in Turkish as well as classes on the history and culture of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.
Responding to a growing demand from NU students for classes about the Middle East, the departments of history, sociology and linguistics will offer the courses.
History Lecturer Fariba Zarinebaf cited the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as one reason behind the growing demand among students for such courses.
“I think there was demand for these courses before Sept. 11, but it has jumped since then,” Zarinebaf said. “Also, the importance of Turkey and Central Asia has grown in the last couple of years.”
Next year Weinberg undergraduates also will be able to use courses in Turkish to satisfy their foreign language requirement.
The classes are being funded through a grant from the Institute of Turkish Studies, which is based at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in Washington. The institute is a nonprofit, private educational foundation that supports the development of Turkish studies at U.S. universities and has funded programs at the University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Ohio State University and University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Alanna Krause, the Weinberg Student Advisory Board representative for the Asian Studies major, said she appreciated the addition of these courses because of their broad focus on a diverse culture.
“I also happen to know that we have a relatively high population of Turkish students,” said Krause, a Weinberg junior. “These courses will allow us to better understand them and their culture.”
Zarinebaf said a knowledge of the history of the Ottoman Empire is essential to understanding the present-day politics of the Middle East.
“The Ottoman Empire controlled most of the Middle East and the Balkans from the 13th century all the way to World War I,” Zarinebaf said. “In order to understand the history of both the Balkans and the Middle East, we need to know something about their Ottoman past.”
The history department will offer a course titled Istanbul in History and Fiction, which Zarinebaf will teach Winter Quarter. The course covers the history of Turkey’s capital city from the 15th century to the present.
The history department also will offer a survey course on the history of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans. The sociology department also might add courses on Turkey, Zarinebaf added, and has invited a post-doctoral Mellon Fellow specializing in the Islamic movement in Turkey to join the department department for two years.
Associated Student Government Academic Vice President Prajwal Ciryam lauded the university for the new course offerings. In his election platform, Ciryam, a Weinberg freshman, recommended adding courses in South Asian and Middle Eastern studies.
“It is always very encouraging to see the university expand its cultural programs,” he said. “I hope the university will take interest in other such programs that are important to students.”
