HIST 426 - History of South Eastern Europe

3 hours
An examination of the complex and dynamic relationship between the Great Powers and the Balkans over the last two centuries that transformed the peoples of South Eastern Europe from subjects in the Ottoman and Hapsburg Empires to independent countries and active participants in European history. Analyzing conflicting and stereotypical interpretations of the history and cultures of the region, compared to cultural and historical research to better understand the Balkans and how the region has affected European history at large, e.g., the origins of WWI, the saving of the Bulgarian Jew during WWII, and the different models of democracy that each country is pursuing in the post-communist era.(Meets World Culture General Education Requirement.)