Global Seminar Spotlight: Jews & Muslims: The Multi-Ethnic History of Istanbul

By Bryce Patterson, Marketing & Outreach Intern
Study Abroad, CU-Boulder
 
In a time where we have never been more informed about the conflicts going on in the Middle East, we are proud to be running a program that tackles the difficult and complex issues of religious and ethnic diversity in the region. Our students have the opportunity to study in-depth and on-site some of the history behind today’s conflicts, on our new Global Seminar in Turkey. We believe that study abroad is a vital part of a mission to bring young people together to learn and dialogue. Discussing issues of religion and diversity in a safe environment helps to break down our preconceptions of the “other” while also redefining how we view ourselves. With all of these goals in mind, we’re ecstatic to introduce, running for the first time this summer: Global Seminar: Jews & Muslims: The Multi-Ethnic History of Istanbul.
 
This program is led by CU-Boulder English professor Nan Goodman. Professor Goodman was a Fulbright Fellow at Bogaziçi University— one of Turkey’s premier institutions of higher education— in the spring of 2014, and a visiting professor in the summer of 2011. She aims for her students to “see ethnic and religious diversity in action” in the same transformational way that she found during her time in Turkey.
 
Students on this program delve into one of the most culturally and historically dynamic areas on the planet. Where East meets West, where old traditions meet new ones, Istanbul is often considered a crossroads of civilizations. First a major city in the Roman Empire, later the capital of both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, Istanbul has both witnessed and directed the rising and falling tides of history.
 
The city’s location at the meeting point of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean has made it a cultural melting pot over the course of its almost 2,700 years of history. For centuries, Istanbul was a key landfall along the Silk Road, part a vast line connecting China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greece, and Italy. Today, the city forms both a literal and a symbolic bridge between Europe and the Middle East. By analyzing historical connections between people groups from the early Ottoman period to the present, this program highlights the rich, complex relationships that have shaped Turkey, Europe, and Western Asia over the centuries. Topics of discussion include Ottoman Jewish cultural life, the life of Sabbatai Sevi, Jewish immigration patterns in the Ottoman Empire, contemporary Turkish-Jewish fiction, varieties of Jewish experience in the Eastern Mediterranean, and an introduction to Ladino.
 
Living and learning alongside Turkish students, with guest lectures from Bogaziçi faculty, most days involve class in the morning, and site visits in the afternoon. Throughout Istanbul, students explore cemeteries, synagogues, monasteries, mosques, and museums, while day trips take them to the cities of Bursa and Edirne.
 
In an increasingly interconnected world, cultural crossroads are vitally important points of understanding. Istanbul brings together ancient civilizations, modern continents and diverse peoples into an enormous, ever-changing dialogue. As a global meeting place, Istanbul offers an incredible setting for American students to connect with the broader world around them. Says Professor Goodman: “My greatest desire is for my students, American and Turkish, to be able to question the boundaries and binaries with which they have become familiar—the lines that divide people religiously, ethnically, nationally, racially, and otherwise. There are no clear lines in Istanbul, even today. Everything is past and present, and everyone is mixed.”
 
As the world continues to get smaller & cultures constantly collide, it’s important to learn from places that have been experiencing co-existing and diverse cultures for thousands of years. The amalgamation of the content, the professor, and the location of this program ensures it will be a huge success.