The protracted decline and breakup of the Ottoman empire went hand in hand with the rise of a number of mutually antagonistic nationalisms which kept competing not only against the Porte but also against one another for political, ideological, and economic space. After initial, embryonic nation-statehood, such competition acquired irredentistic extensions. HIST 588 proposes to look at various such projects that culminated in great human tragedies in the early 20th century, the legacy of which endures to this day. Thus a brief introduction on theories of nation and nationalism will be followed by close examinations of : (1) the idea of a ''Greater Serbia''; (2) the ''Illyrianism'' (or Illyrismus) concept and the related notion of ''Yugoslavia'' in Croatia; (3) the role of state policy in the Greek megali idea; (4) Ottomanism (Osmanlılık) : an initial reaction against other nationalist movements; (5) religion, ethnos, and nation in Bulgaria; (6) how ''constructed'' was the Macedonian nation; (7) the development of Albanian ''nationhood'' and the idea of a ''greater Albania''; (8) the rise and outlines of Turkish nationalism. The course will conclude with a review of nationalism and ''minorities'' questions today. For the possibility of taking this course at an undergraduate level, subject to appropriate adjustments, see HIST 488.
