Week 15 – East and West in Istanbul

How does the theme of East/West appear in the book Istanbul? Share your thoughts on how the discussion of East/West in this book echoes some themes we have discussed in this class.

Week 14 – Huzun

In Istanbul, Orhan Pamuk writes about “huzun” as an emotion specific to Istanbuli residents in a moment in time. Discuss how Pamuk describes this emotion in historical, social and cultural terms. How does it compare to other similar emotions? What is specific about Istanbul’s history and culture that shapes huzun?

Week 13 – Olive Oil and Mediterraneaness

This week’s reading examines the imaginary of Mediterranean culture projected onto extravirgin olive oil. What tropes of Mediterraneanness does the author call into question? How does the actual science of production of contemporary olive oil in Italy challenge some of these cultural assumptions?

Week 12 – Mediterranean Cities Revisited

What are some of the challenges that contemporary Mediterranean cities are facing, based on any of the readings or the podcast assigned for this week?

Week 11 – Mediterranean Crossings, continued

Using a specific example from the book, discuss how Chambers’ vision of Mediterranean of hybrids and multiplicities exists in the present.

week 10 – Mediterranean crossings

Please answer one of the following questions: (a) what is Chambers’s vision of the Mediterranean and how is it unique from previous visions we have discussed in class?; (b) reflect on Sicily’s cosmopolitan history and culture based on the documentary we watched.

Week 6 – Mediterranean themes in the present

This week’s readings explored some classic themes in Mediterranean studies–beliefs in the evil eye, corruption and patronage networks–in contemporary contexts and events. Discuss one of these themes and how the respective author situates and explores this theme in the specific ethnographic context (Egypt, Greece).

Week 5 – 4 Mediterraneans

For this week’s post, answer one of the following questions:

a) Describe a critique of one of the first two approaches to the Mediterranean culture

b) Describe the 4rth approach to the Mediterranean, the one of “complementary differences.”

Week 4 – Three Mediterraneans

This week, we begin to learn about the the anthropology of the Mediterranean. What are some important themes in the anthropological literature on the Mediterranean? How do some approaches to the Mediterranean conceptualize the predominant cultural patterns in this region (you do not have to cover all approaches. focus on one approach.)

Week 3 – Braudel II

Braudel argues that the Mediterranean of 16t/17th century was characterized by a cosmopolitan culture. What does he mean by this? How are Mediterranean cities more specifically cosmopolitan?