Harvard Summer Program in Istanbul, Turkey

  Turkey

Istanbul

Term: Summer 
Dates: June 15-August 7

Description: Located on the Bosphorus Strait separating Europe from Asia, Istanbul has long been one of the world's most fascinating and important cities. Capital city of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, the Byzantine Empire until the fifteenth century, and the Ottoman Empire until early in the last century, Istanbul is today home to important cultural sites, including the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Topkapi Palace, as well as a vibrant center of industry and trade.

The eight-week program brings together students and faculty from Harvard and Sabanci University in Turkey, creating an exciting intercultural experience both in the classroom and beyond. Students select two courses from a range of offerings in the humanities and social sciences. Courses are taught at a site along the Bosphorus in the old city, and students stay nearby, in an area famous for its cafés and seafood restaurants.

Highlights: Students choose two courses for credit from a curriculum spanning the social sciences and the humanities.

ECON S-1053 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: Game Theory and Strategic Decisions

This course, taught by Pinar Dogan, uses game theory to study strategic behavior in real-world situations. It develops theoretical concepts, such as incentives, threats and promises, and signaling, with application to a range of policy issues. Examples are drawn from a wide variety of areas, such as marketing, labor bargaining, international negotiations, auction design, and legislative voting behavior. This course also explores how people actually behave in strategic settings through a series of participatory demonstrations. These experiments will help refine our understanding of economic behavior in the real world. Prerequisites: Prior courses in microeconomics and mathematics are helpful but not required.

ECON S-1345 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: Economics of Development--A Policy Approach

Why are some countries poor and others rich? What role can policy--both by domestic and international policy makers--play in reducing poverty around the world? This course, taught by Dani Rodrik, is a survey of the main analytical frameworks that can illuminate these questions, with applications to issues of European development. Prerequisites: The course uses intermediate micro- and macro-economics, and presumes familiarity with econometrics.

HARC S-122 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: Major Works of Ottoman Culture

This course, taught by Tulay Artan, focuses on selected masterpieces of Ottoman artistic and literary production, chosen not only for their high aesthetic qualities, but also for their representativeness across different genres and historical periods. We start with the works themselves and proceed from them to explore the successive and ever-expanding backgrounds, instead of creating a continuous narrative of cultural history from the outset and submerging a much larger number of works within it. Students are introduced to a whole range of modes of expression--such as monumental religious architecture, decorative programs of line and color, the arts of the book, the ruling elite's changing "theater of life" and consumption patterns, and the conventions of composition--and to analytical perspectives on two main periods of Ottoman history with their specific power relations, socioeconomic problems, ideological readjustments, sensitivities, and outlooks. Prerequisites: none.

HIST S-1090 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: Introduction to Byzantine History (AD 3001453)

This course, taught by Koray Durak, is an introduction to the society, politics, and culture of Byzantium. It covers the transformation of the late through the East Roman empire into the Byzantine empire; the role of the Byzantine church; the changing political, military, and economic fortunes of the empire over the centuries; as well as the everyday life of various social groups--including peasants, soldiers, monks, artisans, and women. Byzantium will be treated not in isolation, but in a broader world-context comprising its neighbors and political rivals, and focusing especially on its relations with the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire, the Balkan Slavs, and contemporary Muslim powers. Readings include a variety of printed primary sources in translation together with selections from the standard secondary literature. Prerequisites: none.

HIST S-1265 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: World War I and the Ottoman Empire

As the watershed between the "long" nineteenth and the "short" twentieth century, the Great War cuts across many national histories. In particular, it marks the twilight of empires. This course, taught by Halil Bertkay, takes a close look at both the general and the Ottoman-Turkish experience of 191418. Aspects covered include the New Imperialism background, the road to war, the unfolding of military action and the various fronts and campaigns in Europe and elsewhere, the new war economies, the carnage at the front and other forms of human suffering behind the lines, dimensions of ethnic cleansing, the impact on art and literature, and social and political consequences. Prerequisites: none.

HIST S-1892 Study Abroad in Istanbul, Turkey: The Economic History of the Middle East Since World War II

This course, taught by E. Roger Owen, provides a critical overview of the processes of economic growth and transformation in the Middle East from World War II to the present. Countries to be studied include Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, the Arab states of the Arabian Peninsula, Israel/Palestine, Iran and Turkey.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: $7,350

- Tuition
- Room and some meals
- Excursions (including meals when appropriate)

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel to Turkey Independently

Application Process Involves:

• Essay
• Transcript
• Written Application

Harvard Summer School Study Abroad Programs's Mission Statement: The Harvard Summer School makes Harvards academic resourcesa distinguished faculty, well-equipped laboratories, fine museums, and a world-class university library available to men and women of many ages, backgrounds, and nationalities through an intensive summer session of liberal arts courses in Cambridge and overseas. Our international student body includes Harvard undergraduate and graduate students, visitors from other colleges and universities, highly qualified secondary school students, adult learners, and nonnative English speakers seeking to refine their language skills. Students take courses to challenge themselves academically, meet degree requirements, prepare for graduate school, gain college experience, advance their careers, and pursue personal enrichment. Students who study at Harvard Summer School may reside in a supportive residential environment, commute to campus, complete courses via distance education, or participate in one of the faculty-led programs based abroad. Many come to experience the extraordinary environment of Harvard College academics, resources, and residential life. Harvard Summer School serves the University community by providing faculty with teaching opportunities that allow them to experiment with new materials and teaching methods. Students from many Harvard schools take advantage of the breadth of summer course offerings to meet requirements for concentrations and degree programs, and to create more flexibility within their term-time academic program. Harvard graduate students from abroad can work on refining their English language skills, and Harvard College students take advantage of the summer session to expand their cultural, social, and intellectual horizons by studying abroad.