Town in the Balkans - an historical approach

general courses

The subject of the course is the history of the development of town and cities in the Balkans, starting from late Middle Ages to the 21 st century. The focus will be on such processes as the formation of the Ottoman town, the emergence and development of capitalist relations, the emergence of nation-states and nationalization of town both from the demographic and iconographic points of view, urban development in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, to end with recent developments like for instance turbo-urbanism.

Although often associated with rural idylls and mountain landscapes, the Balkans is primarily a geographical region dominated by towns and cities. The vary in size, from Athens, nowadays probably the most populous city in the Balkans, to small towns hidden deep in the mountains like Metsovo, or Zubin Potok, and they range from beautifully situated seaside settlements, such as Dalmatian cities, to the highest situated town in the Balkans (1300 m above sea level) the picturesque Kruševo. How to embrace this diversity and is it possible to include the entire region under one topical banner as “urban development”? This lecture aims at giving an answer to these and other questions. The goal is to show the diversity of urban development paths in the Balkans, by looking simultaneously and the urban changes through the prism of historical epochs, that the whole region has gone through. The classes will be divided into the following thematic blocks:

1. Towns in the Balkans – ancient history

2. The development of medieval towns in the interior

3. The polis, or town-states, especially in Dalmatia

4. Formation and internal dynamics of the Ottoman town

5. Early modern transformations of the town alongside the emergence of nation-states in the region

6. Dynamic urban developments at the turn of the 19 th and 20 centuries in the Balkans

7. The turbulent 20 th century – from wars to reconstruction

8. Postmodernity of Balkan towns and cities

These themes should not be treated as closed entities, but rather or starting points for looking at the Balkan town/city in different epochs. Obviously, the classes will be accompanied by illustrative elements, maps, photos, videos and, what we often forget while discussing urban

history, sound illustrations.

Students must attend lectures, only two absences are allowed, other additional ones will have to be credited, during office hours. The basis for the final evaluation will be an essay of 6-7 pages (approx. 5000 words), written in Times New Roman 12, one and a half spaces, with additional scientific apparatus in the form of footnotes and bibliography.