Identity, Power, Culture

Course Content: This course explores the paths of specific historical changes that led to the formation and construction of Western identity as opposed and in relation to its nonWestern ‘others’ or counterparts. Mainly from the 15th century onwards, the West represented itself as a distinct, unique, and triumphant civilization and, at the same time, marked its difference from other cultures, peoples, and civilizations. This course’s task is to investigate under which circumstances this formation has been taking place. Questions like: “What is Western identity? Who defines it? Who and what does it include and not include? On what grounds?” will be answered through the analysis of various primary sources produced during the period between the 15th century and present times. The assumption in this course is that the meanings of ‘Western self’ and its ‘others’ are never simply given, but they imply relations of power, domination, and exclusion. In fact, at the turn of the 21st century, the definition of ‘Western identity’ has become the focal point for political and cultural contestation, on the level of the European Union and its individual member states, over issues ranging from global capitalism, national identity, immigration, citizenship, racism, to the place of Islam within Europe. This course at the end hopes to address a number of critical issues of modern times by revealing the interconnections between politics, identity formation, culture, power, and history in Europe while at the same time presenting a double exploration of both ‘ideal’ and ‘real’ Europe.