2018-19

The course commences with various national schools of geography, the formation of geography as a discipline, method, specialized vocabulary, theories, «revolutions» (i.e. the quantitative revolution) and «turns» (i.e. the changes in the direction of culture) that have influenced it.

This course focuses on the relations between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century, when the Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks, to the 18th century when the Republic of Venice (La Serenissima) disappeared.  The course deals with both the fighting and with other types of contact between the Ottomans and the Venetians that occurred in Greece, a frontier region between these two powers.  The seminar will focus on the elements by which “The Other” is identified.

Teaching Method: Seminar. The seminar can be attended by a maximum of 20 students.

The course is an in-depth, thematic examination of significant aspects for the history and the evolution of the medieval world, particularly during the High and Late Middle Ages (c.1000-1500). The aim is to help students understand some fundamental characteristics of the period, and to highlight dynamic transformations and developments which marked the history of Europe – thus challenging the common perception of the allegedly static Middle Ages.  
The course is structured around three main themes:

The course focuses on the states created in Greek lands by various Westerners (excluding the Venetians). These “Franks” originated mainly from areas of Western Europe, such as Champagne, Flanders, Burgundy and Lombardy, where feudal organization was prominent, but also from city-states, such as Genoa and Florence. Most Frankish lordships were created in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1204) – for example, the Latin Empire of Constantinople, the Kingdom of Thessalonica, the Principality of Achaia, the Duchy of Athens and the Duchy of the Aegean.