Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2025 - HIST 485 D100

Studies in History I (4)

Class Number: 3932

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2025: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units including nine units of lower division history.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Special topics.

COURSE DETAILS:

Reimagining the Eastern Mediterranean through Gender and Popular Culture in the 19th and 20th centuries

This course invites students to explore the cultural and social transformations of the Eastern Mediterranean region in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will explore historiographical debates around gender, sexuality, entertainment, and popular culture, and underexplored primary sources such as novels, movies, drag performances and public rituals. This course is designed in two modules.

The first module, instructed by Naz Vardar, centers on historiographical debates, focusing on how histories of gender, sexuality, and cultural practices have been constructed across diverse contexts such as Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Levant, and Egypt. Through critical engagement with recent scholarship, students will explore how these histories are written, what types of sources are employed, and what methodological challenges and debates arise. Particular attention will be paid to how these issues shape our understanding of the Eastern Mediterranean as a transnational and culturally interconnected region. The module will consider how themes such as entertainment and performance, festivals and rituals, drag and non-normative identities, masculinities, and prostitution have been approached in historical writing. By doing so, we aim to rethink the cultural and social dynamics of the region’s past and their resonance in the present.

In the second half of the semester, instructed by İsmail Noyan, the course explores the historical trajectories of Eastern Mediterranean societies during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, primarily through popular culture sources such as novels, films, plays, and poems. Our main objective will be to examine the transformation of the region and, more significantly, how these changes were represented by novelists, intellectuals, and directors. While we will consult academic works to establish a foundational understanding, our focus will remain on these creative and less conventional materials.

Grading

NOTES:

This course is organized into two modules of equal weight. Each module will contribute 50% toward the final grade.

Module 1 

  • Response Papers (30%)
    Students are expected to submit three response papers (600–800 words each). If more than three are submitted, the best three grades will be counted. Each paper is worth 10%.
  • Presentation (15%)
    Each student will deliver one in-class presentation based on the assigned materials.
  • Participation (5%)

Module 2 

  • Response Papers (30%)
    Same policy as in Module 1: students may submit more than three papers, but only the best three will be counted (10% each).
  • Presentation (15%)
    One in-class presentation based on a primary source or case study.
  • Participation (5%)

Materials

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

Learn more about studying History at SFU:

History areas of study


Why study History?

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.