Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - HUM 387 B100

Other Europes: Arts and Cultures (4)

Film&Lit Southeast Europe

Class Number: 4469

Delivery Method: Blended

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Thu, 11:30 a.m.–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Interdisciplinary approach to European art, material culture, and/or literature in the modern period with attention to the global dimensions of cultural formation. May be repeated for credit when a different topic is taught.

COURSE DETAILS:



Modernity, Borders and Belonging: Exploring Southeastern Europe through Film and Literature

Welcome to Modernity, Borders and Belonging: Exploring Southeastern Europe through Film and Literature. Throughout the spring term, we will explore how literature and film have shaped and reflected the formation of identities in the societies of Southeastern Europe during the modern era.

How did Southeastern European societies manage their transition to independence from the Ottoman (and Habsburg) Empire? How did they balance their desire to embrace Western modernity with their unique cultural identities? How has the contrast between “Orient” and “West” influenced their politics and culture over the last two centuries? From the turbulent politics of Greece and Turkey to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the refugee crises the region has faced in the 20th and 21st centuries we will explore the themes of borders, displacement, and the tension between tradition and progress.

Join us as we journey through the inspiring storytelling of regional cinematic masterpieces and literary treasures to uncover how these societies have been positioning themselves between the "Orient" and the "West," reimagining themselves and the region, reappraising cultural commonalities and differences, erecting, but also questioning national boundaries and enduring political upheaval in the fluid landscape of modernity.

Featured novelists and filmmakers include

Ivo Andrić, Gazmend Kapllani, Dido Sotiriou, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, and Orhan Pamuk, as well as films by directors like Theo Angelopoulos, Srđan Dragojević, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Nikos Koundouros, Danis Tanović, and Derviş Zaim. We will explore how these narratives reflect the region’s struggle with identity and modernity.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course you will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate familiarity with a wide range of authors, texts and other cultural products exploring the relationship between culture and politics of identity formation.
  2. Understand and analyze the processes of construction and contestation of national identities through literature and art in Southeastern Europe.
  3. Discuss critically the notions of tradition and progress, of loss and trauma and of borders – cultural and political, and the impact of displacement and migration in Southeastern European cultures.
  4. Use sources effectively, and craft sustained, persuasive, logical and well-structured arguments in developing a thesis, or structuring longer or shorter academic papers.

Grading

  • Participation 20%
  • Four 800-word Course Diary Entries 80%

NOTES:

This course fulfills the Global Humanities requirements for the  

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Ivo Andric. 2011. The Bridge Over the Drina. Harvill Press.
ISBN: 13-978-1860460586

Gazmend Kapllani. 2017. A Short Border Handbook: A Journey Through the Immigrant's Labyrinth, New Europe Books.
ISBN: 13-978-0997316988

Dido Sotiriou. 1991. Farewell Anatolia, Kedros.
ISBN: 13-978-9600404791

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar. 2014. The Time Regulation Institute. Penguin Classics.
ISBN: 13-978-0143106739

Maria Todorova (2009) Imagining the Balkans. Oxford University Press.
ISBN: 13-978-0195387865

FILM SCREENING (the links will be provided on Canvas):

Alexander the Great (Greek: Ο Μεγαλέξανδρος). A 1980 Greek film, directed by Theo Angelopoulos. 

No Man's Land (Serbo-Croatian: Ničija zemlja, Ничија земља). A 2001 Bosnian film directed by Danis Tanović. 

Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (Serbo-Croatian: Лепа села лепо горе/Lepa sela lepo gore). A 1996 Serbian film directed by Srđan Dragojević 

Summersault in the Coffin (Turkish: Tabutta Rövaşata). A 1996 Turkish film by Derviş Zaim.

1922. A 1975 Greek film directed by Nikos Koundouros.

Mustang. A 2015 Turkish film directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven. 


Additional Material will be made available on Canvas

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.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

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.