Five Fridays: February 3, 17, March 3, 24, April 7, 1 to 3 p.m. Sold out!
To be placed on a wait list for this class, please email Justin at jstephani@politics-prose.com.
This class continues our series on the Middle East, exploring the fascinating literature of Turkey. We will read novels and short stories that start with the declining splendor and power of the Ottoman Empire and usher in the Republic of Turkey in 1923. We will read historical novels, novels of place (Istanbul), love stories (of the senses and the mind), novels about language and music, tradition and modernity, and East and West. Responding to these novels’ challenges and engaging with contemporary economic, political and human rights issues, including the Armenian and Kurdish communities, we will let these 20th-century authors guide us through historic and modern Turkey.
Portrait of a Turkish Family, Irfan Orga
The Last Train to Istanbul, Ayse Kulin
Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul, Charles King
The Black Book, Orhan Pamuk
The Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak
Reading Schedule:
February 3: Portrait of a Turkish Family
February 17: The Last Train to Istanbul
March 3: Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul
March 24: The Black Book
April 7: The Bastard of Istanbul
Heba F. El-Shazli is an Egyptian-American and an avid lover and reader of literature from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. She is an assistant professor of political science at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Master’s Degree Program at the Center for Democracy and Civil Society. Heba teaches courses on governments and politics of the Middle East and North Africa, Islam and politics, international relations, and the role of civil society and social movements in democratization. She has a Ph.D. in Government and International Affairs from Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Master’s degree from Georgetown University. She was the Director of MENA programs at the Solidarity Center (2004-2011) and the Deputy MENA Regional Director at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) from 2001 until 2004. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.
