2019-20

Social psychology provides a theoretical and methodological basis for various branches of the discipline of psychology and so permits the study of specialized aspects of human behavior that are also of current interest. The field of education and the study of the components of the act of teaching are a typical example and make clear the importance of concentrating one's interest on this field of enquiry, particularly in a department that produces the teachers of tomorrow.

The French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution were fundamental to the shaping of the societies of contemporary Europe. The course deals with the ideological fermentation and uprisings of the early decades of the 19th century that stemmed from these two revolutions, the development of the Industrial Revolution and extensive urbanization, from nationalism and the formation of nation-states, liberalism, the evolution of European political systems, trade unionism and commercial rivalry, extensive colonial expansion and militarism.

The course deals with the palaeobiology of contemporary man and the evolutionary processes that have led to his present form, both phenotypically and genetically. The course examines anatomical and genetic adaptations to the ecological environment of the time and the accompanying socio-political influences.

The course focuses both on the changes to be observed in Ottoman administrative structures from the middle period of the Ottoman empire (17th cen.) onwards and on the consequences for economy and society of such changes. The weakening of the Sultan’s institutional power and the emergence of çiftlik land ownership, the implementation of Tanzimat reforms are some of the issues discussed in the course. In addition, the course analyses aspects of social and economic questions of the 19th century and the matter of how far the Ottoman empire enjoyed access to the new industrial era.