AMES-236S

OTTOMAN EMPIRE TO MIDDLE EAST

Not in Fall 2026

AMES · Taught by Goknar, Erdag · Last offered Spring 2025

Overview

Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that the readings, films, or examples carry real weight. Difficulty runs on the high side even without a single dominant complaint theme. Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.

DepartmentAMES

Terms offeredSpring

Typical enrollment7–8

Semesters of data2

5.3

Hrs / week

Responses

Enrollment

80%

Response Rate

Evaluation Scores

Overall quality

Teaching, content, and experience combined.

4.5

12345

Intellectually stimulating

Challenges students to think deeply.

4.8

12345

Instructor effectiveness

Explains concepts and facilitates learning.

4.4

12345

Difficulty

Higher means harder.

4.1

12345

Feedback Analysis

Feedback Analysismedium

Analysis based on student evaluations

Based on 47 comments across 2 sections

Student Reports

How hard is the A?

Hard to get an A

Students repeatedly frame high grades as something you have to earn. This reads as hard to ace rather than casually easy, especially once the course pace or grading standards ramp up.

Homework Load

Heavy homework load

Homework load is one of the clearest friction points. Students repeatedly describe assignments, readings, or problem sets as time-consuming.

Lecture Load

Lighter lecture burden

Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.

Strengths

• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.

• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.

• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.

Tradeoffs

• Difficulty runs high even when comments do not settle on one dominant complaint.

Best fit for

Best for students who will engage with the materials instead of skimming everything.

Watch out for

• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.

Student Responses

Understand how the modern Middle East is formed, understand more nuances of the different regions of the Middle East, understand the lasting impacts of the Ottoman Empire

Spring 2024 · Goknar, Erdag

I learned about Ottoman-era legacies, theoretical lenses through which we could understand the rights of Palestinians, and revolutions and coups in different parts of the Middle East.

Spring 2024 · Goknar, Erdag

I learned how to think critically and through different perspectives, how to read and understand academic papers, and different facts and realities in the Middle East.

Spring 2024 · Goknar, Erdag

Specific history of thee Ottoman empire (Hamidian caliphate and dissolution of empire into modern middle East), tons of stuff on the Turkish diyanet, and some interesting information about ISIS and how they implemented bureaucracy

Spring 2024 · Goknar, Erdag

The history of the Ottoman Empire and their desire to westernize, the implications and causes of war in the Middle East. All the various factors that lead to a failed state.

Spring 2024 · Goknar, Erdag

Rating History

Rating history

Error bars show \u00B11 std dev

Term	Instructor	Overall	Difficulty	Hrs/wk	Enrolled
Spring 2025	Goknar, Erdag 4.4Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.4Difficulty3.5Would retake75%Based on 22 ratingsClick to view on RMP →	4.4	4.0	4.7	7
Spring 2024	Goknar, Erdag 4.4Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.4Difficulty3.5Would retake75%Based on 22 ratingsClick to view on RMP →	4.6	4.2	6.0	8

Instructor

Goknar, ErdagAMES

Also teaches

AMES-186 TURKS AND EUROPE4.7 AMES-296S TURKISH CULTURAL HISTORY AMES-296S TURKISH HISTORY4.2 AMES-408S GEOPOLITICS OF ISLAMOPHOBIA4.8