Dr. Alexander Balistreri
Assistant / Postdoc
Assistant / Postdoc
Maiengasse 51
4056
Basel
Schweiz
Curriculum Vitae
I have been a research fellow (wissenschaftlicher Assistent) at the University of Basel’s Program in Near and Middle Eastern Studies since 2017.
I successfully defended my dissertation at Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies in 2021 (topic: modern history of the Anatolian-Caucasian border region).
Before that, I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science, Near Eastern studies, and Turkish studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Princeton University, and Sabancı University (İstanbul).
In my research and courses, I take on the modern history of Turkey, the Caucasus, and the Near East. My current research projects examine questions of statehood in the Near East, with a special focus on Turkey—including themes like borders, collective violence, and property relations. When it comes to teaching, I offer not only courses on my research interests, but also self-developed, introductory courses on the history of the region and on methodology. Administratively, I am responsible for student advising at all levels, supervising the program library, and coordinating the doctoral program, among other activities.
Resaerch interests
- Modern Turkish history
- Modern Caucasian history
- Borders and borderlands
- Collective political violence
- Property rights and expropriation
- Empires and nation-states
Publications
ALL PUBLICATIONSCourses Offered
| HS 2022 | Geschichte der modernen Türkei II: 1920–2020 Politische Ideologien in der modernen Türkei (Universität Zürich) |
| FS 2022 | Geschichte der modernen Türkei I: 1789–1920 |
| HS 2021 | Major Themes in Eurasian History: Empires, Borders, Genocides Understanding Collective Violence in the Near and Middle East Die Entstehung der modernen Türkei (an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg i.B.) |
| FS 2021 | Methoden und theoretische Ansätze in den Nahoststudien Einführung in die Geschichte und Gesellschaft des Nahen Ostens |
| FS 2020 | Einführung in die Geschichte und Gesellschaft des Nahen Ostens |
| HS 2019 | Self-Determination: History of a Concept in Eastern Europe and the Near East |
| FS 2019 | Quellen des türkischen Nationalismus: Die Zeitschrift Türk Yurdu und die osmanische Drucksprache |
| HS 2018 | Geschichte der Kurden seit 1500 |
| FS 2018 | Borders in the Making of the Modern Near East Türkisch III |
| HS 2017 | Nationalism and Revolution in the Caucasus, 1878–1945 Türkısch II |