Cevat Dargin

Dr. Cevat Dargın is an Assistant Professor of History and Political Science at Norwich University, where he also serves as the Director of the International Studies program. His academic expertise lies in the history and contemporary implications of modern state formation in the Middle East and North Africa. Dr. Dargın’s scholarship explores the intersections of race, religion, and territory during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, focusing on the transition from indirect imperial to centralized nation-state rule. His forthcoming book, Ottoman Roads to Dersim ’38: Engineering the Global Middle East, reimagines these transformations through an innovative interdisciplinary lens that connect local dynamics with global contexts. It highlights the interconnectedness of the Middle East, addressing the growing academic and policy interest in the historical roots and transregional dynamics of contemporary challenges in the region.

Dr. Dargın holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from Princeton University and has previously held postdoctoral and visiting professorship positions at the University of Michigan and Columbia University. His work is informed by his diverse personal and professional experiences, including his upbringing in a conflict zone in Eastern Anatolia, his military service in the Turkish Army, and his early career in various industries. These experiences enrich his teaching, allowing him to connect with students from diverse backgrounds and to cultivate a classroom environment that emphasizes critical thinking and global awareness.

At Norwich, Dr. Dargın is committed to fostering interdisciplinary engagement and offering globally contextualized courses on Middle Eastern history, U.S.-Middle East relations, and international studies. He is particularly passionate about helping students from all walks of life imagine a better future and achieve their goals, regardless of any challenges they may face. Drawing on his own transformative experiences as an undergraduate student traveling across the United States, he aims to inspire his students to broaden their horizons and engage with the world in meaningful ways. Outside of academia, Dr. Dargın enjoys outdoor adventures, exploring diverse geographic landscapes, and experiencing different food cultures.

Ph.D. Middle Eastern Studies, Princeton University
M.A. Middle Eastern Studies, New York University
M.A. Political Science, City University of New York, Brooklyn College
B.A. Political Science ad International Relations, Boğaziçi University

IN 101 Introduction to International Studies
HI 214 History of the Middle East

Cevat Dargın, “Anticipatory Historical Geographies of Violence: Imagining, Mapping and Integrating Dersim into the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish State, 1866–1939,” Journal of Historical Geography 81 (2023): 162–178.

Cevat Dargın, “The State of the Kurdish Question since the End of the Ottoman Empire,” in The I.B.Tauris Handbook of the Late Ottoman Empire: History and Legacy, eds. Hans Lukas Kieser and Khatchig Mouradian (London: I.B. Tauris, 2025).

Cevat Dargın, “Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e bir ‘Eşkıyalık Efsanesi’: Koçan (Koçuşağı) Aşireti (1890–1938)” [“A Legend of Banditry” across Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey: The Koçan (Koçuşağı) Tribe (1890–1938)], in Şekâvet, Hıyânet, İsyan: Geç Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e Eşkıyalık [Brigandage, Treachery, Rebellion: Banditry from the Late Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey], eds. Yalçın Çakmak and Ahmet Özcan, 69–89 (Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2023).