Until recently, most studies of Ottoman literature in the post-Tanzimat (1839) period relied on a framework of modernization and Westernization. While this framework is extremely useful and legitimate, recent work in a diverse array of fields (from postcolonial theory, and empire studies, to environmental studies and queer theory) can provide an alternative and complementary framework to understand the Ottoman literary landscape in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Ottoman literary studies has made huge strides in this direction in the recent years: Hülya Adak’s work, for example, analyzes how canonical author Halide Edib’s Indian experience comes to bear on her views regarding violence;[1] Fatih Mehmet Uslu’s work on Armenian dramatic literature renders visible an important, but often neglected part of the Ottoman republic of letters;[2] Burcu Alkan and Çimen Günay-Erkol’s edited volume situates the Ottoman literature in a wider world system;[3]meanwhile Fatih Altuğ’s recent work uncovers a forgotten, but crucial archive of female writing at the turn of the century.[4] What’s truly remarkable in this body of work is that it shows a new attentiveness to both historically marginalized groups (women, religious and ethnic minorities) and understands Ottoman literature of the period to be part of larger trends and conversations in the world.

This panel then responds to this new trend by exploring other avenues of research for the field. For examples, Şennur Bakırtaş’s talk puts Halide Edib in conversation with the Ottoman Armenian author, Zabel Yesayan to trace continuities as well as points of divergence. Meanwhile, İpek Şahinler offers a surprising reading of Ömer Seyfettin, one of the great figures of the nationalist canon, as an early theorizer of trans experience. Emel Zorluoğlu Akbey turns her attention to the first known English-language account of the experiences of an Ottoman Muslim in Britain (Halil Halid's "A Diary of Turk”) and shows how this text destabilizes received wisdom about Orientalism. And finally, taking its cue from Caroline Levine’s work on “forms,” Sezen Ünlüönen’s talk on Halide Edib’s English-language memoir argues that in the second half of the nineteenth century, unlike in Europe, “race” in the Ottoman empire is not best understood as a “hierarchy,” and offers an alternative conceptual model which is better suited to the Ottoman experience.

Each speaker will be allotted no more than 13 minutes, thereby ensuring that there will be enough time for unstructured discussion at the end.

Our speakers represent a wide array of methodologies and critical orientations (queer theory, postcolonial critique, minority literatures) and include tenured or tenure track faculty as well as a graduate student. They come from four different home institutions in three different countries (United States, Turkey and Israel) and therefore the panel comprises of very diverse voices.

Thank you for your consideration.

[1] Hülya Adak, Halide Edib ve siyasal şiddet: Ermeni kırımı, diktatörlük ve şiddetsizlik, 1. baskı., İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları ; 538. Sosyoloji 24 (Şişli, Istanbul: İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2016).

[2] Mehmet Fatih Uslu, Çatışma ve müzakere: Osmanlı’da Türkçe ve Ermenice dramatik edebiyat, 1. baskı., Edebiyat eleştirisi 41 (İstanbul: İletişim, 2014).

[3] Burcu Alkan and Çimen Günay-Erkol, Turkish Literature as World Literature, Literatures as World Literature (New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, 2021).

[4] I refer to the series “Kadınların Hafızası” (Women’s Memory) published by Turkuvaz Kitap.