| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, April 29, 2015 | 4:00PM - 6:00PM | External Event, Natalie Zemon Davis Conference Room Sidney Smith Hall 2098 100 St. George Street |
Seminar in Ottoman & Turkish Studies
This will be the final meeting of the Seminar in Ottoman & Turish Studies for this academic year. No registration is required.
Sharon Mizbani, University of Toronto, “Splendor of Display: Fountains and the Transformations of Public Space in Late Ottoman Istanbul”
Abstract
Prior to the 18th century, Istanbul’s fountains were generally appended to Mosque complexes or hidden within the city’s landscape.
However, in the 18th century with the reintroduction of the court into Istanbul and the proliferation of gardens, promenades and a general recreational culture, the fountain gained a novel position in the urban landscape as a free-standing, highly ornate monument that became the focus of public squares. This paper will analyze this change in the role of the fountain, and how it relates to the transformations occurring within Istanbul’s urban fabric.
Erik Blackthorne-O’Barr, University of Toronto, “From the Shadows to the Front Page”
Abstract
The nineteenth century witnessed the proliferation of new media in the Ottoman Empire, including the novel, the newspaper, the photograph, and the easel painting. These new forms each carried with them notions of cultural value, and there was a deep ambivalence in Ottoman society regarding the displacement of traditional media by ‘prestigious’ and ‘modern’ Western art forms. With the lifting of heavy censorship in 1908, the printed cartoon became a highly pervasive format for political expression and social critique. Yet as a medium with relatively low cultural prestige, and in an era when newspapers were commonly read aloud to an illiterate audience, to what extent did political cartooning interact with and take inspiration from live satirical forms, such as shadow puppet performances, coffeehouse storytelling, and Orta Oyunu theatre?
Shahryar Pasandideh-Gholamali, University of Toronto, “The Ottoman Empire’s Entry into World War I”
Abstract
In 1914 the Ottoman Empire made a fateful decision to enter the First World War through an alliance with Germany. The Ottoman decision has frequently been explained as the result of the machinations of a handful of Committee of Union and Progress personalities. This paper contends that it was geopolitical circumstance and a failed search for security, not personalities, that put the Ottoman leadership in a position which made entry into the First World War an attractive proposition.
If you are attending a Munk School event and require accommodation(s), please email the event contact listed above to make appropriate arrangements.
Disclaimer: Please note that events posted on this website are considered to be public events – unless otherwise stated – and you are choosing to enter a space where your image and/or voice may be captured as part of event proceedings that may be made public as part of a broadcast, webcast, or publication (online and in print). We make every effort to ensure your personal information is kept and used in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). If you have any questions please get in touch with our office at munkschool@utoronto.ca or 416-946-8900.