International conference and exhibition explore cultural memories of the Ottoman Empire
An exploration of the empire's history of cultural exchange
From Thursday 26 – Friday 27 June, one hundred experts in cultural history, art history, anthropology and sociology, as well as world renowned cook-book writer Claudia Roden, gathered at Birkbeck for a two-day international conference on ‘Ottoman Pasts, Present Cities: Cosmopolitanism and Transcultural Memories’.
The Ottoman Empire stretched from the early 1300s to 1922 and stretched from East to West, incorporating many sites of present or recent conflict, such as Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Gaza, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Nicosia, Sarajevo and Belgrade. For over 600 years these cities were cosmopolitan centres of largely peaceful cohabitation and exchange.
Ottoman culture was heavily influenced by exchange between different cultural groups: Muslims and Jews, Armenians and Mesopotomanians (Iraqis), Anatolians and Serbians. The conference, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research network of the same name, aim to explore how the memories of these cultural exchanges are passed down through generations and the role that these have played in the formation of the postcolonial nationalisms and sectarianisms which followed the Empire’s demise.
Dr Gabriel Koureas, a lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Visual Culture in Birkbeck’s Department of History of Art and Screen Media and a co-investigator on the project, said: “The Ottoman Empire is still a relatively understudied area, and this conference brought together researchers working in diverse areas of the Empire’s cultural history. Despite the fact that many former Ottoman cities are now regularly in the news because of conflict, for many years they were sites of cultural exchange, peaceful ethnic cohabitation and religious tolerance, all hinged on trade, which was key to the Empire’s ability to survive for so long. We are exploring how those cultural fusions and exchanges are remembered today.”
The Ottoman Cosmopolitanism research network includes academics from Birkbeck, University of London and the Universities of Leeds, Portsmouth and Westminster.