Call for Papers for The Politics of Giving in the Late Ottoman Empire and Early Turkish Republic (1853-1950)
The Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Newnham College, University of Cambridge, is organising a conference on The Politics of Giving in the Late Ottoman Empire and Early Turkish Republic (1853-1950) to be held on 10-13 July 2024 in Cambridge, UK.
Taking the period from the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853 to the election victory of the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti) in 1950, this conference will explore the nature of the politics of giving in the late Ottoman Empire and the early Turkish Republic. In a period in which public opinion was becoming increasingly important, and when concepts of civic identity, patriotism and belonging were changing and the nature of public space was transforming, the understanding and practice of philanthropy, too, became more diverse, foreign involvement in the politics of giving expanded, and the pursuit of charitable activity allowed Ottoman/Turkish women greater visibility in public space. In this historical context, papers will examine the motivations and methods of giving as well as their social and political impact. They will also consider how approaches to giving changed in the transition from empire to nation-state.
Preference will be given to papers which are case study focused and demonstrate use of primary source data.
Papers will be 20 minutes in length with ten minutes for discussion. As the aim of the conference is to generate as much discussion as possible and to encourage the construction of new ideas, the number of papers will be limited and there will be no parallel sessions. It is intended to publish selected papers from the conference in a volume to be published by an international publisher.
Those interested in participating in this conference should submit an abstract (including affiliation and contact details) of between 400 and 500 words to skilliter.centre@newn.cam.ac.uk by Friday, 3 November 2023. Participants will be selected and contacted by 4 December 2023.
Speakers’ food and accommodation will be covered by the Skilliter Centre for the duration of the conference, but participants are expected to cover their own travel costs. The language of the conference will be English.