This research cluster explores Islam and the Turkish world by addressing Ottoman and Turkish encounters with Western and Eastern civilizations. It aims to enhance awareness and knowledge about the development of cultural, political, social, and religious identities from the 12th century to the present. The cluster reinvents the particulars of these identities by way of emphasizing that social and political forces have been shaped by cultural and religious exchanges taking place within, and beyond, the borders of the Ottoman, Turkic, and Islamic Worlds. The cluster’s current and future projects include the following themes.
- Historical Context: Greek, Turkic, and Islamic traditions, and their contributions to the Ottoman-Turkish civilization
- Modernity: External developments, such as industrialization and nationalism, and their reception in the Ottoman Near and the Middle East
- Co-existence: Ethnic and religious communities and relations in the region
- Turkish-Islamic encounters with foreign merchants, missionaries, and travelers
- Trans-regionalism: Outcomes of local perceptions and population movements
- Transnationalism: Emigrations and their impact on political and religious identities
- Development of Islamic movements from the Ottoman Empire to modern Turkey
Faculty
Aida Hozic, Department of Political Science
Emrah Sahin, Center for European Studies
Maria Stoilkova, Department of Anthropology
Research Associates
Katalin Rac, Ph.D., UF-Library Coordinator for Jewish Heritage
Tolga Tezcan, Ph.D. Student in Sociology