Projects
Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae
Supervised by: Prof. Dr. Ralf Martin Jäger, Dr. Richard Wittmann and PD Dr. Judith I. Haug
Duration: October 2015–September 2022/September 2027
Main collaborator: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Sponsored by: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
This research project is located in the field Music in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, but also overlaps in many ways with the research area “Manuscript Cultures.”
Editing Post-Byzantine Notations
Supervised by: Dr. Kyriakos Kalaitzidis and Dr. habil. Martin Greve
Duration: 2016–2019
Sponsored by: Alexander Onassis Foundation
This research project is located in the field musicological research, but also overlaps in many ways with the research area “Manuscript Cultures.”
Events
Winter Academy 2016: Manuscript Cultures in Exchange, Coexistence and Isolation
Supervised by: Prof. Dr. Raoul Motika and Janina Karolewski, MA
Event date: 22–26 Feb. 2016
Main collaborator: SFB 950 Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe, Universität Hamburg
From 22–26 Feb. 2016, the Orient-Institut Istanbul organized together with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) of the Universität Hamburg and in cooperation with the Islamic Manuscript Association (TIMA) in Istanbul the Winter Academy “Manuscript Cultures in Exchange, Coexistence, and Isolation.”
The Winter Academy aimed to put a spotlight on the research being done at the CSMC in Turkey and to establish initial contacts between Hamburg and Turkish researchers. In addition, the Winter Academy allowed the Hamburg scholars to become acquainted with the rich archives and libraries of Istanbul. In the morning, the participants of the Winter Academy visited various manuscript-relevant institutions in Istanbul, including the Archaeological Museum with its abundant collection of cuneiform tablets, the department of book restoration and archiving of the Committee of the Manuscript Society of Turkey, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), the Ottoman central archive of the General Directorate of State Archives of the Prime Ministry of the Republic of Turkey, the manuscript collection of Istanbul University, and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.
Four afternoon workshops were held on the following topics: (1) A Forgotten Galaxy Still Persisting? Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe, (2) Historical Manuscripts under Scrutiny: Computer Based Tools and Material Analysis, (3) Manuscripts and Politics of Memory, and (4) “Manuscript Cultures in Interaction.” The accompanying program of the Winter Academy included two evening lectures at the Orient-Institut Istanbul. Michael Friedrich, spokesperson for the CSMC, presented new approaches and problems in current manuscript research and Ralf Martin Jäger (Universität Münster) introduced the research project under his direction, “Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae” on Near Eastern music manuscripts.
Workshop: Manuscript Cultures of the Ottoman Empire
Supervised by: Aslıhan Gürbüzel, MA (fellow), Dr. Richard Wittmann, and Prof. Dr. Raoul Motika
Event date: 6–7 June 2012
Main collaborator: History Department at the University of California & SFB 950 Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe, Universität Hamburg
The international workshop was conducted in cooperation with the History Department at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (SFB 950) at the Universität Hamburg. All ten presentations dealt with a wide array of topics ranging from book and library culture among the Ottomans to writing culture and individual manuscripts. The involvement of primarily young academics from the US, Turkey, and Germany was a first step toward establishing a network for exploring Ottoman manuscript culture. The high quality of the contributions, which were mostly based on current doctoral research, and the well-informed discussions point in particular to the growing interest in manuscript research. It is also worth noting that the event took place largely due to the initiative of a fellow of the OII and doctoral student at Harvard University. With the Institute’s help, after her to stay in Istanbul, she was also able to go to Hamburg on a grant from the SFB Manuscript Cultures to gain insights into comparative manuscript research.
Completed Projects
Reading, Memorizing, and Notating: Manuscripts in the Alevi Villages of Anatolia (subproject of SFB 950 Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe, Universität Hamburg)
Supervised by: Prof. Dr. Raoul Motika and Janina Karolewski, MA
Duration: 2015–2019
Cooperation partner: Orient-Institut Istanbul
The subproject of SFB 950 (2015–2019), which is carried out in close cooperation with the OII, is focused on the manuscript culture in the Alevi villages of Anatolia, which had low levels of literacy through the mid-20th century. The use of the manuscripts in learning and teaching mainly religious content is examined on the basis of fourteen private manuscript collections. The history, composition, and context of the collections are investigated in order to then study the use of manuscripts in cultural practices. For instance, it is asked who wrote or used which manuscripts, how the different collections contributed to the preservation and transmission of knowledge, whether use of the manuscripts for reading, memorization, and notation influenced their content or appearance, and if so, in what ways.
Centre for the Study of Munuscript Cultures – Projects
Buyruk Manuscripts in Alevism: Collected Manuscripts as Repositories and Transmitters of Religious Knowledge between the Written Form and Orality (subproject of SFB 950 Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe, Universität Hamburg)
Supervised by: Prof. Dr. Raoul Motika and Janina Karolewski, MA
Duration: 2011 ̶ 2015
Cooperation partner: Orient-Institut Istanbul
The subproject of SFB 950 Manuscript Cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe (1st phase, Fall 2011–Fall 2015) at the Universität Hamburg examined the nature and function of around 30 volumes of collected Buyruk manuscripts (multiple-text manuscripts; late 18th century–early 20th c.), which preserve(d) and transmit(ted) religious knowledge in the predominantly oral contexts of Alevi communities. A substantive, manuscriptological, linguistic, paleographic, and material-based analysis identifies the characteristics of this “autonomous” manuscript culture—in particular with regard to the organization of knowledge, handed down methods and techniques and text compilation, and also to be able to trace the changes of the latter vis-à-vis the socio-cultural context.
