Self-Narratives as Sources for the History of the Late Ottoman Empire
Supervised by: Dr. Richard Wittmann
Main collaborator: Prof. Dr. Christoph Herzog (University of Bamberg)
Duration: Since 2010
Previous historiography of the late Ottoman Empire relies heavily on documents in the Ottoman language and records from public archives, most of which were written by state officials. In contrast, in this field of research special attention is paid to self-written autobiographical texts from the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural population of Istanbul in languages such as Ottoman Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Arabic, Ladino, and a number of others that were in use in the Ottoman capital. […]
Early Modern Ottoman Empire
Supervised by: Christoph K. Neumann und (seit Oktober 2025) Zeynep Tezer
Duration: Since 2025
Previous historiography of the late Ottoman Empire relies heavily on documents in the Ottoman language and records from public archives, most of which were written by state officials. In contrast, in this field of research special attention is paid to self-written autobiographical texts from the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural population of Istanbul in languages such as Ottoman Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Arabic, Ladino, and a number of others that were in use in the Ottoman capital. […]
History and Anthropology of Religion
Supervised by: Dr. Esther Voswinckel Filiz
Duration: Since 2011
The research field “History and Anthropology of Religion” consists of a loose association of research areas of both historical and contemporary relevance that deal with the anthropology and religious history of Istanbul, Anatolia, and the Eastern Mediterranean across disciplinary boundaries. […]
Music in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey
Supervised by: Cüneyt Ersin Mıhcı
Duration: Since 2011
The musicological focus at the Orient-Institut Istanbul covers two branches of musicology: historical musicology and ethnomusicology. The projects differ from each other significantly in both methodology and content, dealing with different aspects of the music of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. […]
Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
Head: Dr. Melike Şahinol
The Science, Technology, and Society (STS) research field at the Orient-Institut Istanbul (OII) centers on the interdisciplinary investigation of how science, technology, and society intersect and shape one another. Building on the “Human, Medicine, and Society” research field established in 2015, STS at OII broadens its scope beyond medical innovations to encompass wider inquiries into scientific and technological advancement, digital transformation processes, and socio-technical networks. […]
