Report
On October 18, 25, and November 1, 2024, the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia hosted a seminar series entitled, "Migration and Identity in the Late Ottoman Empire." The lectures were delivered by Dr. Fuat Dündar (Tobb University of Economics and Technology, Turkey), who has been in Japan as a JSPS invitational fellow and a visiting fellow of IASA since September 2024. There were 6–10 participants at the venue and 8–12 participants online.
In the first lecture, Dr. Dündar demonstrated that the immigration policy of the Ottoman Empire from 1850 to 1908 was characterized by the deliberate invitation of Muslim immigrants, guided by the principle of "state and religion." In the second lecture, which focused on the period from 1908 to 1923, Dr. Dündar elaborated on the evolution of Ottoman immigration policy that shifted from a passive homogenization to an active homogenization, based on the idea of "territory and nation" and marked by the expulsion of non-Muslims. In the third lecture, he discussed the background of the Kurdish/Armenian problem, underscoring that during the Tanzimat period, non-Muslims were redefined from "zimmi" to "millet," and then to "minority," and that population numbers became a political issue. The three lectures offered a unique opportunity to hear the results of Dr. Dündar's two-decade-long research on migration and identity issues in the late Ottoman Empire. In each lecture, participants actively posed questions and engaged in lively discussion.
Event Details
Date and time: October 18, 25, and November 1, 2024 (Fri), 3pm~4:15pm
Venue: Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, 1st Meeting Room (1st session), 2nd Meeting Room (2nd and 3rd session) /Zoom
Lecturer: Fuat Dündar (TOBB University of Economics and Technology / IASA Visiting Researcher)
Title: Migration and Identity in the Late Ottoman Empire
Program:
1. October 18 (1st Meeting Room)
Migration, Religion, and State: Ottoman Immigration Policy, 1856-1908
2. October 25 (2nd Meeting Room)
Republic of Immigrants: Ottoman-Turkish Immigration Policy, 1908-1923
3. November 1 (2nd Meeting Room)
From Zimmi and Millet to Minority System: Ottoman Kurdish and Armenian Identity Politics
*This seminar is supported by JSPS Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan.