Tobunken Seminar: “Pacific Rim Ottomanists’ Conference”

On March 22 and 23, the Pacific Rim Ottomanists' Conference was held at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo. This international conference was designed to bring together scholars of Ottoman history from the western regions of the United States and East Asia to share their ongoing research. It was supported by JSPS Grants-in-Aid No. 20H01322 and 20H05827.

Speakers are Baki Tezcan of University of California, Davis, Nora Barakat of Stanford University, Koh Choon Hwee of University of California, Los Angeles, Eunjeong Yi of Seoul University, Satoshi Kawamoto and Madoka Morita of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Masato Tanaka of the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo, Jun Akiba of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, and Tommaso Stefini of European University Institute.

The conference began on March 22 with an opening session by Baki Tezcan and Jun Akiba in the evening, followed by three sessions throughout the day on March 23. Excluding the presenters, moderators, and staff, there were four in-person participants on the first day and seven on the second day. In addition, about 25 and 20 participants attended online on the first and second day, respectively.

All the presentations offered a glimpse into the cutting edge of research on Ottoman history, and there were lively discussions on each presentation. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19, great efforts were made to hold this international conference in person, and after repeated postponements, it was finally successful. The face-to-face meeting allowed participants to deepen their discussions, exchange various opinions, and form a basis for strengthening their network, even during off-hours.

 

Date: March 22 and 23, 2023 (Wed and Thu)

Venue:Large meeting room (3rd floor), Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, the University of Tokyo/Zoom

Program

March 22, Wed
17:00~18:40 Opening session
Opening remarks (Jun Akiba, U Tokyo)
Baki Tezcan (UC Davis): "Birgili, Akhisarlı, and Kadızade: A Story of Disenchantment in Three Acts."
Jun Akiba: "Visiting the Courtroom through Back Door: A New Look at the Ottoman Sharia Courts"

March 23, Thu
10:30~17:00
●1st Session 10:30~12:00 Law and Justice in the Ottoman Empire
Tommaso Stefini (European U Institute): "Ottoman justice and Political Economy of Empires: Venetian merchants in Ottoman Courts (16th-18th centuries)"
Nora Barakat (Stanford U): "Assembling Private Property in the Late Ottoman Empire, From Homs to Hufuf"

●2nd Session 13:20~14:50 Early Modern Istanbul: From the Palace to the Street
Koh Choon Hwee (UCLA) and Madoka Morita (TUFS): ""How to Keep the Horses Happy: Urban Crowding in Eighteenth-Century Istanbul"
Satoshi Kawamoto (TUFS): "New Dorms for New Elites :The Baltacılar and the Ottoman Palatial Architecture in the Seventeenth Century"

●3rd Session 15:20~16:50 Ottoman Urban History
Masato Tanaka (U Tokyo): "Men of Professions and Money": Freemasonry, Civic Associations, and the Formation of a New Social Class in Late Ottoman Beirut"
Eunjeong Yi (Seoul U) and Madoka Morita: "Reconsidering Mahalles of Ottoman Istanbul" (tentative title)

*The conference is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant No. 20H01322 and 20H05827