We are about to inaugurate the 2022/23 edition of the Seminários Interartes & Intermédia, an initiative of the THELEME Group within the Centre for Comparative Studies (FLUL), on Thursday, September 29th.

This first session will mark the beginning of the academic year, as well as the return of the Seminários Interartes & Intermédia, held on a monthly basis, under a new organising committee, with a presentation by Kenan Koçak, professor at Erciyes University (Turkey), on “Turkish Identity in European Prints” (abstract below).

The session will be in English with researcher and professor Duarte Braga (CEComp-FLUL) as a respondent.

Place and time: Sala B.112G (FLUL Library); 15:00–16:30.

Zoom Link

Abstract:

TURKISH IDENTITY IN EUROPEAN PRINTS

In this paper, I study how the Turkish image is presented in Europe, focusing broadly on nineteenth-century British satirical prints. I divide my study into two periods. The first period starts with the conquest of Istanbul (Fall of Constantinople for Europeans) by the Ottomans in 1453 and ends with the Battle of Vienna in 1683, which the Ottomans lost. In this period, fear and hatred toward Turks dominated the European minds, which can also be seen in images created by European artists. The second period starts from the Battle of Vienna in 1683 to the gradual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. This long period is exciting as we see Turkish costumes were very fashionable in Europe in the eighteenth century, whereas a century later, Ottomans became the sick man of Europe. Additionally, through the end of this period, we also see how modern Turkey is separated from the old Ottoman Empire. In conclusion, I argue that Turkish fear has not died in Europe, and if needed, it is resurrected for political reasons, as we saw in the Brexit campaign in the UK.