[OTS-NYU / NYU Kevorkian Center] Mid-Atlantic Ottomanist Workshop, Keynote Lecture: Early Ottoman Translation and Transmission of Knowledge

Speaker: Hüseyin Yılmaz, George Mason University

Abstract: This talk will explore the impact of translation on Ottoman language, culture, and politics. Most texts written in the first two centuries of Ottoman state formation in western Anatolia were works translated from either Arabic or Persian. This translation movement was the principal venue by which the Ottomans engaged with the broader world, were exposed diverse traditions of learning, and transmitted knowledge. Above all, the Turkish language, which gradually rose to become one of the principal literary mediums of the early modern world, was a direct product of this translation activity. Translation and transmission of knowledge have a profound impact on the Ottoman view of the world and self-perception, especially those works that became popular performative reads among broader public.

Zoom Registration here.