Join us for a Department of Turkish Literature Seminar:
by Dr. Beyza Lorenz (UCLA)
Thursday, March 25 2021, 4 pm
Zoom Meeting Info:
https://zoom.us/j/93444826438?pwd=NTR3T0VGOGduQS92WVozZUo4WVlZUT09
Meeting ID : 934 4482 6438
Passcode : 856917
Abstract:
World literature theories have focused on the dissemination of the novel from the core to the periphery, where the novel determined the trends in the world literary market. However, recent studies have argued for a diverse world literature that transcends Eurocentric limitations in terms of genre and theme. Following along the lines of these recent works, this talk investigates the novels and essays of the prolific Ottoman author Ahmet Midhat focusing on the phenomena of travel and imperialism as formational elements in the development of late Ottoman Turkish literature. Ahmet Midhat’s investment in the themes of mobility, space, and travel across a wide range of genres, from prefaces to novels and travel books, opens up new avenues to expand the boundaries, associations, and limits of world literature.
Bio:
Beyza Lorenz is a scholar of comparative literature and a specialist in late Ottoman and Turkish Literature. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Pennsylvania State University, M.A. from Koç University in Anatolian Civilizations and Cultural Heritage Management, and B.A. from Boğaziçi University in Western Languages and Literatures. Her current research engages recent postcolonial studies, feminist criticism, and world literature theories. Her work focuses on the intersection of modernity, imperialism, space-time, and gender in the Ottoman Empire and post-Ottoman Turkey and the Balkans. Her work appeared in peer-reviewed journals, including Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Comparative Literature Studies, and other edited volumes.