Enno Maessen on ‘Representing Modern Istanbul’

ANAMED Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations, İstiklal Caddesi No. 181, Merkez Han, Beyoğlu, İstanbul

In this book talk, organized by the Netherlands Institute in Turkey, Enno Maessen (Utrecht University) introduces his new study of the urban history of Beyoglu, Representing Modern Istanbul: Urban History and International Institutions in Twentieth Century Beyoglu, published by I.B. Tauris. He will present case studies of the local and international institutions in the area – such as that beacon of Britishness, the English High School for Girls, and the German High School, a ‘pivot of German cultural diplomacy in Turkey’ – as well as talk more generally about the neighborhood as a centre point of Turkey’s cinema culture and its influential francophone, British and German schools, which educated many of Turkey’s elite. These case studies reveal the effects of changing political circumstances, from the rise of nationalism to Turkey’s place in the Cold War, as well as critically examining Beyoglu’s legacy as a multicultural centre.

Moderated by Nilay Özlü, the book talk will be held on 9 June 2022 at 18.30 at the ANAMED Auditorium (İstiklal Caddesi 181).

Enno Maessen is Lecturer in History at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He has (co-)authored articles and reviews in Patterns of Prejudice, Middle Eastern Studies, The Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association, Journal of World History, and International Journal for History, Culture and Modernity.

Nilay Özlü is an architectural historian with a focus on the urban culture of Istanbul, late-Ottoman history, museum studies, and court culture. She received the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Fellowship by the Society of Architectural Historians, the Barakat Trust Award by Oxford University and Getty Foundation Connecting Art Histories Scholarship. Özlü is an Assistant Professor at Bilgi University, teaching architectural design, history, and theory.

Contact: Aysel Arslan, aysel.arslan@nit-istanbul.org

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