Call for Applications: Yalova Ottoman Studies Summer Program: Methods in Reading and Editing Historical Texts (Fully Funded)
The Halil İnalcık Institute of Ottoman Historical Research invites applications for the Yalova Ottoman Studies Summer Program, an intensive five-week training to be held in Termal (Yalova, Turkey) from June 27 to August 2, 2026. Directed by Özer Ergenç (Bilkent University) and Cemal Kafadar (Harvard University), the program is intended for doctoral candidates at the dissertation stage.
The program offers advanced training in the critical reading, contextual interpretation, and scholarly editing of Ottoman Turkish texts. Moving beyond paleographic transcription, it situates texts within the social, institutional, and intellectual formations that produced them. Its methodological orientation rests on the interplay between text, context, and interpretation, foregrounding source criticism and analytical precision.
Work centers on close engagement with a range of primary materials, including archival documents, chronicles, treatises, court registers (şer‘iyye sicilleri), and inscriptions. Paleographic analysis is integrated with conceptual inquiry, historical contextualization, and academic writing. Particular attention is given to the principles of critical editing, annotation, and the preparation of research for international publication.
Participants work on materials directly related to their dissertations and produce a substantive academic outcome—such as a draft article, a critical edition, or a developed research proposal—by the conclusion of the program. The structure emphasizes sustained discussion, collaborative reading, and methodological reflection.
A fieldwork component complements the seminars through guided visits to archives, libraries, and historical sites in Istanbul, Bursa, and Yalova, situating textual work within its spatial and material settings.
The program admits twelve participants (five from institutions in Turkey and seven from abroad). Applicants must be at the dissertation-writing stage and demonstrate advanced proficiency in Ottoman Turkish. Shortlisted candidates may be invited to an online interview, which may include a brief reading exercise.
The program is fully funded. Accommodation, meals, tuition, and all expenses related to fieldwork and excursions are covered; participants are responsible for travel costs.
Applications are due by April 30, 2026. Required materials include a statement of purpose outlining the dissertation topic and proposed text, an official student certificate, an academic transcript demonstrating prior training in Ottoman Turkish, and a letter of recommendation from the dissertation advisor.
Materials should be submitted to [email protected]
Academic Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hacer Karabağ Arslan (Bursa Uludağ University)