Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire: Rethinking Practices and Concepts of Material Culture in Syria and Beyond (18th - early 20th c.)
International Conference | Hybrid Format
25–26 September 2026
Lebanese American University, Beirut Campus & Online
The conference “Arts and Crafts in the Late Ottoman Empire” examines the production, circulation, and transformation of material culture during a period of profound social, economic, and technological change.
Focusing on Syria and extending to the broader Ottoman world, the conference brings together scholars working across art and architectural history, material culture, heritage, and social and economic history. It considers objects and practices as products of complex networks of artisans, patrons, merchants in the context of industrialization, expanding global markets, new technologies, museums and exhibitions, and emerging modern concepts of art and craft. The papers explore both local practices and the circulation of objects, materials, techniques, and ideas across regional and imperial boundaries.
Taken together, the contributions reconsider the relationship between material culture, knowledge, and modernity as an integral part of the history of the Islamic world.
Convenors: May Farhat & Sarah Sabban
Organized by the Lebanese American University & the Orient-Institut Beirut.
For the program, speakers, and abstracts: ARTS AND CRAFTS IN THE LATE OTTOMAN EMPIRE | News & Events | The LAU School of Architecture & Design
Please register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=6Bqym-fEoUmryRmhVTakaWXO3DgxgoZPrjYR6NA6JVhUQ0o2UTBLWEcwQVVSOUpHMFdSU0dHSVhXWS4u&route=shorturl
For questions, please contact: [email protected]