Turkey Book Talk

Ömer Tekdemir on “Constituting the Political Economy of the Kurds: Social Embeddedness, Hegemony and Identity” (Routledge). The book is a sweeping account of the social, political and economic circumstances shaping the emergence of collective Kurdish identity from the late Ottoman era to today's Turkey. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Nicholas Danforth on “The Remaking of Republican Turkey: Memory and Modernity since the Fall of the Ottoman Empire” (Cambridge University Press). The book upends conventional wisdom about social and political shifts from 1945 to 1960, with many implications for our understanding of today's Turkey. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Büke Uras on “The Balyans: Ottoman Architecture and the Balyan Archive” (Korpus). The Balyan family served as Ottoman imperial architects for three generations in the 19th century and are responsible for some of Istanbul's most iconic monuments, including Dolmabahçe Palace and Ortaköy Mosque. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Suna Çağaptay on “The First Capital of the Ottoman Empire: The Religious, Architectural and Social History of Bursa” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book examines Bursa's history from antiquity to today, particularly its hybrid and plural character after transitioning from Byzantine to Ottoman rule in the 14th century. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Dimitris Kamouzis on “Greeks in Turkey: Elite Nationalism and Minority Politics in Late Ottoman and Early Republican Istanbul” (Routledge). The book explores the spread of nationalism and ideas of unity with Greece among Istanbul's Greek Orthodox community from the 19th century to 1923 and beyond. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Christine Philliou, associate professor of history at UC Berkeley, on “Turkey: A Past Against History” (University of California Press). The book examines the life of the writer Refik Halid Karay (1888-1965), interrogating the shifting meaning of political dissent from Ottoman to republican eras. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Malte Fuhrmann, research fellow at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, on “Port Cities of the East Mediterranean: Urban Culture in the Late Ottoman Empire” (Cambridge University Press). The book paints a panorama of cultural and social life in the diverse cities of Salonica, Istanbul and Izmir in the late Ottoman era. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Sir Noel Malcolm, senior research fellow at All Souls College, University of Oxford, on “Useful Enemies: Islam and the Ottoman Empire in Western Political Thought 1450-1750” (Oxford University Press). Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.  

Evren Savcı, author of "Queer in Translation: Sexual Politics Under Neoliberal Islam" (Duke University Press), on shifting discourse around LGBT rights in Turkey and the government's mounting rhetoric against activists. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Ahmet Erdi Öztürk on “Religion, Identity and Power: Turkey and the Balkans in the 21st Century" (Edinburgh University Press). Based on extensive fieldwork, the book examines how Turkey's religious nationalist transformation under Erdoğan is reflected in its expanding footprint in the Balkans. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Jenny White, professor at Stockholm University's Institute for Turkish Studies, on "Turkish Kaleidoscope: Fractured Lives in a Time of Violence" (Princeton University Press). The graphic novel, illustrated by Ergün Gündüz, tells the story of young protagonists caught up in the social turbulence leading to Turkey's 1980 coup. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Jeremy Seal on “A Coup in Turkey: A Tale of Democracy, Despotism and Vengeance in a Divided Land” (Penguin). The book explores the legacy of Adnan Menderes, who became the Republic of Turkey's first democratically elected prime minister in 1950 before being overthrown in a military coup in May 1960. Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Taner Doğan on “Communication Strategies in Turkey: Erdogan, the AKP and Political Messaging” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). Support Turkey Book Talk by becoming a member. Members get a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman History books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Murat Erdoğan, director of the Turkish German University's Migration and Integration Research Centre, on the future of Syrians in Turkey. Erdoğan oversees “Syrians Barometer”, an annual UNHCR-supported research project tracking the views of Syrians in Turkey and Turkish citizens' views of Syrians. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, a 30% discount on all Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris/Bloomsbury, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Chiara Maritato on "Women, Religion and the State in Contemporary Turkey" (Cambridge University Press), examining the causes and effects of women's expanded role in Turkey's state religious agency over the past 20 years. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, a 30% discount on all books in IB Tauris' Turkey/Ottoman history series, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Mostafa Minawi on "The Ottoman Scramble for Africa: Empire and Diplomacy in the Sahara and the Hijaz" (Stanford University Press), examining the Ottoman Empire's bid to expand its footprint in Africa and Arabia in the late-19th century age of imperialism. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Omer Taşpınar, professor at the US National War College and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, on “What the West is Getting Wrong about the Middle East: Why Islam is Not the Problem” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Gülay Türkmen on "Under the Banner of Islam: Turks, Kurds and the Limits of Religious Unity" (Oxford University Press). The book addresses how Islam has been used as a tool of both unity and resistance by various sides in Turkey's Kurdish question. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, a 35% discount on over 100 books in IB Tauris' Turkey/Ottoman history series, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Mustafa Menshawy, author of “Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood: Self, Society and the State” (Palgrave), on how the migration of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood leaders and members from Egypt to Turkey in recent years has changed the group. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, a 35% discount on over 100 books in IB Tauris' Turkey/Ottoman history series, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.

Elizabeth Rodini on "Gentile Bellini's Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II: Lives and Afterlives of an Iconic Image" (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book explores how the Venetian painter came to the Ottoman court in 1479, as well as his portrait's many intriguing afterlives. Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English/Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the whole archive, a 35% discount on over 100 books in IB Tauris' Turkey/Ottoman history series, exclusive access to more links, and over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history and politics.