Summer Exploratory Research in Istanbul

I am interested in exploring 17th and 18th-century historical connections in the regions between the Ottoman Empire, Russian Empire, and Iran. I am searching for cultural connections between the Slavic, Turkic and Persianate “worlds,” all cultural and historical constructs that meet in the regions surrounding and between the Black and Caspian Seas. In particular, I am interesting in tracing cultural connections between the nomadic and tribal groups of these regions – and crossing geographical boundaries that conventional fields such as Ottoman and Russian history do not permit. This summer I spent two weeks in Istanbul doing some tentative archival research, and more importantly doing vital networking with researchers. At this stage, I believe that my project rests on taking Turkish, Russian and Iranian scholarship seriously – and for this I absolutely needed to familiarize myself with the researchers in my field and the state of scholarship. I had many valuable meetings with local scholars, and look forward to return to these cities to carry out more archival research. Ultimately, I discovered that my interest in 18th-century trans-regional folklore – with a focus on the themes of animals, nature and rebellion – is a field that is ripe for study.  I cannot wait to continue my studies with the knowledge that I gained this summer!