The Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna established in 1811 is a place where the history of Armenians, the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires can be traced not only by the monastery complex but above all through the invaluable collection of more than 2600 Armenian manuscripts, and more than 150.000 books that it holds. This rich collection covers a considerable number of manuscripts and prints including one of the most comprehensive collections of newspapers in Turkish written in Armenian script, called Dačkerēn. After a short historical overview, the lecture will present and discuss this collection as a unique source for the intellectual and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire. The last part of the lecture will present a project plan that will deal with this collection.
Yavuz Köse is chair of Turkish Studies at the University of Vienna. He is chairman of The Society of Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies (http://www.gtot.org) and chief editor of Diyâr. Journal of Ottoman, Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies, and co-editor of the WZKM (Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes). His research focuses on the social, economic, and consumption history of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. Particularly, he is interested in the effects of modernization and globalization in the late Ottoman Empire. Another major topic Köse is engaged with is the emergence and development of tourism in the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. Among his latest publications are (ed.) Wonders of Creation: Ottoman Manuscripts from Hamburg Collections (manuscript cultures 9) (with J. Karolewski) Hamburg 2018 (2nd ed.); (ed.) Seeds of Power: Explorations in Ottoman Environmental History (with O. İnal) Winwick – Cambridgeshire: White Horse Press, 2019; “The fact is, that Turks can‘t live without coffee…’. The introduction of Nescafé into Turkey (1952-1987)”, Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, Vol. 11 No 3 (2019), pp. 295-316. DOI: 10.1108/JHRM-03-2018-0012; ’Coca Cola is poison, don’t drink it!’ – From enthusiasm to hostility: American consumer goods, tourists and hippies in Cold War Turkey”, in Turkey in Turmoil: Social Change and Political Radicalization During the 1960s, ed. by Berna Pekesen, Berlin: de Gruyter Oldenbourg 2020, pp. 63-94.
For joining the lecture via zoom, click here.
Meeting ID: 944 5133 3650
Passcode: 337110