In the Ottoman tradition, the stories of women are many, as well as their wiles. By their face value, these stories appear to warn men against women and their wiles. However, several interpretations and rereadings of these stories are possible, such as those focusing on women’s “agency.” These readings are complicated by many available versions that circulated over centuries. In this presentation, I will focus on women's use of spatial and social structures to contemplate how these stories might have been read, perceived and circulated among different audiences. Such a focus enables us to see the paradoxical facets of women’s representations in the stories and opens new paths beyond the apparent moral of the story.

N. İpek Hüner Cora received her PhD from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago in 2018. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Turkish Language and Literature Department at Bogazici University, Istanbul. Her research interests include the history of Ottoman literature in the early modern period, gender, and sexuality. She is especially interested in tracing stories and their versions featuring women across centuries and geographies. Click here for link to publications.

The AnonymClassic research colloquium promotes a number of international guest speakers in alternation with close reading sessions on manuscript editing and presentations of the team’s research topics. Discussion of methodological approaches and digital humanities issues are at the center of attention.

Colloquium sessions are being held in a hybrid fashion: while the personal encounter is made possible again, the advantages of remote access will not be lost. Participants meet every Thursday from 12:15 to 1:45 pm (CET). Colleagues, visiting scholars, and students (Arabic Studies or related disciplines) are cordially invited to participate. We especially welcome researchers based elsewhere than Freie Universität Berlin to join us for any one (or more) sessions.

For registration, please mail to: oualid.el.khattabi@fu-berlin.de