Turkish Cultural History in Fiction and Film

Cultural history of Istanbul and Anatolia in the comparative study of the novels of Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk and the award-winning films of director Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Provides a general historical survey while tracing debates about secularism, modernity, nationalism, Islam, feminism, and political violence. Addresses the role of characters who navigate uneasily between Islamic culture and secular modernity. Political implications of Sufism, the Ottoman past, cultural revolution, Orientalism, popular culture, and postcolonialism. Secondary focus on representations of cosmopolitan Istanbul, rural Anatolia, political Islam, and the military coup. Taught in English.