C. Ceyhun Arslan

C. Ceyhun Arslan

Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies
Ph.D. 2017
C. Ceyhun Arslan

Area of research: I am a scholar with a threefold specialization in Arabic and Turkish literature, literary and cultural theory, and women’s and gender studies. My current book project, entitled Contested Heritages: Modernity and Identity Construction in the Late Ottoman Empire, analyzes the emergence of both Turkish and Arab modernity within the context of the multilingual Ottoman cultural milieu rather than within respective national communities. I argue that, contrary to typical scholarly emphasis on the linguistic and political splits caused by the emergence of nation-states, modern Arabic and Turkish literatures in their early development, in fact, had a common and strong bond.

My findings, based on close and comparative study, reveal that there was considerable cross-fertilization between Arabic and Turkish literatures, allowing a more nuanced and ambiguous portrayal of individual pioneers of Arab and Turkish modernity. My second book project, building upon my knowledge of the social, cultural, and literary history of the late Ottoman Empire, examines the social history of friendship in the modern Middle East. I have forthcoming peer-reviewed publications on neoclassical Arabic poetry, theories of diaspora, and Turkish literary modernity in the context of world literature. For CV and other further inquiries, please contact me at carslan@fas.harvard.edu.

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