#  Haci Osman Gündüz (Ozzy) 

History and Culture of the Islamic Societies 

PhD 

 

 

 



   ![img_2191.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum4571/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/nelcnew/files/img_2191.jpg?itok=Pd3xwpjF) 

 



 

 email <hgunduz@g.harvard.edu> 

 



 

My dissertation research focuses on Arabic literature of 16th-century *Bilād al-Shām*. My main interest is the literary milieu of Damascus during the first century of Ottoman rule (1516-1600). I am also interested in post-1258 literary history of Arabic. My secondary research interests are early modern Ottoman and Persian literatures, literary criticism and Islamic intellectual history. Before starting my PhD adventure at Harvard, I taught Arabic at Tufts University for 6 years. I have also been the Summer Language Program Instructor in Classical Arabic at Harvard Divinity School since 2018.

**SELECTED PUBLICATIONS**

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**Peer-Reviewed Articles (ORCID** [**0000-0001-9471-014X**](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__orcid.org_0000-2D0001-2D9471-2D014X&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=lXM_2OtMPTKtsCPYCnS8LGaDkj6QW_ZNa0sYh5q9YTk&m=clBvlG5zOIL4auYpmUaZ_WZesFRvvmhC9sHZuZRIzuLwqlgpnp12uJyhOqVbXQCM&s=XFqMSuECPRFCCdNxR9kmV_Ia4MlVd81w2_U8N5BDNmU&e=)**):**

· “A Contrarian Muʿtazilite Theologian/Poet’s Guide to Fine Poetry: Al-Nashiʾ Al-Akbar (d. 293/906) and How to Write Inimitable Poems,” *Journal of Arabic Literature* 54 (2023), 297–324.

· “Between Lamenting Vicissitudes of Life and Celebrating Ottoman Authority in the Sixteenth Century: Māmayya al-Rūmī’s (d. 985-7/1577-9) Times and Poetry,” *Philological Encounters* 7 (2022), 299–333. \[Selected Mediterranean Seminar “[Article of the Month](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.mediterraneanseminar.org_2023-2Dmay-2Darticle-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dmonth&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=lXM_2OtMPTKtsCPYCnS8LGaDkj6QW_ZNa0sYh5q9YTk&m=clBvlG5zOIL4auYpmUaZ_WZesFRvvmhC9sHZuZRIzuLwqlgpnp12uJyhOqVbXQCM&s=E4ul3Lc0B9DMAYCe4NECimrQiboWXJ2ZToJXywvGuRY&e=)” for May 2023.\]

· “Introduction: Critical Engagements with Ottoman Arabic Literature,” with Ghayde Gharaowi, *Philological Encounters* 7 (2022), 233–37.

· “Ottoman-Era Arabic Literature: Overview of Select Secondary Scholarship,” *Al-Abhath* 69 (2021), 107–22.

**Book Chapters:**

· “A(n) (Un)likely Arabic Source for the *Nights*,” in *The Thousand and One Nights* (provisionally titled), ed. Margaret Litvin and Sunil Sharma (Cambridge: Harvard University Press Ilex Series, forthcoming).

**Conference Proceedings:**

· “Politics and Sexuality in Mohamed Choukri’s *For Bread Alone* and Tahar Ben Jelloun’s *Leaving Tangier*: Genuine Narrative versus Exoticization,” in İ. Emekli and A. Gökhan (eds.), *Göç Olgusunun Modern Arap Edebiyatına Etkileri: Uluslararası Sempozyum Bildiriler Kitabı* (Erzurum: Atatürk Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2021), 160–70.

**Encyclopedia Entries:**

· “Noble Death in Islam” and “Nöldeke, Theodor” in *Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception: Volume 21 Negative Theology – Offspring (*Berlin and New York: De Gruyter*,* 2023*)*, 707 and 715–17.

**Book Reviews:**

· Review of *In Deadly Embrace: Arabic Hunting Poems* by Ibn al-Muʿtazz, edited and translated by James E. Montgomery, *al-ʿUṣūr al-Wusṭā*, 32 (2024): 613-615.

· \[In Arabic\] Review of *Empire of Salons: Conquest and Community in Early Modern Ottoman Lands* (2022) by Helen Pfeifer, *al-Markaz* 4 (2025): 128–133.

**Translations:**

· “Solace for the Traveler &amp; Entertainment for the Conversationalist,” *ArabLit Quarterly* 5:2 (Summer 2022), 70–84; translator’s note, 117.

· “Mind Your Table Manners: A Guide to Dining in Company from 16th-Century Damascus,” *ArabLit Quarterly* 4:2 (Summer 2021), 36–50.



 

 

 





 

 

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