Thread by @ayayciog

As far as I know there is no agreement or decision concerning removing the name of the Köprülü award yet. I hope there will be a sincere discussion and perhaps a vote among members. I personally situate myself in the scholarly tradition pioneered by Fuat Köprülü (1/9)

https://twitter.com/seanpcsmyth/status/1339955716728250368

and his students Ö.L.Barkan and Halil Inalcık. Köprülü was the first Turkish & Muslim historian internationally recognized and respected in Western Academia, who shook up orientalist assumptions about Ottoman-Islamic institutions and culture in medieval Anatolia and beyond. (2/9)

He also openly opposed racial interpretations of history in early republican Turkey. Of course many of his arguments r outdated today, similar to most of the great historians of his time in the world. Despite that, his contributions r foundational for medieval Anatolian and (3/9)

early Ottoman history. I personally believe that it would be rather anachronistic and not very mindful to remove the name of such a towering figure of our field, whose scholarly achievements and productivity are unreachable for us. (4/9)

Was Köprülü nationalist? Yes, he is a person of his time. But we would do a huge injustice to him if we assume that his scholarship and massive contributions in literary history, sufism and legal history was simply to serve any political agenda of his time. (5/9)

I agree with colleagues who think that we should have a much more critical engagement with our own field and its implicit or explicit political and moral assumptions, that be nationalism or orientalism. (6/9)

But I think we should also avoid to depreciate earlier generations, especially those who contributed immensely to our field, with a feeling that we are morally superior to them. (7/9)

That said, I would also respect colleagues who would turn down the award if they think that Köprülü’s scholarship or political position are deeply incompatible with theirs. (8/9)

Last but not least, I would like to express my support to Baki Tezcan, my colleague and friend, who tries to be responsive to the sensitivities of each and every member of OTSA as the leader of this small but very diverse organization. (9/9).