Digital Ottoman Studies: A New Force in Ottoman and Turkish Studies

In early 2021, a new platform, Digital Ottoman Studies (DOS), was established with the aim of contributing to digital humanities from the perspective of Ottoman Empire and Turkish studies.

The Istanbul-based project facilitates data access for researchers by collecting projects, archives, databases, manuscript collections, events, and more through an English and Turkish-language website. The platform fills a critical gap in the field.

Fatma Aladağ (Editor for Ottoman Studies at the Digital Orientalist and author of this post) founded and is coordinating the platform, whilst Assoc. Prof. Yunus Uğur is leading the project. DOS also has an advisory board that includes scholars from many different universities worldwide, representing an interdisciplinary research environment. The editorial team, including Ahmet Yusuf Yüksek, who readers may be familiar with from his role as a contributor for the Digital Orientalist,  Büşranur Bekman, Elif Derin Can, Emine Öztaner, Beyza Topuz Demir, and Serpil Özcan, regularly update and improve the platform’s database. Visitors to the platform can also share their projects and publications as part of crowdsourcing. DOS aims to create a digital network bringing together researchers, institutions, and projects in digital Ottoman and Turkish studies for future studies and collaboration.

Let’s take a closer look at the platform’s rich content and database, which we hope will save researchers a lot of time!

The Projects section of the website includes lists of GIS, text and network analysis, and database projects representing major themes in the digital humanities. In the Publications section, visitors can find and read the latest books, book chapters, and articles related to digital Ottoman and Turkish studies. Additionally, the website gives researchers easy and practical access to archives, manuscripts, maps and photo collections, databases, dictionaries, gazetteers and tools through its Tools, Databases, and Platforms sections. The platform also includes information on upcoming events in the field.

If you want to follow the latest developments in digital Ottoman and Turkish studies, you can subscribe to the platform through our website! You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram! We hope you’ll visit DOS soon!