Bahçeşehir University hosts research in various disciplines and international competence. Research conducted under the Ottoman History Research and Application Center (OTAM) spans different areas of history.
Research conducted by experts in the early period, classical period, and late Ottoman history covers both traditional and innovative methods. In addition to the transliteration and critical examination of archival documents in different languages, OTAM's research incorporates digital humanities methods.
OTAM is actively working on establishing the "Middle East and Islamic Studies Digital Humanities Laboratory" in collaboration with Stanford University.
OTAM academics participate in interdisciplinary research based on international collaborations. A new research initiative led by Ali Yaycıoğlu from Stanford University, and Fikret Yılmaz and Fatma Öncel from OTAM aims to provide a new perspective on Ottoman history in the 1750-1850 period. Starting with the transcription of a voluminous Ottoman financial ledger covering 1808-1820, the research employs digital humanities methods such as data modeling, database design, relational database analysis, and network analysis.
Fatma Öncel from OTAM, in collaboration with Berna Kamay from Sabancı University, explores property transfer and definition of property during the demarcation of the Ottoman-Greek border in the late 19th century. This research, based on English and Ottoman archives, utilizes methods from digital humanities, including text analysis, mapping, and network analysis.
Digital Humanities [1st level]
Digital Humanities (DH) is an interdisciplinary field that applies digital methods and tools to the social and human sciences. Due to the increasing availability of digital technologies and the growing interest in interdisciplinary research, DH has gained significant importance in academic institutions in recent years. Universities are incorporating DH into their curriculum and research in various ways. DH, beyond being a technical skill, requires transitioning into a new epistemological process from data to knowledge (Source: Fatma Öncel, Aysu Akcan, "What is Learned in Digital Humanities Course?").
Bahçeşehir University's Ottoman History Research and Application Center (OTAM) actively utilizes Digital Humanities methods in research and educational activities.
Research
For details on these methods and application examples of DH methods in Ottoman studies, you can check Fatma Öncel's book review article.
Various DH tools are used by OTAM academics in historical research, and current projects in collaboration with historians and computer scientists from Stanford University, Sabancı University, and the University of Bologna will be presented at international DH meetings in 2024.
Education
Bahçeşehir University's Ottoman History Master's Program aims to integrate DH tools into different stages of the education program. Teaching DH tools in the curriculum and encouraging the use of DH methods in thesis work are among OTAM's goals.
Starting from 2024, the Ottoman language courses in the Ottoman History Master's Program, taught by Fatma Öncel, will be shaped around the theme of "Ottoman language education in the age of artificial intelligence." DH methods such as text recognition tools, automatic transcription, text analysis, and data curation will be integrated into Ottoman language education.
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