Language, Power, and Law in the Ottoman Empire | Heather Ferguson

E441 | In this episode, historian Heather Ferguson takes us behind the scenes of early modern Ottoman state-making with a discussion of her recent book The Proper Order of Things. We discuss how the architecture of Topkapı palace, the emergence of new bureaucratic practices, and the administration of space from Hungary to Lebanon projected early modern discourses of “order” that were crucial to imperial legitimacy, governance, and dissent. Heather also offers rare insights into the challenges, vulnerabilities, and victories of transforming a dissertation into a prize-winning book manuscript. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2019/12/language-power-ottoman-empire.html Heather Ferguson is Associate Professor of Ottoman and Middle Eastern History at Claremont McKenna College. She is author of The Proper Order of Things: Language, Power and Law in Ottoman Administrative Discourses published by Stanford University. Her current book project is titled Sovereign Valedictions:“Last Acts” and Archival Ventures in Ottoman and Habsburg Courts. She also serves as Editor of the Review of Middle East Studies, Associate Editor for the International Journal of Islamic Architecture. Zoe Griffith is Assistant Professor of History at Baruch College, CUNY and completed her Ph.D. at Brown University in 2017. Her research focuses on political economy, law, and governance in the Ottoman Arab provinces from the 17th to the 19th centuries. She records mainly in New York City. CREDITS Episode No. 441 Release Date: 13 December 2019 Recording Location: New Orleans, LA Audio editing by Maryam Patton Music: Beanbag Fight by Scanglobe; T. Agabey - Arabamin Atlari; Istanbul by kara güneş Images and bibliography courtesy of Heather Ferguson available at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2019/12/language-power-ottoman-empire.html