Writing Culture in the Ottoman Empire: A Study of the Social and Aesthetic Changes in Ottoman Cultural Elites

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13550
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: History of Asia and Africa
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Miyashita Ryo 大阪大学, 言語文化研究科(言語社会専攻、日本語・日本文化専攻), 准教授 (00736069)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: トルコ史 / トルコ文学 / トルコ文化史 / 東洋史 / 地中海文化 / ディーワーン詩 / トルコ近代文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study sets up a unique research subject, the "Ottoman cultural eites" that was responsible for the literary culture of the Empire, and analyzes it from the perspective of social and aesthetic changes from the pre-modern to the modern period (16th to 19th centuries) in order to elucidate the reality of the process of westernization/modernization of traditional culture. This is a study of the process of westernization/modernization of traditional culture. After four years of research, I have uncovered cases that contradict the conventional cultural history view that the introduction of Western culture has led to the objectification of traditional culture. It also revealed the process by which the culture group considered "traditional" in Turkey, at least in the category of literary aesthetics, was divided into ethnic culture, religious culture, national culture (Ottoman culture), and parts that were rediscovered as Western or advanced.

Free Research Field

トルコ社会史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近代以降、伝統的社会における文化の在り方は、大なり小なり「西欧化」の外的影響により変化を被った。オスマン帝国の「伝統文化」は、一時はイスタンブールを絶対的中心とした一大文化圏を築きながらも、近代に入り急速に周縁化した点で興味深い研究対象である。本研究はオスマン帝国における「文化」が民族文化（トルコ文化）、宗教文化（イスラーム文化）、国家的文化（オスマン的文化）等に分離されていった過程を示しつつ、「伝統文化」と総称されるものがそもそも分有的状態に留め置かれたオスマン社会の特異性と、「分有的文化モデル」という新たな文化様態モデルの存在を指摘した。