"Remember the Ladies": Ottoman Women

The pervasive Orientalist view of the Ottoman Empire as a backwards civilization  has been challenged by more recent historical scholarship that evaluates the role and importance of women in Ottoman society. The real or imagined segregation of Muslim women, while omnipresent in old historical narratives, has been exposed by more timely revisionist history. Ottoman women were far more than just a footnote in the functioning of the empire. In this episode, we’ll hear from Nora, Sofia, Lindsey, Lauren, and Professor Amy Singer of Brandeis University about how women were indeed critical to the development of Ottoman society and identity.  In “Remembering the Ladies,”  the students will show how the legacy of Ottoman women remain in Piri Reis’ maps even when their names are left unsaid. 

Researchers and Hosts

Nora Broderick, Sofia Gillespie, Lindsay Levine. and Lauren-Elise Roque. 

Image

World Map in Double Hemisphere, The Book of Navigation, The Walters Art Museum, ms W658. f.40b.

Music Credit

"Penceresi Yola Karsi," Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road. 

"Sultani Yegah," Seyyah.