Uncoupling Language and Religion
An Exploration into the Margins of Turkish Literature
Published on 3. June 2021
Book
Hardback
252 pages
978-1-64469-579-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book is an invitation to rethink our understanding of Turkish literature as a tale of two "others." The first part of the book examines the contributions of non-Muslim authors, the "others" of modern Turkey, to the development of Turkish literature during the late Ottoman and early republican period, focusing on the works of largely forgotten authors. The second part discusses Turkey as the "other" of the West and the way authors writing in Turkish challenged orientalist representations. Thus this book prepares the ground for a history of literature which uncouples language and religion and recreates the spaces of dialogue and exchange that have existed in late Ottoman Turkey between members of various ethno-religious communities.
Reviews / Votes
"...Uncoupling Language and Religion is a welcome contribution to critical English language scholarship on Turkish literature. For Armenian studies, such a project's value is as great as it is obvious... Mignon's latest entry is a necessary, and emphatic, leap in that direction."- Aram Ghoogasian, Princeton University, Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies
"Mignon's well-researched book is a substantial achievement. It opens new avenues for the evaluation of literatures written in Turkish in and outside Turkey. Uncoupling Language and Religion serves as a model for comparative analyses of national literatures, where canonized names often overshadow the contributions of marginalized literary figures across the globe."
-- Beyza Lorenz, University of California Los Angeles, Turkish Studies
"Mignon's "prose" is at the same time lucid and learned, rich and engrossing, attentive to details, yet not losing sight of the bigger picture - a remarkable achievement for a scholarly work...Mignon persistently digs the ground of the literary field to find buried treasures, original themes and subversive voices below the official facade of Turkish literary history."
- Petr Kucera (Mainz), Wiener Zeitschrift fuer die Kunde des Morgenlandes
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Brighton
United States
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
546 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64469-579-1 (9781644695791)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Laurent Mignon
Uncoupling Language and Religion
An Exploration into the Margins of Turkish Literature
E-Book
05/2021
1st Edition
Academic Studies Press
€107.99
Available for download
Person
Laurent Mignon is Associate Professor of Turkish at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the Middle East Centre at Saint Antony's College. His research interests range from minority literatures in late Ottoman Turkey to literary engagements with non-Abrahamic religions in a Turkish context.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgements
A Note on Conventions
Introduction: In the Footsteps of Baha Tevfik
Part One: Rethinking Literature in Turkish
1. The Revolution of the Letters
2. The Roses of the Anatolian Garden
3. The "Refuse and Ruins" of Literary History
4. Beyond Atala: Vartan Pasha, Zafer Hanim, and the Romantic Rebellion
5. "La lengua ke se avla aki": Jewish Literature in "the Language Spoken Here"
Part Two: Challenging Orientalism
6. Samuel Hirsch, Namik Kemal, and Orientalism
7. Ali Kemal's Forgotten Adventure in the Desert
8. Nazim Hikmet and the Demystification of the East
Conclusion: To Do or Not to Do God: On Transgression, Literature and Religion
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
A Note on Conventions
Introduction: In the Footsteps of Baha Tevfik
Part One: Rethinking Literature in Turkish
1. The Revolution of the Letters
2. The Roses of the Anatolian Garden
3. The "Refuse and Ruins" of Literary History
4. Beyond Atala: Vartan Pasha, Zafer Hanim, and the Romantic Rebellion
5. "La lengua ke se avla aki": Jewish Literature in "the Language Spoken Here"
Part Two: Challenging Orientalism
6. Samuel Hirsch, Namik Kemal, and Orientalism
7. Ali Kemal's Forgotten Adventure in the Desert
8. Nazim Hikmet and the Demystification of the East
Conclusion: To Do or Not to Do God: On Transgression, Literature and Religion
Bibliography