Proseminar Maureen Freely's Istanbul Uncovering Secrets and Memories

Maureen Freely is a British fiction writer who was born an American and raised in Turkey. She is also a prolific journalist and is well-known for her translations of novels by 2006 Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. Freely has been based in Britain for several decades but much of her work continues to be occupied with Turkey. In Freely's novel Enlightenment, her narrator -M- uncovers a secret that leads her back to the Istanbul of Freely's youth, struggling to unravel the layers of a story about love, the loss of innocence and about political engagement. Freely's Istanbul is a place that is ‘home' but that ultimately remains unknowable. It is a space whose daily realities deconstruct any notion of a clear divide between the ‘East' and the ‘West'. In this seminar, we will take Freely's writing as a starting point for a scholarly engagement with Istanbul and Turkey. We will examine political, cultural and emotional conflicts that Freely draws attention to as well as the creative strategies that she has developed in dealing with them. Furthermore, we will consider a variety of other perspectives on Istanbul, for instance the work of Freely's father John Freely, who has published extensively on the history and culture of Istanbul and Turkey. Reading for this course: Our primary set text will be Maureen Freely's novel Enlightenment (London: Marion Boyars. 2007). Please get hold of the novel before the beginning of the course and start reading. Further samples from Freely's fictional and journalistic writing, from her translations of Orhan Pamuk's work as well as some additional material will be collected in a reader that will be available at the copy shop in -Reckhammerweg- from early October. Recommended reading for a general introduction to the history of Istanbul: John Freely, Istanbul. The Imperial City (1996). Anglistik Universität Duisburg-Essen WS 2010/11 Bachelor, Bachelor Anglistik