Seminar Großes Forschungsseminar B5 Türkische Studien Waqf in the Ottoman Empire

Pious Endowments (Arab. waqf, Turk. vaf, plural awqf and evf) are one of the institutions crucial for the understanding of the Ottoman Empire. They served purposes as different as e.g. urban development, large scale social care, creation of state legitimacy, neighbourly solidarity, personal charity, group solidarity and securing family property. Accordingly, the laws and regulations concerning foundations were not only highly complex, but had also continuously to be adjusted to changing circumstances: evf were therefore in the focus of social negotiations and conflict. As self-standing forms of organisations they came as close to constituting a legal as person as Islamic law would provide for. Under the conditions of modernity, foundations were important in creating private property – a paradoxical development as in terms of law, eternity and inalienability were decisive features of the institutions. Moreover, in the multi-layered and multi-facetted Ottoman society, the institution also provided the frame in which Non-Muslim endowments continued to exist. In the Republic of Turkey, these institutions have an afterlife that also deserves attention. During summer term, I offer a seminar (MA-level) on this topic. An excursion to Istanbul will be offered to participants in the seminar; this trip will take place in the week between June 26th and July 3rd. During the excursion, visits are scheduled that cover both historical monuments and remains of Ottoman endowments (buildings, museums, libraries) but also contemporary research institutions (universities, research institutes, archives) concerned with Ottoman studies in general and endowments in particular. In both respects, Istanbul has much to offer. Participants are required to actively participate in the seminar and prepare a paper. In order to be able to seek funding from the PROSA programme of LMU, a registration (not yet fully binding but serious) is required until midnight, February 23rd, 2016. Please, write to christoph.neumann@lmu.de! The maximal number of participants in the excursion is fifteen. People registering after February 23rd may be allowed to participate in the excursion (if slots are available) and to benefit, if conditions are met, from other funding. However, they will have no share in PROSA-funds! The seminar is open to students in the MA programmes of Near and Middle Eastern Studies and of the Excellence Programme of Eastern European Studies. The seminar does not require knowledge of Turkish. Topics covered: Law of endowments – endowment documents – family endowments – sultanic endowments – Ottoman urbanity and endowments – sufi endowments – the finance of endowments – Non-Muslim endowments – architecture – endowments and the emergence of private property – centralisation of endowment administration Short reading for a first impression: Singer, Amy, Constructing Ottoman Beneficence: An Imperial Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem, SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002), 15-38. Arbeitsaufwand bei Belegung als Forschungsseminar 1.5 Stunden/Woche Präsenz, 10.5 Stunden/Woche Vor- und Nachbereitung, 180 Stunden Hausarbeit (12 ECTS-Punkte), bei Belegung als Studienseminar 1.5 Stunden/Woche Präsenz und 10.5 Stunden/Woche Vor- und Nachbereitung (6 ECTS-Punkte). Das Seminar wird auf Englisch gehalten; Türkisch-Kenntnisse sind KEINE Voraussetzung. W3-Professur für Turkologie/Iranistik (Univ. Prof. Dr. Christoph Neumann) LMU München SoSe 2016 Univ.Prof.Dr. Neumann Christoph