Date:
Location:
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies presents
Siren Çelik
CMES Byzantine Post-doctoral fellow
Please note: due to University precautions surrounding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID 2019) outbreak, this lecture has been **CANCELLED**
Siren Çelik obtained her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2016. She has been a Junior Fellow in Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the Center for Anatolian Studies, Koç University and at the Byzantine Studies Center of Boğaziçi University. In 2018-2019, she was adjunct faculty at Özyeğin University, Istanbul.
Her PhD thesis on the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos is forthcoming as a monograph entitled: "Manuel II Palaiologos (1350-1425): A Byzantine Emperor in a Time of Tumult" (Cambridge University Press, end of 2020). An author-emperor, Manuel II was a fascinating figure at the crossroads of Byzantine, Ottoman and Western medieval history. Working on Manuel's complete literary, philosophical and theological works, she attempts to construct an in-depth portrait of the emperor as a ruler, author and a personality, as well as offering insight into his world and times. She discusses some aspects of his literary style, such as character portrayals, metaphors and allusions, his self-representation and the autobiographical aspects of his works. Other major themes of the biography are the investigation of the emperor's philosophical and theological thought, his policies as a ruler and his personal life.
Another forthcoming book is a Byzantine poetry anthology in Turkish. This anthology consists of around 60 Byzantine poems from 4th to 15th centuries, translated into Turkish, accompanied by the Greek text, notes and introductions for the poets included in the book.
Her research interests include Late Byzantine history, Byzantine literature and history-writing. Her current research focuses on the concept of time in Byzantium, especially in Late Byzantine historiography.
Contact: Liz Flanagan