# Reading an Alevi Ritual Manual In Early Republican Turkey: ‘Ayn-i Erkân Risâlesi ![Yasemin Karakus](/sites/g/files/omnuum9116/files/styles/hwp_5_4__480x385/public/2026-02/Karakus-Yasemin.jpeg?itok=NdWfjA-b) #### calendar\_today Date and Time **March 10, 2026** 04:30PM - 06:00PM EDT #### pin\_drop Location **CMES, Rm 102** [38 Kirkland St Cambridge, MA 02138 United States ]() **The Center for Middle Eastern Studies** presents **Yasemin** **Karakuş** Assistant Professor in the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Istanbul University, specializing in Ottoman Literature; Visiting Scholar, CMES. Karakuş' research focuses on classical Ottoman poetry and prose, cultural history, and the intersections of literature with historical and social contexts. She completed her Ph.D. with a dissertation titled “Social Criticism in Classical Ottoman Prose (16th Century),” which specifically focused on how 16th-century Ottoman biographers incorporated social and moral critiques into '*şuara tezkireleri'* (collections of poets' lives), analyzing the intersection of literary biography and social commentary. As a TÜBİTAK postdoctoral fellow, she is currently working on the identification and classification of literary texts in the Alevi-Bektashi Digital Archive Project during her visiting scholarship at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. **Contact:** [Liz Flanagan](mailto:eaf073@fas.harvard.edu) See also:- [ Ad Hoc or Co-Sponsored ](/eventseries/ad-hoc-or-co-sponsored) - [ History ](/research-field/history) - [ Literature ](/research-field/literature) - [ Levant ](/research-region/levant) - [ Turkey ](/research-region/turkey) - [ 2025-26 ](/academic-year/2025-26) Share on:- [ Facebook ](#) - [ Twitter ](#) - [ Linkedin ](#) Save: [ Add to calendar calendar\_today ](https://cmes.fas.harvard.edu/node/1632701/event-feed.ics) Copy link link