To Whom It May Concern,

I am submitting this application for Summer School: Reading and Analysing

Ottoman Administrative Sources that will be held on 31 st August to 3rd September
2016.
I am PhD. Student at Leibniz Institute of European History. My project is titled as
War, Empire and Society: The Ottoman Red Crescent Society (1911-1923). The
main objection of my project is to examine the main dynamics of the foundation of
Ottoman Red Crescent Society, connections and relations with the International Red
Cross Movement and the Societys mission in non-Christian world in terms of
humanitarian idea and practices. The starting point of my project is 1911 when the
Balkan Wars broke up and the Society took up an active role in practice firstly. 1923
was the date of Lausanne Treaty, which ended the War of Independence in the
Ottoman lands; Societys wartime activities came up to end practically. The
mentioned time and the humanitarian practices of the period are broadened both in
local and global extent because of the explosion of one after another wars, so I chose
to examine three fields of humanitarian practices served an important function in;
prisoners of war, refugees and the social involvement of women.
My interest is to analyze how universal ideas of humanitarianism interacted with local
practices in Ottoman Empire. After examining the philosophical and intellectual roots
of internationalism, this study will try to establish the links between the social
conception of internationalism and humanitarian action in a local sense. Accordingly,
it gives account for where the Ottoman war and peacetime humanitarian actions
through the Ottoman Red Crescent stand in this global perspective. Furthermore, it is
important to emphasize that this study will investigate an international history of the
Societys humanitarian actions in order to locate these activities cultural and
intellectual roots in the transnational history of the discourses on humanitarian
interventions in and beyond the Europe by focusing on the perspective of the Ottoman
Empire.
The research question I intent to investigate in this study is: How far as the OttomanTurkish Red Crescent associated itself with the growing international consensus on
international humanitarian activity or in what extent has it adopted universal claims
by local practices, for instance; on the rights of war prisoners and refugees or of

Ottoman women involved in the Societys humanitarian actions. In addressing this

research question, I will try to investigate whether one can locate Ottoman Red
Crescent and its humanitarian actions in a non-European context or not, that is,
whether the Ottoman Red Crescent is located, both by itself and by the Red Cross
Movement, as part of Europe or the non- European World? In order to respond to this
question, this study will examine the drivers and forms of Ottoman Red Crescents
activities within the time period between 1911 and 1923 from a global perspective.
The chosen time period started with the Balkan Wars, in which Ottoman Red Crescent
Society played active role as a charity organization, World War One has so much
importance because it was pivotal for the transformation of humanitarian action. 1923
is the year coincided the Treaty of Lausanne, which ended War of Independence in
Ottoman lands so the wartime practices of the Ottoman Red Crescent Society
theoretically was over.
I aim to contribute to an understanding of the Ottoman Red Crescent movement as a
tool offering insights not only on important political and social processes in the
Ottoman Empire but also on early instances of global internationalism. This work will
probably be the first academic study seeking for locating the Ottoman Red Crescent,
as a non-European case, in the global context of humanitarian aid practices.
Furthermore, my study will be the first one attempting to explore the links between
local and transnational dynamics of humanitarian aid through contextualizing the
findings of archival research appealing to methodological tools provided by
international history.
The archival documents are basis for my study. It is so important to study on primary
sources for revealing the relations of International Red Cross Committee and Ottoman
Red Crescent Society in terms of understanding the roots of philanthropic charity, the
notion of humanitarianism in international context and Western and non-Western
forms of humanitarian practices. Therefore, it will be so beneficial for me to be in part
of this summer school and to learn how to analyze the Ottoman Turkish sources
properly in regards of my problematic of project.
The reason why I am applying to pursue Summer School: Reading and Analysing
Ottoman Administrative Sources is both to have chance for forming how to work
with primary sources and archival materials and to enhance the theoretical framework
of my project by interacting the colleagues and scholars.
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