Papers by Philipp Wirtz
This paper was published as a chapter in Benjamin Fortna (ed.): Childhood in the Late Ottoman Emp... more This paper was published as a chapter in Benjamin Fortna (ed.): Childhood in the Late Ottoman Empire and After. Leiden (Brill) 2016, 223-249.
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2013
Conference Presentations by Philipp Wirtz
The study of autobiographies produced in the modern Middle East opens up various fascinating area... more The study of autobiographies produced in the modern Middle East opens up various fascinating areas of research. These narratives make for a fruitful reading experience, as sources for various fields, but also as literary treats. My Life (Hayātī, first published 1950), by the Egyptian writer and scholar Aḥmad Amīn (1886- 1954) is a captivating account of the social and cultural conditions of late 19th and early 20th century Egypt, as well as the individual bildungsroman of a young man who was a product of a very specific discourse: The complicated frontier zone between “tradition” and “modernity”.
This paper discusses ways in which Amīn chooses to remember and describe change, both intellectual and material, during his childhood in Cairo. One re-occurring topic that combines the two aspects in his narrative is the issue of clothing. This paper aims at contextualising the author’s preoccupation with clothing within the development of his social and cultural outlook. Negotiating varied spaces and contexts between the study halls of al-Azhar and the tennis lawns of the Giza Sporting Club, the author describes the changes of clothing that went with these movements. For Amīn, the clothing on his person frequently reflect changing outlooks of the “inner man” as he sees himself growing from a gowned madrasa pupil to a modern intellectual in a suit. A second aspect of his changes of clothing is another border crossing: The author’s rebellion against what he initially sees as stultifying traditional mores and conventions. However, it will be shown that Amīn’s account becomes far more nuanced than a simple condemnation of the “old ways”: As his narrative progresses, it becomes clear that Amīn sees positive aspects in both worlds, and that the donning of western-style clothing may not accompany a straight trajectory towards positive development.
Special thanks to Dr Tineke Rooijakkers (VU Amsterdam) for organising the filming and making the videos of conference presentations available.
Podcasts by Philipp Wirtz
Ottoman-German relations have usually been studied in the context of great-power politics, imperi... more Ottoman-German relations have usually been studied in the context of great-power politics, imperialism both hard and soft, or the military and economic spheres. In this podcast Philipp Wirtz presents some initial findings of a larger research project focusing on personal networks and experiences of Germans residing in the late Ottoman Empire and early Turkish Republic and two German expatriates in particular: the journalist Friedrich Schrader and the academic Martin Hartmann. As theatre-goers, buyers of books and writers of literary reviews, both took an active part in the cultural life of the Ottoman capital in the years following the Young Turk Revolution. Using their local knowledge and fluency in Ottoman Turkish, both were able to gain unique insights at odds with the popular portrayal of Ottoman affairs in the western media. On the other hand, neither of these authors was immune to the biases of their times, constantly questioning the extent to which Ottoman literary expression, and in particular the emerging “Turkish national literature” were “original” or “civilised".
Ottoman-German relations have usually been studied in the context of great-power politics, imperi... more Ottoman-German relations have usually been studied in the context of great-power politics, imperialism both hard and soft, or the military and economic spheres. In this podcast Philipp Wirtz presents some initial findings of a larger research project focusing on personal networks and experiences of Germans residing in the late Ottoman Empire and early Turkish Republic and two German expatriates in particular: the journalist Friedrich Schrader and the academic Martin Hartmann. As theatre-goers, buyers of books and writers of literary reviews, both took an active part in the cultural life of the Ottoman capital in the years following the Young Turk Revolution. Using their local knowledge and fluency in Ottoman Turkish, both were able to gain unique insights at odds with the popular portrayal of Ottoman affairs in the western media. On the other hand, neither of these authors was immune to the biases of their times, constantly questioning the extent to which Ottoman literary expression, and in particular the emerging “Turkish national literature” were “original” or “civilised".
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Papers by Philipp Wirtz
Conference Presentations by Philipp Wirtz
This paper discusses ways in which Amīn chooses to remember and describe change, both intellectual and material, during his childhood in Cairo. One re-occurring topic that combines the two aspects in his narrative is the issue of clothing. This paper aims at contextualising the author’s preoccupation with clothing within the development of his social and cultural outlook. Negotiating varied spaces and contexts between the study halls of al-Azhar and the tennis lawns of the Giza Sporting Club, the author describes the changes of clothing that went with these movements. For Amīn, the clothing on his person frequently reflect changing outlooks of the “inner man” as he sees himself growing from a gowned madrasa pupil to a modern intellectual in a suit. A second aspect of his changes of clothing is another border crossing: The author’s rebellion against what he initially sees as stultifying traditional mores and conventions. However, it will be shown that Amīn’s account becomes far more nuanced than a simple condemnation of the “old ways”: As his narrative progresses, it becomes clear that Amīn sees positive aspects in both worlds, and that the donning of western-style clothing may not accompany a straight trajectory towards positive development.
Special thanks to Dr Tineke Rooijakkers (VU Amsterdam) for organising the filming and making the videos of conference presentations available.
Podcasts by Philipp Wirtz
This paper discusses ways in which Amīn chooses to remember and describe change, both intellectual and material, during his childhood in Cairo. One re-occurring topic that combines the two aspects in his narrative is the issue of clothing. This paper aims at contextualising the author’s preoccupation with clothing within the development of his social and cultural outlook. Negotiating varied spaces and contexts between the study halls of al-Azhar and the tennis lawns of the Giza Sporting Club, the author describes the changes of clothing that went with these movements. For Amīn, the clothing on his person frequently reflect changing outlooks of the “inner man” as he sees himself growing from a gowned madrasa pupil to a modern intellectual in a suit. A second aspect of his changes of clothing is another border crossing: The author’s rebellion against what he initially sees as stultifying traditional mores and conventions. However, it will be shown that Amīn’s account becomes far more nuanced than a simple condemnation of the “old ways”: As his narrative progresses, it becomes clear that Amīn sees positive aspects in both worlds, and that the donning of western-style clothing may not accompany a straight trajectory towards positive development.
Special thanks to Dr Tineke Rooijakkers (VU Amsterdam) for organising the filming and making the videos of conference presentations available.