Halil Berktay
Encyclopedia
Halil Berktay is a Turkish
historian at Sabancı University
and columnist for the daily Taraf
.
After graduating from Robert College
in 1964, Berktay studied economics at Yale University
receiving his Bachelor of Arts
in 1968 and Master of Arts
in 1969. He went on to earn a PhD from Birmingham University in 1990. He worked as lecturer at Ankara University
between 1969–1971 and 1978–1983. He took part in the founding of the Yale chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society
.
Between 1992–1997, he taught at both the Middle East Technical University
and Boğaziçi University
. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University
in 1997, and taught at Sabancı University
before returning to Harvard in 2006.
Berktay's research areas are the history and historiography
of Turkish nationalism
in the 20th century. He studies social and economic history (including that of Europe
, and especially medieval history) from a comparative perspective
. He has also written on the construction of Turkish national memory.
In September 2005, Berktay and fellow historians, including Murat Belge
, Edhem Eldem, Selim Deringil
, convened at an academic conference to discuss the fall of the Ottoman Empire
.
As a supporter of open dialogue in Turkey regarding the Armenian Genocide and Turkey's denial, Berktay has received threats in his country.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
historian at Sabancı University
Sabanci University
Sabancı University is a private research institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1996. SU is a small and highly focused university with 2861 undergraduates and 624 graduates, maintaining a strong emphasis on social and natural sciences...
and columnist for the daily Taraf
Taraf
- External links :*. Website of Taraf ....
.
Biography
Berktay was born into an intellectual Turkish Communist family. His father, Erdogan Berktay, was a member of the old clandestine Communist Party of Turkey. As a result of this influence, Halil Berktay remained a Maoist for two decades, before becoming "an independent left-intellectual".After graduating from Robert College
Robert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
in 1964, Berktay studied economics at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
receiving his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1968 and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1969. He went on to earn a PhD from Birmingham University in 1990. He worked as lecturer at Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
between 1969–1971 and 1978–1983. He took part in the founding of the Yale chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
.
Between 1992–1997, he taught at both the Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey...
and Boğaziçi University
Bogaziçi University
Boğaziçi University is a public university located on the European side of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Turkey. It has five faculties and two schools offering undergraduate degrees, and six institutes offering graduate degrees...
. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1997, and taught at Sabancı University
Sabanci University
Sabancı University is a private research institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1996. SU is a small and highly focused university with 2861 undergraduates and 624 graduates, maintaining a strong emphasis on social and natural sciences...
before returning to Harvard in 2006.
Berktay's research areas are the history and historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
of Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.-Pan-Turkism:...
in the 20th century. He studies social and economic history (including that of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and especially medieval history) from a comparative perspective
Comparative history
Comparative history is the comparison of different societies which existed during the same time period or shared similar cultural conditions. The comparative history of societies emerged as an important specialty among intellectuals in the Enlightenment in the 18th century, as typified by...
. He has also written on the construction of Turkish national memory.
In September 2005, Berktay and fellow historians, including Murat Belge
Murat Belge
Murat Belge is an outspoken left-liberal Turkish intellectual, academic, translator, literary critic, columnist, civil rights activist, and occasional bull fighter.- Career :...
, Edhem Eldem, Selim Deringil
Selim Deringil
Selim Deringil is a Turkish academic, and professor of history at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul.-Career:Deringil earned his doctorate from the University of East Anglia in 1979, and joined Boğaziçi University the same year. He is a notable lecturer on Late Ottoman History, Ottoman Islam and...
, convened at an academic conference to discuss the fall of the Ottoman Empire
Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Some scholars argue the power of the Caliphate began waning by 1683, and without the acquisition of significant new wealth the Ottoman Empire went into a fast decline...
.
As a supporter of open dialogue in Turkey regarding the Armenian Genocide and Turkey's denial, Berktay has received threats in his country.
Partial bibliography
- Kabileden Feodalizme, Kaynak Yayınları, 1983
- Cumhuriyet İdeolojisi ve Fuad Köprülü, Kaynak Yayınları, 1983
- Bir Dönem Kapanırken, Pencere Yayınları, 1991
- New Approaches to State and Peasant in Ottoman History (eds. Halil Berktay and Suraiya Faroqhi), ISBN 0714634689