Cancelled

At the Ottoman Bank Museum
The Evolution of the Tombstone and the Epitaph from Ottoman Times to the Present

The Ottoman Bank Museum is organizing a series of conferences in conjunction with the exhibition Death in Istanbul, which opened on November 16 and will remain on view through March 31, 2006. 
This week, Assoc. Prof. Seref Boyraz, from Cumhuriyet University, joins us with a presentation titled, "The Dynamics of Change and Transformation of the Tombstone and the Epitaph from Ottoman Times to the Present." The lecture, in which he will discuss the dynamics of the Turco-Ottoman tradition of tombstones and epitaphs with the curator of the exhibition, Prof. Edhem Eldem, is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, at 6:00 p.m.

Explaining that tombstones and epitaphs today carry on a legacy left over from Ottoman centuries, Assoc. Prof. Seref Boyraz will address the following questions during his talk: Knowing that our tradition of tombstones and epitaphs stems from the Ottoman legacy what is the scope of this legacy? Which characteristics of tombstones have reached us intact from the past and which have changed? Was this transformation the result of a deliberate choice? What specific trademarks did the Republican period contribute to Turkish tombstones and epitaphs? To what extent can we consider tombstones indicators of the socio-cultural structure of their period?

Assoc. Prof. Seref Boyraz graduated, in 1992, from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at  Cumhuriyet University. In 1993, he became researcher in Turkish Folklore in the same department. Seref Boyraz obtained his MA from Erciyes University in 1994 and his Ph.D. from Hacettepe University in 2000. During the 2003-2004 academic year, he taught Turkish in Tunis. Boyraz, who was made associate professor in 2005, has presented academic papers at various conferences and published two books and numerous articles on Turkish folklore. He currently teaches at Cumhuriyet University.

Voyvoda Street Lectures Assoc. Prof. Seref Boyraz The Evolution of the Tombstone and the Epitaph from Ottoman Times to the Present Wednesday, January 24, 2006 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Free admission The Ottoman Bank Museum Bankalar (Voyvoda) Caddesi 35/37 (0212) 334 22 70