The series Studies on Modern Orient provides an overview of religious, political and social phenomena in modern and contemporary Muslim societies. The volumes do not only take into account Near and Middle Eastern countries, but also explore Islam and Muslim culture in other regions of the world, for example, in Europe and the US. The series Studies on Modern Orient was founded in 2010 by Klaus Schwarz Verlag.

^TTurkisch-Deutscher Kulturkontakt und Kulturtransfer: Kontroversen und Lernprozesse ^Aedited by Seyda Ozil, Michael Hofmann and Yasemin Dayioglu-Yucel ^DGerman description: Zu turkisch-deutschen Beziehungen wurde und wird viel geforscht. Allerdings treffen die Einzeldisziplinen selten zusammen, um ihre Ergebnisse und Handlungsspielraume fur die interkulturelle Praxis in Deutschland und der Turkei zu diskutieren. Diese Lucke will dieser Band schliessen helfen: Er versammelt Beitrage aus den Bereichen Sprach-, Literatur- und Medienwissenschaft, Soziologie, Politologie und anderen turkisch-deutschen Kontaktfeldern. Wissenschaftler aus der Turkei, Deutschland und den USA thematisieren z.B. die EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen, die Gotteskriegerkonfigurationen in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur und das Deutschlandbild in turkischen Filmen, deutsch-turkisches Brain Drain, interkulturelles Lernen und Literaturdidaktik, turkische Schulen in Deutschland sowie Mehrsprachigkeit und literarische Ubersetzung. So geraten auch kontroverse Aspekte im turkisch-deutschen Kontakt in den Blick, denn weder eine Betonung vermeintlich unuberwindbarer Widerspruche noch eine harmonisierende Verdrangung von Konflikten sind zielfuhrend, wenn es um eine Verbesserung der turkisch-deutschen Beziehungen geht.

The German lacuna in Edward Said’s 'Orientalism' has produced varied studies of German cultural and academic Orientalisms. So far the domains of German politics and scholarship have not been conflated to probe the central power/knowledge nexus of Said’s argument. Seeking to fill this gap, the diplomatic career and scholarly-literary productions of the centrally placed Friedrich Rosen serve as a focal point to investigate how politics influenced knowledge generated about the “Orient” and charts the roles knowledge played in political decision-making regarding extra-European regions. This is pursued through analyses of Germans in British imperialist contexts, cultures of lowly diplomatic encounters in Middle Eastern cities, Persian poetry in translation, prestigious Orientalist congresses in northern climes, leveraging knowledge in high-stakes diplomatic encounters, and the making of Germany’s Islam policy up to the Great War. Politics drew on bodies of knowledge and could promote or hinder scholarship. Yet, scholars never systemically followed empire in its tracks but sought their own paths to cognition. On their own terms or influenced by “Oriental” savants they aligned with politics or challenged claims to conquest and rule.

Was migration to Germany a blessing or a curse? The main argument of this book is that the Greek state conceived labor migration as a traineeship into Europeanization with its shiny varnish of progress. Jumping on a fully packed train to West Germany meant leaving the past behind. However, the tensed Cold War realities left no space for illusions; specters of the Nazi past and the Greek Civil War still haunted them all. Adopting a transnational approach, this monograph retargets attention to the sending state by exploring how the Greek Gastarbeiter’s welfare was intrinsically connected with their homeland through its exercise of long-distance nationalism. Apart from its fresh take in postwar migration, the book also addresses methodological challenges in creative ways. The narrative alternates between the macro- and the micro-level, including subnational and transnational actors and integrating a diverse set of primary sources and voices. Avoiding the trap of exceptionalism, it contextualizes the Greek case in the Mediterranean and Southeast European experience.

The central theme of this volume is the work of Sabahattin Ali, the Turkish author and translator from German into Turkish who achieved posthumous success with his novel Kürk Mantolu Madonna (The Madonna in the Fur Coat). Our contributors analyze this novel, which takes place largely in Germany, and several other texts by Ali in the context of world literature, (cultural) translation, and intertextuality. Their articles go far beyond the intercultural love affair that has typically dominated the discussion of Madonna. Other articles consider Zafer Şenocak’s essay collection Deutschsein and transcultural learning through picture books. An interview with Selim Özdoğan rounds out the issue.

The articles in this volume bear witness to the productive energy of the interplay between tradition and modernity, whether in theater, literature, or popular culture. At the same time, they emphasize the importance of cultural intermediaries, including translators. The volume thus illustrates that - despite (or precisely because of) political developments in Turkey and Germany, alike - a multitude of Turkish-German themes remain vital in both society and the academy, urging further consideration, investigation, discussion, and presentation.

With the present book, we intend to give an account of Turkish foreign policy written by Turkish scientists and decision-makers. Up to now, countless treatises on the foreign policy of the Republic of Turkey have been published within the Anglo-American language area. The specialized literature is particularly extensive in the domain of Turkish European policy as well as on the Europeans’ foreign policy towards Turkey and on security and defense policy. We are primarily interested in the self-perception of Turkish decision-makers and advisors who, as the scientific and bureaucratic elite, have a significant influence on the conception of Turkish foreign policy. We are interested in the elites’ priorities in shaping the country’s foreign policy. We hope that readers will be able to read the ideas, hopes, and fears between the lines of the contributions in order to form ideas for themselves. We also intend to bring the Turkish perspective to sectors outside the university. Moreover, we intend to draw an outline of scientific literature by means of which readers may immerse themselves in the subject.