ISBN : 9780190051556
Following a string of military defeats at the end of the eighteenth century, Ottoman leaders realized that their classical traditions and institutions could not compete with Russia and the European states' technological and economic superiority.One of a series of nineteenth-century reform initiatives was the creation of a European-style university called darulfunun. From the Arabic words dar, meaning "house," and funun, meaning "sciences," the darulfunun would incorporate the western sciences into deeply entrenched academic traditions and institutions in an effort to bridge the gap with Europe. The completely new institution, distinct from the existing pre-modern medreses, was modeled after the French educational system and created an infrastructure for national universities in Turkey and some of the Arab-speaking provinces. It also influenced the establishment of universities in Iran and Afghanistan.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu's study sheds new light on an important and pioneering experiment in East-West relations, tracking the multifaceted transformation at work in Istanbul during the transition from classical to modern modes of scientific education. Out of this intellectual ferment, a new Ottoman Turkish scientific language developed, the terminology of which served as a convenient vehicle for expressing and teaching modern science throughout the Empire.
List of Abbreviations
Note on Transcriptions
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
Part I: Genesis, Development, and Closure of the Darulfunun
1. New Pursuits in Education, Orientation to the Occident
2. The First Attempt: Enlightening the People
3. The Second Attempt: Darulfunun-I Osmani Ottoman University
4. The third Attempt: Darulfunun-I Sultani Sultanic University
5. The Successful Commencement 1900
6. The War Years: 1914-1918 and the German Influence
7. The Armistice Years and the Pre-Republican Period
8. Darulfunun after the Proclamation of the Republic
9. Ottoman Darulfunun's Downfall and the Birth of the Turkish University
Part II: Transforming of Ethos and Developing New Norms and Institutions
1. From Traditional to Modern in Education
2. Legal Identity and Autonomy
3. Financing the Darulfunun
4. The Evolution of Modern Scholarly Literature and Terminology
5. The Birth and Evolution of the Concept and Tradition of Academic Research
Part III: The Legacy of Darulfunun
1. Spread of University Education in the Provinces
2. Impact of the Darulfunun Outside the Ottoman Realm
Epilogue
Appendix: Institutional Topography of the Darulfunun (1900-1933)
Tables And Graphs
Bibliography
Index