Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul Fri, 2015-03-13 20:57
On the 9th of March, Professor Charles King gave a talk on his new book, ‘Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul’. Charles King reveals the hidden Islamic jazz age in a period of urban reinvention and imperial collapse: a moment when the center of the Ottoman Empire began to transform itself into a modern metropolis. Through war, regime change, and refugee flight, Istanbul emerged as a new kind of cosmopolitan center. The discussion sheds light on the early history of the Turkish Republic, and the moment in European history when Westerners were often needy immigrants and Easterners their reluctant hosts. Charles King is Professor of International Affairs and Government at Georgetown University, where he previously served as chairman of the faculty of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. King’s research has focused on nationalism, ethnic politics, transitions from authoritarianism, urban history, and the relationship between history and the social sciences. He is the author or editor of seven books and a frequent speaker and commentator on global affairs. King has published essays in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers; in magazines such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy.