This June/July, I’ll be teaching a five-week introductory course on Black Tiger Kung Fu in Cambridge. Suitable for complete beginners and those experienced in other styles. Sign up here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

All four BIRI Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions Postdoctoral Research Fellows gave excellent presentations at the Symposium in Istanbul this week - well done to Aytek, Gizem, Mehmet and Ahmet! biaa.ac.uk/events/ottom...

Dr @peterjcherry.bsky.social - BIAA Assistant Director and PI of the Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions Project - discusses the figure of ‘the Dandy’ in late nineteenth-century Ottoman literature and shows some examples of the original caricatures in the @thebiaankara.bsky.social collection

Fascinating presentation by Dr Filiz Tütüncü Çağlar on the careers and contributions of Ottoman archaeologists including Theodore Macridy, Haydar Bey and Bedri Bey - part of the second panel at the Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions Symposium in Istanbul: biaa.ac.uk/events/ottom...

Dr Lutgarde Vandeput - Director of @thebiaankara.bsky.social - welcomes delegates to the Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions Symposium at Sabancı Üniversitesi, and introduces the work of the nine British International Research Institutes supported by the @britishacademy.bsky.social

On my way to Istanbul for the Ottoman Mobilities and Interactions Symposium, organised by the British International Research Institutes in partnership with Sabancı University: biaa.ac.uk/events/ottom...

📫 OTTOMAN MOBILITIES AND INTERACTIONS SYMPOSIUM ▶️ Programme and registration link (free attendance) available! The symposium brings together one keynote lecture and twenty-four papers that explore the Ottoman Empire as a dynamic web of circulation biaa.ac.uk/events/ottom...

On 16th April, join me and @peterjcherry.bsky.social for a webinar on the travel grants and research support available for UK university students via the @thebiaankara.bsky.social - biaa.ac.uk/events/webin...

🚨 Are you an undergraduate, postgraduate or PhD student in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences studying Türkiye and/or the Black Sea region at a UK university? Are you interested in making a research trip to the region, and/or participating in a fieldwork project?

A short write-up on the Integrated Kun Tao Spring Camp, which took place two weeks ago in Bonn. Join us for our next gathering, which will take place in Peterborough from 21st - 23rd August!

'BANEA 2026: Production and Consumption of Knowledge in the Archaeology of West Asia' - organised by @banearch.bsky.social and supported by @thebiaankara.bsky.social - will take place @uclarchaeology.bsky.social from 22nd-24th April. Register here: www.banea-lcane.co.uk/banea-20260

Just arrived! Particularly looking forward to reading articles on Roman Aldborough, the travels of Edward Falkener in Ottoman Anatolia, and shamanism in Wales @antiquaries.bsky.social

Hear about new discoveries at later prehistoric Oued Beht, Morocco, tomorrow at our lecture with Professor Cyprian Broodbank FSA and Dr Giulio Lucarini. Join in-person or online, for free! www.sal.org.uk/event/discov...

'Robust Methodologies in Skyscape Archaeology: Case Studies from Malta and Peru' - I really enjoyed this lecture @antiquaries.bsky.social back in November. I've never been to Chankillo, but am looking forward to my second visit to Mnajdra in early April! www.youtube.com/watch?v=QezY...

I met Agafia while travelling in Khakassia in 2002. She saw our camp down by the river and came to ask for help with chopping wood for winter. The next day, some of our group went along to her home to help out. I think I still have the camcorder footage somewhere.

Really interesting talk @antiquaries.bsky.social tonight - @medievalfemina.bsky.social on the protections for women, children and families enshrined in the 1225 Magna Carta.

A packed conference room for the first session of the first workshop held as part of the @thebiaankara.bsky.social -led, @britishacademy.bsky.social -funded ‘Researching, Writing and Publishing on Gender, Culture and Society’ project, which aims to capacity-build Turkish Early Career Researchers.

Fascinating talk by @drtermagant.bsky.social at @thebiaankara.bsky.social this evening on ‘Canals and colonialism: Trans-Palestinian waterways from the Ottoman era to social media’ - featuring some interesting examples of how misunderstanding historical evidence can fuel conspiracy theories

Spent a really interesting and enjoyable hour at the Institute in Ankara this morning for an informal session during which all @thebiaankara.bsky.social research staff and fellows gave 5 minute presentations on their research and interests. Great to see such a vibrant and active research community!

A cosmpolitan military architect on St Helena and fan of Napoleon. Discover the intriguing story of Anthony Emmett of the Royal Engineers with Dr Peter Hicks of the Fondation Napoleon, Paris, at our free online history talk on Wednesday, 12 November, 6pm GMT. bit.ly/StH1211

Looking forward to being in Ankara for this talk by @drtermagant.bsky.social

Join me, @peterjcherry.bsky.social and @isilaygursu.bsky.social next Wednesday evening for a special webinar focused on the range of grants, scholarships and other opportunities available via @thebiaankara.bsky.social - biaa.ac.uk/events/webin...

Highly recommend @theees.bsky.social's ancient Egyptian language programme. Joseph Clayton is an excellent teacher, the support and resources are great, and the topics and materials are well-selected. Looking forward to the Intermediate course starting in November! www.ees.ac.uk/whats-on/eve...

🚨 Are you a UK Higher Education Institution-affiliated researcher working within the humanities and social sciences and planning a project in Türkiye and/or the Black Sea region next year? If so, join us for a webinar on how the BIAA can support your research: biaa.ac.uk/events/webin...

Excited to be part of this new project focusing on upskilling Turkish early career researchers working on gender, culture and society. Call for participants closes 13th September.

Highly recommend ‘Sea People’ by Christina Thompson - an extremely well-written account of ancient Polynesian navigation covering a range of disciplines and perspectives. Perfect for #Moana fans, and/or for reading while gazing out over the Pacific!

Just finished ‘Distant Freedom’ by Andrew Pearson - an excellent account of St Helena’s role in the suppression of the transatlantic slave trade based on extensive historical and archaeological research.

Join @banearch.bsky.social tomorrow evening at 6.30pm (UK time) for 'Archaeology in the Anthropocene: Re-Assembling a Theoretical Framework' - an online public lecture by Professor Çiler Çilingiroğlu (Ege University, İzmir, Türkiye): us06web.zoom.us/j/8568980877...

BIAA Deputy Chair Professor Aylin Orbasli introduces our speaker Professor Reina Lewis who will give a talk on ‘Fashion and Social Relations in Late Ottoman Society’ @thebiaankara.bsky.social

Delighted to be working with my colleague @peterjcherry.bsky.social on this new @thebiaankara.bsky.social led, @britishacademy.bsky.social funded project supporting Early Career Researchers in Türkiye working in interdisciplinary gender studies: biaa.ac.uk/call-for-par...

At the next @thebiaankara.bsky.social London event on 4th June, Professor Reina Lewis from @lcflondon.bsky.social will explore the importance of Western and Ottoman women’s travel writing and harem literature for understandings of late Ottoman dress and society: biaa.ac.uk/events/fashi...

BIAA LONDON LECTURE: Fashion and Social Relations in Late Ottoman Society 🗣 Prof Reina Lewis (London College of Fashion, UAL) 📆Wednesday, 4th June 2025 ⏰18:30 - 19:30 (London BST) 📍The British Academy, London ℹ️ REGISTER via email: [email protected]

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of sitting in on the recording of a new episode of the @thebiaankara.bsky.social’s ‘Heritage Türkiye’ podcast, hosted by my friends and colleagues @isilaygursu.bsky.social and @peterjcherry.bsky.social. All episodes available here: youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Dr Deniz Gündoğan İbrişim (Kadir Has University) presents ‘Forests, Archives, Memory: Decolonising Environmental Humanities through Turkish Literature’ @thebiaankara.bsky.social biaa.ac.uk/events/fores...

Really looking forward to next week's @thebiaankara.bsky.social event 'Forests, Archives, Memory: Decolonizing Environmental Humanities through Turkish Literature' with Deniz Gündoğan İbrişim - join us online or in-person in Ankara: biaa.ac.uk/events/fores...

Just finished the excellent ‘Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age’ by @raphcormack.bsky.social - a highly readable account of fakirism, spiritualism and occultism in the 20th century, approached through the lives of two key figures: Tahra Bey and Dr Dahesh.

‘What happens if Istanbul's water supplies run dry?’ - really interesting article by Katie Nadworny for BBC Future, featuring my current and former @thebiaankara.bsky.social colleagues Jim Crow, Akgün İlhan and Ender Peker: www.bbc.com/future/artic...

The @thebiaankara.bsky.social is seeking a part time Development and Communications Assistant to support its web and social media activities, membership administration and London events programme. Would suit a student in one of the disciplines supported by the Institute: biaa.ac.uk/grants/biaa-...

Join me and colleagues from @thebiaankara.bsky.social, @bsrome.bsky.social, @bilnas.bsky.social and the British School at Athens via Zoom next Wednesday for an @ics.bsky.social event on ‘Researching and Collaborating with BIRIs’: ics.sas.ac.uk/events/resea...

Looking forward to this afternoon’s panel sessions at the @britishacademy.bsky.social / @ercgrantees.bsky.social conference on ‘The European Research Context for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ here at the British Academy: www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/projects/eur...

Didn't get a chance to attend Jim Crow's lecture 'The Longest Roman Water Supply Line, a Review After Thirty Years of Research' last week? Watch the recording on YouTube:

Professor Jim Crow, Chair of @thebiaankara.bsky.social, gives the BIAA’s 2024 AGM Lecture on ‘The Longest Roman Water Supply Line: A Review After Thirty Years of Research’

Highly recommend this new episode of the ‘Heritage Türkiye’ podcast, featuring @emmabaysal.bsky.social talking about her work on personal ornamentation and the insights small objects give us into the lives of people in the Neolithic: youtu.be/fvgJPUJn37A?...

Attending a British Institute of Persian Studies webinar by Amir Hosein Pourjavady on the history of music making in Iran from the 15th to the Early 20th Century. Really interesting to hear about Persian musical treatises and the social contexts of music in Iran. Also some really striking images.

LECTURE: The Longest Roman Water Supply Line, a Review After Thirty Years of Research 📆 Tuesday 10 December 2024 ⏰ 18:45 - 19:45 (London GMT) 📍 The British Academy, 10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH (In-Person Only) ℹ biaa.ac.uk/events/the-l...

Some really interesting presentations at ‘St Helena, A Unique Environment, A Rich Tapestry’ this morning, including James Fantom & Louis Youde on the music of the island, Jesse Hillman on a St Helena ancestry database, and Isobel Akerman on the history of environmental conservation efforts.

Currently reading ‘After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West’ by @aysezarakol.bsky.social - a fascinating study of the role of stigma and the established-outsider dynamic in international relations, with post-WWI Türkiye, post-WWII Japan, and Russia after the Cold War as case studies.

Just registered for ‘Music Making in Iran from the 15th to the Early 20th Century’, a fascinating-sounding online talk by Amir Hosein Pourjavady hosted by the British Institute of Persian Studies: www.bips.ac.uk/event/music-...

Come work with me! @thebiaankara.bsky.social is seeking a new London Office Manager to look after the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of its UK office. Deadline: 1st December. For more information, see: biaa.ac.uk/grants/biaa-....

The latest issue of Anatolian Studies has arrived! Particularly looking forward to reading about the Hittite capital of Ḫattuša, a little-known Byzantine cave monastery in Pınarbaşı, and female bodies and dynastic legitimacy in the Nereid Monument at Xanthos: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...