Biography

Filiz Tütüncü Çağlar is an archaeologist and art historian, with a specialization in the history of archaeology and additional expertise in Byzantine and Islamic archaeology. She received her Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Studies from the University of Victoria, Canada, in 2017. Her doctoral dissertation, entitled From Raqqa with Love: The Raqqa Excavations by the Ottoman Imperial Museum (1905-1906 and 1908), critically examines Ottoman archaeological explorations in Syria, offering new perspectives on the existing historiography. Her current research continues to explore the history of archaeology during the late Ottoman era, with a specific focus on the interactions and relationships between Ottoman and German archaeologists.

Filiz began her postdoctoral research at the Forum Transregional Studies in 2018 in affiliation with the Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin. Initially, she was part of the Art Histories and Aesthetic Practices program. In 2019, she transitioned to the Europe in the Middle East—The Middle East in Europe (EUME) program, where she remains actively engaged. Additionally, from 2020 to 2022, her research was funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, furthering her affiliation with the Museum für Islamische Kunst and Freie Universität Berlin.

Alongside her academic pursuits, Filiz actively engages in public outreach, guiding tours at various Berlin museums including the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Humboldt Forum, Stadtmuseum Berlin, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt, as well as conducting virtual webinars on art and archaeology for diverse audiences.

Project Abstract

Reframing Time: Exploring and Curating the Past at the Ottoman Imperial Museum

This project investigates the perception of time in the late Ottoman Empire to explore how the representation of the past served as a political tool in negotiating power imbalances and constructing a new imperial identity. It specifically questions the role of the Ottoman Imperial Museum in fostering a new temporal culture within the Ottoman society during a period marked by intense transformation influenced by European temporal norms. Additionally, the study addresses how the museum, often viewed as a repository of past civilization’s relics, functioned as an intermediary between the past and the present.

The Ottoman Empire’s entry into archaeology was characterized by three key developments: the establishment of the Imperial Museum in Istanbul, launch of excavations to enrich the museum’s collections, and the enactment of antiquities laws to regulate foreign excavations and restrict the export of artifacts. Concurrent with these initiatives was a new historiographical approach that adopted a tripartite classification of world history into “ancient,” “medieval,” and “new” periods, mirroring European models and contributing to the concept of a universal civilization. This shift, evidenced by new publications and research, intersected with the burgeoning fields of ancient history, art history, and archaeology, all essential for examining the empire’s rich history and culture. Central to this era was Osman Hamdi Bey's directorship at the Ottoman Imperial Museum in Istanbul, commencing in 1881, which marked a new era in museum management, archaeological research, and scholarly publishing.

The project critically examines how Ottoman archaeology, initially influenced by Western intellectual currents, incorporated distinct historical and cultural perspectives. It evaluates the extent to which the Ottoman archaeologists and museologists asserted their historical narrative through archaeological expeditions and museum curation. By investigating the decision-making processes behind the selection and presentation of objects at the museum, the project aims to reveal the mindsets, motivations and considerations in Ottoman archaeological discourse, particularly regarding modernization and identity construction. Ultimately, it seeks to highlight the museum’s role in the empire’s quest for intellectual and cultural sovereignty, assessing its contributions to the broader intellectual and cultural discourse.

Curriculum vitae

Since 2019 

Postdoctoral Fellow, Forum Transregionale Studien, Europe in the Middle East - Middle East in Europe (EUME), program in partnership with Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin.

2018-2019

Postdoctoral Fellow, Forum Transregionale Studien, Art Histories and Aesthetic Practices program in partnership with Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz, Max-Planck-Institut, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin.

2017

Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Studies, Faculty of Fine Arts University of Victoria, BC.

2008-2011

Research Assistant, University of Victoria, BC.

2009

Teaching Assistant, University of Victoria, BC.

Since 2001

Tour guide/Art mediator.

Selected Publications

2024, co-authored with Yağmur Heffron. "A Partnership of Unequals: Historicising Labour Relations Between Local and Foreign Archaeologists in Turkey through Ottoman Comparanda." Bulletin of the History of Archaeology 34 (1): Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5334/bha-688.

2023. "Changing Perceptions of the Past in the Late Ottoman Empire: An Archaeological Perspective." In Objektzeiten. Die Relationierung historischer Zeiten durch Relikte (6.–20. Jahrhundert), edited by Mirjam Hänhle and Julian Zimmermann, 291–311. Baden-Baden: Rombach Wissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783968219844-291.

2023. "Laying the Foundations of a Discipline: Contested Paradigms of Archaeology in the Late Ottoman Empire." In Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie (BIKA). Jahrbuch der Ernst Herzfeld-Gesellschaft e.V., Vol. 9, Spaces and Frontiers of Islamic Art and Archaeology, edited by Iván Szántó, 99-115. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. https://doi.org/10.29091/9783752002676/008.

2022. "Freund oder Feind? Heinrich Schliemann aus osmanischer Sicht." In Schliemanns Welten. Sein Leben. Seine Entdeckungen. Sein Mythos, edited by Matthias Wemhoff, 264-267. Leipzig: E. A. Seemann. 

2017. "The Historiography of Ottoman Archaeology: A Terra Incognita for Turkish Archaeologists." Cihannüma: Tarih ve Coğrafya Araştırmaları Dergisi [=Cihannüma: Journal of History and Geography Studies] 1 (3), 109-122. https://doi.org/10.30517/cihannuma.332050.