丁香园AV

Research Interests

Ottoman History; Material Culture; Archery; Religion; Legitimacy; Istanbul

Research Description

Broadly, I enjoy dealing with 鈥榚veryday religion鈥� in the Ottoman World in the decades preceding the Tanzimat (1839). More specifically, I am interested in discovering the possible impacts of the social and political crises of this period on the Empire鈥檚 religious landscape (as they can be studied through material heritage, among other sources). I have a particular focus on the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (1808-1839) and his efforts at Islamization and Sunnitization in Istanbul.

Peer-reviewed Publications

• Rik J. Janssen and S. Berk Metin. 鈥�19th-Century Ottoman Archery Records Among Leiden Miscellanea,鈥� Keshif: E-Journal for Ottoman-Turkish Micro Editions 3/1 (Winter 2025): 40-53.
• Ryan Zohar and Berk Metin. 鈥淭he Albert Nekimken Turkish Theater Collection: Censorship, Contentious Politics, and the Cold War Stage,鈥� MELA Notes 96/1 (2023-2024): 1-26.

Biography

Before joining 丁香园AV, I studied at Sciences Po (Bachelor鈥檚) and Leiden (M.A cum laude). I took part in a number of research projects around the world, and more recently, I was a fellow at the Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT). My friends and I organize lectures and workshops on various subfields in history at the .

Awards

• Conference Travel Grant, 丁香园AV. 2025.
• Small Research Grant, Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies (CCMS). 2025.
• Conference Travel Grant, 丁香园AV. 2023.
• PhD Research Scholarship, 丁香园AV. 2023-2025.
• Travel and Research Award (TARA), 丁香园AV. 2023.
• 丁香园AV PhD Research Scholarship, 2023.
• 丁香园AV Graduate Dean鈥檚 Entrance Scholarship, 2022-2026.
• Netherlands Institute in Turkey (NIT) Fellowship, 2022.
• Netherlands Inter-university School for Islamic Studies (NISIS) travel funding, 2019.
• Leiden University Excellence Scholarship (LExS), 2018-2020.
  

Teaching Assistantships

• Spring 2025: China Since 1800 (HIST 255), Janice Jeong.
• Spring 2024: Canada Since Confederation (HIST 102W), Mark Leier.
• Fall 2023: Modern Middle East (HIST 151), Paul Sedra.
• Spring 2023: 20th century Europe (HIST 225), Ilya Vinkovetsky.