The attempt to create a "one size fits all" modernization theory floundered, and the later one, s... more The attempt to create a "one size fits all" modernization theory floundered, and the later one, suggesting "multiple modernities" was not too convincing either. Were there internal developments in non-Western societies that contributed to the modernization process? In this Intorduction to our volume on "Society, Law and Culture in the Middle East: Modernities in the Making" we suggest that the right approach would be to start from the bottom up, and look at internal developments that may have shaped the process.
From an early date the devshirme system, intended to induct young non-Muslims into the Ottoman el... more From an early date the devshirme system, intended to induct young non-Muslims into the Ottoman elite, was replaced by a household system, where young slaves and ambitious Muslims were trained and incorporated. Our claim is that this type of career was fraught with dangers - from demotion and imprisonment to banishment - and therefore a type of network developed between people to assist each other and guarantee their continued rise in the state's service. This network became the basis for an elite consciousness later on
The Islamic Area Studies Project plans 10 do multidisciplinary research on Muslim societies in bo... more The Islamic Area Studies Project plans 10 do multidisciplinary research on Muslim societies in both the Islamic and non-lslamic worlds, by reflecting the fact that areas with close ties to Islam now encompass the world. This series presents the important new knowledge and debate achieved through international joint research about Islam as a religion and civilization, particularly emphasizing comparative and historical analysis. The series will hopefully provide multifaceted, useful information to deepen the reader's understanding o f the Islamic world.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Algiers to Aleppo, sexual discourse in the pre-modern Ottoman worl... more From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Algiers to Aleppo, sexual discourse in the pre-modern Ottoman world was rich and variegated. Its manifestations were to be found in literature and poetry, in medicine and physiognomy, in religious writings and popular culture. During the nineteenth century, much of this panoply of discussions about sex disappeared or was attenuated to such an extent that it became virtually non-existent. A similar phenomenon can be perceived in Western European attitudes toward sex several decades earlier. Yet while in Europe the old sexual discursive world was replaced with a new one in short order, the Ottoman Middle East did not produce a new sexual discourse to replace the one that vanished. This article presents some of the premises of the old Ottoman sexual discourse, describes the process of their demise, and suggests an explanation for the failure to produce a new (textual) discourse of sex.
The attempt to create a "one size fits all" modernization theory floundered, and the later one, s... more The attempt to create a "one size fits all" modernization theory floundered, and the later one, suggesting "multiple modernities" was not too convincing either. Were there internal developments in non-Western societies that contributed to the modernization process? In this Intorduction to our volume on "Society, Law and Culture in the Middle East: Modernities in the Making" we suggest that the right approach would be to start from the bottom up, and look at internal developments that may have shaped the process.
From an early date the devshirme system, intended to induct young non-Muslims into the Ottoman el... more From an early date the devshirme system, intended to induct young non-Muslims into the Ottoman elite, was replaced by a household system, where young slaves and ambitious Muslims were trained and incorporated. Our claim is that this type of career was fraught with dangers - from demotion and imprisonment to banishment - and therefore a type of network developed between people to assist each other and guarantee their continued rise in the state's service. This network became the basis for an elite consciousness later on
The Islamic Area Studies Project plans 10 do multidisciplinary research on Muslim societies in bo... more The Islamic Area Studies Project plans 10 do multidisciplinary research on Muslim societies in both the Islamic and non-lslamic worlds, by reflecting the fact that areas with close ties to Islam now encompass the world. This series presents the important new knowledge and debate achieved through international joint research about Islam as a religion and civilization, particularly emphasizing comparative and historical analysis. The series will hopefully provide multifaceted, useful information to deepen the reader's understanding o f the Islamic world.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Algiers to Aleppo, sexual discourse in the pre-modern Ottoman worl... more From Belgrade to Baghdad, from Algiers to Aleppo, sexual discourse in the pre-modern Ottoman world was rich and variegated. Its manifestations were to be found in literature and poetry, in medicine and physiognomy, in religious writings and popular culture. During the nineteenth century, much of this panoply of discussions about sex disappeared or was attenuated to such an extent that it became virtually non-existent. A similar phenomenon can be perceived in Western European attitudes toward sex several decades earlier. Yet while in Europe the old sexual discursive world was replaced with a new one in short order, the Ottoman Middle East did not produce a new sexual discourse to replace the one that vanished. This article presents some of the premises of the old Ottoman sexual discourse, describes the process of their demise, and suggests an explanation for the failure to produce a new (textual) discourse of sex.
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