Dr Murat R. Şiviloğlu wins the Kedourie Prize for Outstanding Article in Middle Eastern Studies

The Elie and Sylvia Kedourie Prize for Outstanding Article from Volume 59 (2023) of Middle Eastern Studies was recently awarded to Dr Murat R. Şiviloğlu for his article: ‘The Ottoman Empire and the emergence of its "Irish Question"', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 59, No. 1, pp.35 – 53.

Founded in 2018, the prize is named for Elie Kedourie (1926–1992) founder and editor-in-chief of Middle Eastern Studies until his death in 1992, and Sylvia Kedourie (1925–2016) who took on the editorship of the journal from 1992 until 2016. The prize is supported by academic publishers Taylor and Francis.

Dr Murat R. Şiviloğlu is Head of the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies based in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies. Murat's research focuses on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, with a particular interest in the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the Ottoman Empire. As an Ottoman historian based in Ireland, he is also fascinated by the historical interconnections and mutual perceptions between Ireland and the Ottoman Empire.

His first book, Emergence of Public Opinion: State and Society in the Late Ottoman Empire, was published in 2018 by Cambridge University Press. Murat has also contributed articles to numerous academic journals. He is currently working on an exciting new project titled Murder in the Harem: Life, Trial, and Death of Emine Hanim, which is set to be published by Indiana University Press.