Aca’ib: Occasional papers on the Ottoman perceptions of the supernatural
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A journal issued by the Research Project
Editorial board
- Zeynep Aydoğan, Institute for Mediterranean Studies/FORTH, Greece.
- Feray Coşkun, Özyegin University, Turkey.
- Işık Demirakın, Institute for Mediterranean
Studies/FORTH, Greece. - Güneş Işıksel, Medeniyet University, Turkey.
- Bekir Harun Küçük, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
- Ethan Menchinger, Manchester University, UK.
- Aslı Niyazioğlu, Oxford University, UK.
- Marinos Sariyannis, Institute for Mediterranean Studies/FORTH, Greece (editor-in-chief).
- Ahmet Tunç Şen, Columbia University, USA.
Aim and scope
The journal Aca’ib: Occasional papers on the Ottoman perceptions of the supernatural publishes original research articles in English and French, research reports (including reports on scientific meetings), source presentations, book reviews and translations of sources pertaining to Ottoman occultism, science and beliefs on supernatural phenomena. This journal forms part of a five-year research project, “GHOST”: Geographies and Histories of the Ottoman Supernatural Tradition: Exploring Magic, the Marvelous, and the Strange in Ottoman Mentalities”, funded by the European Research Council under the program Consolidator Grant 2017. The journal aims at keeping the community informed of our activities, presenting some sources and literature surveys, but also serving as a forum for scholars interested in such topics. There are four issues scheduled until the end of the project (February 2023), but the Editors will do their best to continue publication afterwards.
The journal covers research on Ottoman occult sciences (divination, oneiromancy, magic, science of letters, astrology, alchemy etc.) or specific treatises thereof; Ottoman theological or philosophical discussions on Hermeticism, the limits of knowledge, the reality of miracles, the existence of natural laws and so forth; Ottoman collections of strange stories and phenomena and their epistemological background; history of Ottoman science with emphasis on new explanations of phenomena previously considered inexplicable or supernatural.