Starting with a moving anecdote of the suicide note of a military officer infected with syphilis, Dr Seçil Yılmaz (University of Pennsylvania) delivered a fascinating lecture detailing the personal tragedies of the disease but also showing how this public health epidemic informed gender and sexuality in the late Ottoman context.
Dr Yilmaz’s fellowship at the Trinity Long Room Hub is in collaboration with Dr Ramazan Hakkı Öztan, Assistant Professor in Modern History at Trinity’s School of Histories and Humanities. During her residency, Dr Yilmaz has been working on her book Anatomy of Empire: Medicine and Sex in the Late Ottoman World.
Speaking as part of the Trinity Centre for International History seminar series, she described how the Ottoman Empire became known as the “Sick man of Europe”--not solely due to the fragility of its imperial power—but also because of the significant outbreak of syphilis in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Although syphilis had existed in Ottoman society since the sixteenth century, Dr Yilmaz explained how it became a significant public health concern because of the increased mobility of soldiers and Muslim immigrants during and after the Crimean war, and seasonal workers traveling throughout the Ottoman countryside.
Syphilis also presented a further challenge for containment as it wasn’t only spread in venereal forms – it was also spread through shared utensils and everyday touch. The difficulty in its management was further compounded as a result of the disease mimicking other illnesses.
Looking at the history of this contagious disease in the Ottoman Empire gives us an “insight into the physical and emotional impact” it had on people at the time, Dr Yilmaz noted, adding however that the Ottoman’s response to the disease also brought “new notions of health” and the professionalisation of medicine during this period.
During this time, many young Ottoman graduate physicians were sent to Europe for further training. On their return, these physicians not only contributed to the development of the public health infrastructure but also became public intellectuals, Dr Yilmaz noted, adding that many joined radical political movements.
In the politically repressive climate of the 1880s, Dr Yilmaz claimed “a new generation of Ottoman physicians viewed medicine not only to combat disease but also as an intellectual and ideological means for social and political reform.”
Listen to the full talk here:
Seçil Yılmaz is a historian of sexuality, gender, and medicine of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey. Her research and teaching focus on the broad fields of social and intellectual history at the intersections of medical humanities, life sciences, feminist, and queer studies. Her forthcoming book Anatomy of Empire: Medicine and Sex in the Late Ottoman World (under contract, Stanford University Press) analyzes the social and political implications of syphilis by tracing the questions of empire-building, colonialism, modern governance, and sexuality in the late Ottoman context. Her other projects include research on the relationship between religion, history of emotions, and contagious diseases in the late Ottoman Empire as well as history of reproductive health technologies and humanitarianism in the modern Middle East.