Baki Tezcan

Baki Tezcan is Professor of History at the University of California, Davis, with a joint affiliation in Religious Studies until 2015. He is also affiliated with the Middle East/South Asia Studies Program (ME/SA), Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and has directed the ME/SA program from 2012 to 2015. He led the 'Last Empire of Islam' Summer Abroad Program in Istanbul in 2007, 2009, and 2011.

• Ph.D., Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (2001)
• M.A., Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University (1996)
• B.S., International Relations, Bilkent University, Turkey (1994)
• Graduate, Istanbul Lisesi

Tezcan's research centers on the intellectual and socio-political transformation of the Ottoman Empire, particularly the evolution of Islam in the public sphere from the late thirteenth to the early twentieth century. His work explores Islamic law, pre-modern racial and ethnic identities, Ottoman perceptions of others, and the interplay between politics, philosophy, and science in the Islamic tradition. He investigates early modernity through the lens of legal rationalization, secularism, and the disenchantment of Sufism.

His recent publications reveal a consistent focus on Ottoman intellectual history, legal transformation, and identity formation. Themes include the rationalization of Sunni Islam, the role of the ulema, judicial administration in former Mamluk territories, and autobiographical writings of early modern preachers. His scholarship bridges Turkish and Anglophone academic traditions, with several of his works translated into Turkish and published in bilingual journals.

Tezcan has received multiple prestigious awards and fellowships:

• UC Davis Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award (2005)
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship (2018–19)
• TÜBİTAK Fellowship (2011–12)
• Society for the Humanities Fellowship, Cornell University (2005–06)
• ARIT Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by NEH (2001–02)

He has advised students across multiple departments and has been recognized for his mentorship. His current projects include finishing several articles and writing a book on the transformation of Islam in the Ottoman Empire from the late medieval to the modern period. He is actively engaged in editorial work, serving as President of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association (OTSA), and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Ottoman Studies and the Journal of the Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association. He co-founded the Western Ottomanists' Workshop (WOW) and GIT-North America, fostering scholarly dialogue in the field.