Gül Şen

Gül Şen is a Senior Lecturer and Privatdozentin at the Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Bonn, and also serves as a Lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Her academic work focuses on premodern Ottoman history, historiography, and the dynamics of dependency, particularly in maritime contexts such as galley slavery and war captivity. She is actively involved in major research programs including the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica' and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies.

Her research areas include:

• Premodern Ottoman historiography and narrative strategies
• Legitimacy of rule and political transitions
• Maritime unfree labor and galley slavery
• War captivity and captivity narratives in the 18th century
• Dependency and asymmetrical power relations in the early modern Mediterranean

Her recent publications reveal a strong thematic trend centered on the interplay between narrative construction and social power, particularly in contexts of slavery and captivity. She investigates how historical actors used storytelling to assert legitimacy, cope with crises, and negotiate identity. Her work bridges literary analysis with social history, offering nuanced understandings of agency within systems of dependency. She frequently collaborates with leading scholars like Stephan Conermann and contributes to major edited volumes and series in Ottoman studies.

Her scientific awards include:

• DAAD Award for outstanding academic achievements (2012)
• Postdoctoral Scholarship from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (2012–2013)
• Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg (2015–2016, 2018–2019)
• Postdoctoral Scholarship from the University of Bonn (2019–2020)

She has supervised numerous B.A. and M.A. theses at the University of Bonn and Heidelberg and has secured third-party funding, including a DFG project (€192,000) from 2016–2018 and Fritz Thyssen Foundation grants. She is co-editor of the 'Ottoman Studies' and 'Otto Spies Memorial Series' book series, and holds leadership roles in the Society for Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies (GTOT) and the International Association for Ottoman Social and Economic History (IAOSEH). Her academic activities are deeply embedded in collaborative and interdisciplinary research environments.

She is affiliated with the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and contributes to the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica,' where she examines mobility dynamics and captivity narratives. Her work is supported by a strong network of international collaborations and editorial engagements.