Tunahan Durmaz

Tunahan Durmaz is a fifth-year Ph.D. researcher in the Department of History at the European University Institute, Florence. His research focuses on the social, cultural, and political aspects of disease and illness in the early modern Ottoman world, intersecting the histories of knowledge and medicine. His dissertation, supervised by Giancarlo Casale and Lauren Kassell, explores disease understanding in Ottoman Istanbul (1640–1691), emphasizing epistemological frameworks and cultural practices.

Education:

• B.A. (History & Architecture) with honors from Middle East Technical University (2016)
• M.A. (History) from Sabanci University with thesis on Ottoman family microhistory (2019)

Research Interests: Ottoman medical history, cultural history of disease, early modern pandemics, history of emotions, and microhistorical analysis. His work bridges Ottoman intellectual life with global exchanges, particularly Atlantic influences on Ottoman medicine.

Recent Contributions: His scholarship examines Ottoman medical pluralism, supernatural explanations of disease, and daily life in 17th-century Istanbul through diaries and social networks. Ongoing projects explore the intersection of science, religion, and power in early modern empires.