Dr Onur Engin: Echoes on the Map: Unveiling the Auditory History of Late Ottoman Istanbul through Digital Cartography

Abstract:

In this talk, I will focus on the 1882 Stolpe Map and the 1880 Nautical Chart of Istanbul to explore how church bells, cannon shots, and record stores in late Ottoman Istanbul (1826–1923) interacted with the city’s unique topography and demographic landscape. I will introduce the digital companion to my book project, partly accessible at www.echoesoverthebosphorus.com, to illustrate how digital mapping and storytelling can bring further insights into our understanding of past urban environments. My talk will conclude with a brief reflection on the potential of network theory as a form of conceptual mapping within sound studies and musicology, highlighting its capacity to generate additional insights with examples drawn from the recording industry of late Ottoman Istanbul.

Onur Engin is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge and a member of Cambridge Digital Humanities. He is working on an ERC Starting Grant funded by UKRI, titled “Ottoman Auralities and the Eastern Mediterranean: Sound, Media, and Power, 1789-1914.” He earned his PhD in Art History from Koç University in Istanbul. His book project, Echoes over the Bosphorus: An Auditory History of Late Ottoman Istanbul (1826-1923), focuses on three sound-producing devices—church bells, cannons, and talking machines—as organizing principles to examine the city's modernization from the perspectives of sound, hearing, and listening. He also employs computational methodologies, such as digital cartography, textual analysis, and network theory, to investigate Ottoman discographies and concepts of noise in the Ottoman Empire.