POSTPONED: Nasreddin Hoca and the Morality of Ottoman Folk Tales

• 18:00-19:30
• online talk

POSTPONED: this talk will be rescheduled at a later date

Nasreddin Hoca and the Morality of Ottoman Folk Tales

A Folklore Society online talk by Dr Gemma Masson

Tuesday 13 February 2024, 18:00

This talk will attempt to judge the fool-sage dichotomy within ‘The Hero’s Journey’ of Joseph Campbell.

The Hoca Tales are often analysed for their place in the humour traditions of the Islamic world, however, this paper aims to asses them as morality tales, in a similar vein to Aesop’s Fables. I shall also offer thoughts on why the Hoca is sometimes the merry fool and sometimes the wise mentor, before examining several popular tales of the corpus through the lens of The Hero’s Journey. In conclusion, I shall attempt to show the value of folklore as a tool for the teaching and learning of history.

Gemma Masson holds a PhD in Ottoman Studies from the University of Birmingham. She is Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Assistant Editor of the Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations Journal. She has diverse research interests including Ottoman History, Early Modern History, Imperial and Global History, History in Popular Culture, Dracula History, Supernatural History/Mythology/Folklore and Death.

Tickets will be available once the rescheduled date is fixed

Tickets £6.00 (£4.00 for Folklore Society members with the Promo Code: log in to the Members’ Area at https://folklore-society.com/members-only to get the promo code): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/nasreddin-hoca-and-the-morality-of-ottoman-folk-tales-tickets-772238194227?

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Image Credit: Copy of a 17th century miniature held in Topkapi Palace Museum Library, via Wikimedia Commons