Okan, Orcun

Orçun`s research focuses on Turkey and the Arab East in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His dissertation examines connections between the establishment of Republican Turkey and the League of Nations Mandates in present-day Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq following the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Combining methods of diplomatic history with social and cultural history, he investigates disputes over retirement pensions, alimony, and ownership of land and property as well as questions of nationality and reference to Ottoman official records in post-Ottoman domains. Orçun`s work has been supported by the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) of Koç University, and the Social Science Research Council.

Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Orçun studied at Uppsala University, the American University of Beirut, Cairo University and Yale University in conjunction with his studies at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. He received a B.A. in Turkish Language and Literature, a B.A. in History, and an M.A. in History from Boğaziçi University, as well as M.A. and M.Phil. degrees in History from Columbia University.