Department of Turkology

Turkology is an academic discipline with philological roots, originally dedicated to the research of the Turkic languages, their literature and, additionally, to the history and culture of the peoples speaking Turkic languages.

Today the discipline is highly specialized and has practically split into several sub-disciplines differing not only in their methodological approaches, but also in their historical and geographical focus. In Bamberg, Turkology is focused on the history of the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, i.e. Turkish Studies.

There are numerous points of intersection with other disciplines, especially with those dealing with the Near and Middle East. For this reason, the field of Turkish Studies at the BA level is integrated into the "Islamic Orient" BA programme, in which modern Turkish can be studied. Turkish Studies as a separate course is offered at the MA level and may be chosen following completion of the BA programme. The Turkish Studies MA programme requires a working knowledge of Turkish and includes the study of Ottoman-Turkish.