Alevi Pasts Contested : Neglected Narratives and New Methodologies
(2026) In European journal of Turkish Studies 2026(42).- Abstract
- Over recent decades, Alevi Studies has emerged as an interdisciplinary field drawing on history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and religious studies. While this institutional and scholarly consolidation marks significant progress, key aspects of Alevi history remain contested, particularly interpretations shaped by early 20th-century nation-building paradigms. Dominant binaries such as rural vs. urban, oral vs. written, isolation vs. agency, and folklore vs. lived religion, have structured both academic and public understandings of Alevism.This special issue, Alevi Pasts Contested: Neglected Narratives and New Methodologies critically examines these frameworks with a focus on historiography and methodology. It aims to address... (More)
- Over recent decades, Alevi Studies has emerged as an interdisciplinary field drawing on history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and religious studies. While this institutional and scholarly consolidation marks significant progress, key aspects of Alevi history remain contested, particularly interpretations shaped by early 20th-century nation-building paradigms. Dominant binaries such as rural vs. urban, oral vs. written, isolation vs. agency, and folklore vs. lived religion, have structured both academic and public understandings of Alevism.This special issue, Alevi Pasts Contested: Neglected Narratives and New Methodologies critically examines these frameworks with a focus on historiography and methodology. It aims to address persistent gaps in the historical record of Anatolian Alevi communities and to rethink how such gaps can be studied. The contributions engage diverse sources, including archival documents, oral traditions, poetic texts, and ritual practices, highlighting the productive interplay between written and embodied forms of knowledge.
The articles revisit established narratives of marginalization, rurality, and persecution in Ottoman and modern contexts, while introducing innovative methodological perspectives. These include analyses of cultural memory in Alevi poetry, the ritual production of historical consciousness, and ethnohistorical reconstructions of community formation. Together, they propose more nuanced and dynamic understandings of Alevi pasts and emphasize the entanglement of scholarly and emic narratives. By doing so, the volume advances critical debates on knowledge production and opens new directions for the study of Alevism as a historical and lived tradition.
(Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Abstract in French:
Au cours des dernières décennies, les études alévies se sont affirmées comme un champ interdisciplinaire, à la croisée de l’histoire, de l’anthropologie, de la sociologie, des sciences politiques et des sciences des religions. Si cette consolidation institutionnelle et académique représente une avancée majeure, certains aspects clés de l’histoire alévie restent sujets à débat, en particulier les interprétations influencées par les paradigmes nationalistes du début du xxe siècle. Les oppositions binaires – rural/urbain, oral/écrit, isolement/agentivité, folklore/religion vécue – ont en effet structuré aussi bien les analyses savantes que les représentations publiques de l’alévisme. Ce numéro spécial, intitulé «... (More) - Abstract in French:
Au cours des dernières décennies, les études alévies se sont affirmées comme un champ interdisciplinaire, à la croisée de l’histoire, de l’anthropologie, de la sociologie, des sciences politiques et des sciences des religions. Si cette consolidation institutionnelle et académique représente une avancée majeure, certains aspects clés de l’histoire alévie restent sujets à débat, en particulier les interprétations influencées par les paradigmes nationalistes du début du xxe siècle. Les oppositions binaires – rural/urbain, oral/écrit, isolement/agentivité, folklore/religion vécue – ont en effet structuré aussi bien les analyses savantes que les représentations publiques de l’alévisme. Ce numéro spécial, intitulé « Passés alévis contestés : récits négligés et nouvelles méthodologies », propose une réévaluation critique de ces cadres, en mettant l’accent sur l’historiographie et les approches méthodologiques. Son objectif est double : combler les lacunes persistantes dans l’histoire des communautés alévies d’Anatolie et repenser les moyens d’étudier ces lacunes. Les contributions mobilisent une grande diversité de sources – archives, traditions orales, textes poétiques et pratiques rituelles – et mettent en lumière les interactions fécondes entre savoirs écrits et savoirs incarnés.
Les articles réexaminent les récits établis de marginalisation, de ruralité et de persécution, tant dans le contexte ottoman que moderne, tout en introduisant des perspectives méthodologiques innovantes. Parmi celles-ci figurent des analyses de la mémoire culturelle dans la poésie alévie, de la construction rituelle de la conscience historique, ou encore des reconstructions ethno-historiques de la formation des communautés. Ensemble, ces travaux proposent une compréhension plus nuancée et dynamique des passés alévis et soulignent l’implication mutuelle des récits savants et des récits émiques. Ainsi, ce volume contribue à faire avancer les débats critiques sur la production des savoirs et ouvre de nouvelles voies pour l’étude de l’alévisme, à la fois comme tradition historique et comme pratique vécue. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/dd1e4eb5-60e3-4097-9a91-32d90e9453ea
- organization
- alternative title
- Passés alévis contestés (Title in French) : Récits négligés et nouvelles méthodologies (Subtitle in French)
- publishing date
- 2026-06-17
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- European journal of Turkish Studies
- editor
- Markussen, Hege Irene LU and Markus, Dressler
- volume
- 2026
- issue
- 42
- ISSN
- 1773-0546
- DOI
- 10.4000/16elq
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- dd1e4eb5-60e3-4097-9a91-32d90e9453ea
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-30 12:49:28
- date last changed
- 2026-07-03 14:22:33
@misc{dd1e4eb5-60e3-4097-9a91-32d90e9453ea,
abstract = {{Over recent decades, Alevi Studies has emerged as an interdisciplinary field drawing on history, anthropology, sociology, political science, and religious studies. While this institutional and scholarly consolidation marks significant progress, key aspects of Alevi history remain contested, particularly interpretations shaped by early 20th-century nation-building paradigms. Dominant binaries such as rural vs. urban, oral vs. written, isolation vs. agency, and folklore vs. lived religion, have structured both academic and public understandings of Alevism.This special issue, Alevi Pasts Contested: Neglected Narratives and New Methodologies critically examines these frameworks with a focus on historiography and methodology. It aims to address persistent gaps in the historical record of Anatolian Alevi communities and to rethink how such gaps can be studied. The contributions engage diverse sources, including archival documents, oral traditions, poetic texts, and ritual practices, highlighting the productive interplay between written and embodied forms of knowledge.<br/><br/>The articles revisit established narratives of marginalization, rurality, and persecution in Ottoman and modern contexts, while introducing innovative methodological perspectives. These include analyses of cultural memory in Alevi poetry, the ritual production of historical consciousness, and ethnohistorical reconstructions of community formation. Together, they propose more nuanced and dynamic understandings of Alevi pasts and emphasize the entanglement of scholarly and emic narratives. By doing so, the volume advances critical debates on knowledge production and opens new directions for the study of Alevism as a historical and lived tradition.<br/>}},
editor = {{Markussen, Hege Irene and Markus, Dressler}},
issn = {{1773-0546}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{06}},
number = {{42}},
series = {{European journal of Turkish Studies}},
title = {{Alevi Pasts Contested : Neglected Narratives and New Methodologies}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/16elq}},
doi = {{10.4000/16elq}},
volume = {{2026}},
year = {{2026}},
}