Image and Imperialism in the Ottoman Revolutionary Press, 1908-1911

Book excerpt: Palmira Brummett provides a new vision, through the prism of 100 cartoons, of the confrontation between tradition and modernity, "Orient" and "Occident," and rhetoric and reality. Taking a unique period in modern Middle Eastern history, the Ottoman Constitutional Revolution of 1908, Brummett examines the Istanbul satirical press and artfully weaves the narrative and images of political, economic, and cultural transformation to create a new vision of the Middle East at the end of the empire. This pioneering work of cultural history is drawn against the backgrounds of Ottoman-European relations and press history. It shows how Ottoman cartoonists merged the literary and artistic cultures of East and West through comparisons to the press production and art of Europe, India, Latin America, and the Middle East. In doing so, it intersects with the broader set of studies in European history, the implications of modernity, and the rhetorical uses of images.