Eleanor Roosevelt College Research Journal ISSUE 9 WINTER 2019 Table of Contents Letter from the Editors 1 Chezy, Ela The Early Modern Istanbul Coffeehouse and the Secularization of the Ottoman Empire 2 Lara Sanli Meet Lara Sanli 8 Allison Kifer The Bare Minimum: UC San Diego’s Housing and Food Insecure Population 9 Sara Hwang Meet Sara Hwang 13 Yuchen Wu Miscellaneous: A Collection of Art 14 Caitlin King Meet Caitlin King 15 Samantha Mah A Collection of Art 16 Lucie Samarvoka 19 Meet the Staff Letter from the Editors 1 Circuit has always been a space for celebrating the diverse strengths of our academic ERC com- C munity. With its recent involvement in the cam- H pus-wide “Smells Like Zine Spirit” zine festival, the journal has been making greater progress E in terms of stressing the criticality of creativity to the academic experience. In a world where- Z in we are taught that solutions are guaranteed Y through the method of tradition, the process of approaching problems, inside and outside In this last quarter of the year, we must reflect of the classroom, has become an exercise of a on what has happened in 2018. At Circuit, it’s narrow nature. Our mental faculties often too our goal to gather research--our source of data, readily accept that there is only one solution to analyses, empirical studies, and writings--that one problem, and that there is only one way of is emblematic of such reflections. At the higher tackling one problem. This specifically, is why education scale, however, students’ voices and the innovation of art must be stressed. reflections are often shadowed by that of grad- uate students and faculty. Art teaches us to create. Having license to ex- press the world as one views his or her political, Thus, we work hard in Circuit to create a plat- social, and economic environments, allows us to form for undergraduate research. Our Fall 2018 take a stand against the injustice of seeing the issue is especially vocal about troubles during world and its issues through just one lens. We our time--our cover design, indeed, comes are encouraged by art to think about ourselves, from our first published photo series, which and our world, as well as its issues, creatively. discusses south Asian beauty standards. In becoming a more accessible platform for We must work together to amplify our peers’ artists and creators to share their works, Circuit insights. Yes, graduate and faculty research has become part of a greater movement to ad- holds immense value, but so do ours. Being vocate from the importance of a creative educa- that we are the next generation of profession- tion - and that, is something that I will always be als, it is us who have a say in the information that defines us, and of course ultimately our world. There’s many ways to pull off this ampli- fication--and our style is publishing real under- grads’ (maybe even yours!) papers and getting E to know the intelligent person behind them. L Thank you for taking the time to pick up our A journal, and thank you if you’re reading this. We truly hope you may find intriguing things in here. 2 The Early Modern Istanbul Coffeehouse and the Secularization of the Ottoman Empire by Lara Sanli The coffeehouse is an informal space in which people convene to drink coffee, socialize, and exchange ideas (McKay 2007). While many believe that intellectual coffeehouse culture developed during the eighteenth century European Enlightenment, it actually originated in early modern Istanbul and inspired the Enlightenment thinkers who received recognition for coffeehouse culture (Karababa and Ger 2011). Due to sixteenth century Ottoman trade prosperity, Istanbul became a hub for merchants trading coffee and ideas (Ervin 014).2 This diversity, cultural exchange, and fusion of ideas brought about by trade allowed Istanbul to develop as an ideal place for coffeehouses. Within these coffeehouses, class hierarchies dissolved as the rich and poor interacted with each other (McKay 2007). Educated men shared their knowledge with poorer men, and new ideas—many of which threatened the security of the government—began to spread (McKay 2007). Additionally, the coffeehouse developed as a public space completely separate from the mosque (Ervin 2014). It was not affiliated with Islam at all, and it thus contributed to the spread of non-religious ideas and behaviors. This is an anomaly because the Ottoman Empire was Muslim and the mosque was the center of religious, social, and governmental life. In this way, the secular coffeehouse conflicted with the religious government. This observation led me to ask the following question: How did the development of the early modern Istanbul coffeehouse shape society within the Ottoman Empire? Although scholars such as Alain Mikhail believe that the early modern Istanbul coffeehouse reinforced preexisting Ottoman values, it actually introduced new values that influenced the secularization and modernization of the Ottoman Empire. This is evidenced by the development of the coffeehouse as a non-religious space, the exchange of new ideas within the coffeehouse, and the multiple resistance efforts against government coffeehouse bans. Scholars such as Alain Mikhail claim that the coffeehouse actually reinforced Ottoman traditions and did not change culture or politics. For example, Mikhail believes that coffeehouses “offered their male clientele a substitute for a selamlik, the name given to the section of the house reserved for men of the family to greet and socialize with their guests” (Mikhail 2014). Within the private sphere of the Ottoman household, men and women were traditionally separated into two 3 different spaces. As the portion of the household uniquely reserved for men, the selamlik embodied Ottoman traditionalism by reinforcing these separate spheres according to gender distinctions. The layout of Ottoman houses, therefore, excluded women from participating in the worldly activities of men. The selamlik embodied this gender hierarchy, a hierarchy which was similarly repeated in the construction of the Ottoman coffeehouse. The coffeehouse was also a gendered space, and Mikhail argues that the men-only structure of these new coffeehouses was too similar to the structure of domestic sphere to be considered unorthodox. For example, women were excluded from the coffeehouse. They were barred from any attempts at the intellectual discussion that went on in the coffeehouse, but occasionally allowed to enter the space only for the purpose of entertainment and appearing as exotic dancers (Mikhail 2014). Mikhail argues that the lack of women in this space mirrored the traditional separation of men and women in the Ottoman household. Therefore, according to Mikhail, the coffeehouse did not radically change the structure of Ottoman societal life. Instead of creating a revolutionary public sphere separate from the domestic sphere, the coffeehouse simply recreated the selamlik, or the male domestic sphere, in a different space. While Mikhail’s argument is plausible, it has several weaknesses. Even though women were excluded from the coffeehouse just as they were excluded from the selamlik, coffeehouses actually achieved substantial social progress in the area of class relationships. For this reason, the dissolution of class relationships was more significant than Mikhail’s observation about the unchangeability of Ottoman gender relations. Coffeehouses were not exclusive, as Mikhail argues, but they were actually socially inclusive. Whereas men typically invited other men of the same class into their private selamliks, the coffeehouse was a place for men of all social classes. People transcended class borders as they interacted with new and diverse people, and this fusion of different backgrounds deviated from traditional Ottoman attitudes frowning upon inter- class interactions. Indeed, the coffeehouse was not a private space— it was a public one: “It is certain that the first coffeehouses were public centers open to the all segments of society. In a short period of time, coffee as a substance and the coffeehouse as an institution acquired a recognition among the city inhabitants from different social strata in Istanbul” (Yasar 2003). General openness of the coffeehouse to men of all social levels led to different classes interacting with each other. The dissolution of class distinctions initiated the beginnings of a boundless society, which is relevant because class distinctions were a traditional component of the structure of Ottoman society. This introduction of new social values contributed to the secularization of the 4 Ottoman Empire by making people more willing to interact with others and share diverse ideas. The coffeehouse further contributed to the secularization of the Ottoman Empire by emerging as a non-religious space separate from the religious government. This is notable because the mosque had previously been at the center of traditional Ottoman society. As a result, it “[was] plagued by social obligations” everyone was expected to follow (Ervin 2014). Within the mosque, men were expected to conduct themselves with discipline and in accordance with traditional religious principles. For example, they were expected to follow formulaic prayer recitations, be present in silence, and dress in a particular way before God (Ervin 2014). Life revolved around the mosque, and religious values permeated into the social sphere so that all personal conduct was held to these religious standards. However, the religious nature of Ottoman society was gradually replaced with a more secular one as the coffeehouse developed as a space separate from the mosque. Free from the constraints of the mosque’s guidelines, men were free to engage in non-religious activities typically frowned upon by the mosque: “Within the coffeehouse strict rules were less applicable and many classes were able to freely gather and exchange ideas” (Ervin 2014). Their interactions were largely intellectual and relating to the exchange of ideas, many of which were controversial for challenging religious doctrine and the traditional religious authority of the government.