Middle East Studies

PhD student Elizabeth Wolfson travels abroad for conference with MES Research Travel funds

July 2, 2018

elizabeth-wolfson huntington-house

Elizabeth Wolfson, captured by Professor Can Candan, outside the Huntington House originally occupied by George and Elizabeth Dodge Huntington, the American couple who are the subject of the research presented by Wolfson at the conference.

In June, Elizabeth traveled to Istanbul to participate in a small conference titled “First Century of Photography: Photography as History / Historicizing Photography in Ottoman and (Post-) Ottoman Territories (1839 – 1939).” Her paper titled “Transnational Domesticity and Women’s Work in the Photographic Archive of Robert College,” presented research from her dissertation’s second chapter which examines two family photo albums held in the Robert College archive at Columbia University.

The conference was a wonderful opportunity to be in conversation with other graduate students as well as faculty, curators, and archivists from many different countries who are all working on different aspects of Ottoman and post-Ottoman photography. Not only did the conference expand upon awareness of the work currently being pursued in the field, but it also presented Elizabeth with the opportunity to connect personally and professionally with scholars pursuing this topic beyond the United States. Additionally, she was able to visit one of the primary sites with which her dissertation is concerned. She has expressed her gratitude to Middle East Studies for supporting her travel to this conference which was essential to her ability to pursue this valuable intellectual and professional opportunity.