IOWC PhD Student: Michael Ferguson

Michael Ferguson holds a B.A. in History from Carleton University (2004) and M.A. in Islamic Studies from McGill University (2006). His Master’s thesis, "Transportation and Communication Networks in Late Ottoman Salonica, 1800-1912" focused on role transportation and communication networks (such as railroads, steamships and telegraphs) played in the rapid growth of Salonica in the late nineteenth century. Following the completion of his M.A., Michael spent the 2006-2007 academic year teaching English in a top-ranked Private high school in Istanbul, Turkey while at the same time improving his Turkish language skills and continuing his research.

After spending the summer backpacking through Greece and Turkey, he has returned to McGill to begin his PhD under the supervision of Gwyn Campbell.

While he still styles himself as an Ottoman historian, his focus has slightly shifted to studying African slavery in the Ottoman Empire and the important role in which Africa has played in shaping the Ottoman economy and society, which he believes has gone relatively unnoticed by the majority of Ottoman historians.

Forthcoming "Clientship, Social Indebtedness and State-Controlled Emancipation of Africans in the Late Ottoman Empire." In Debt and Slavery in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Worlds, edited by Gwyn Campbell and Alessandro Stanziani, chapter 4. London: Pickering and Chatto.

2010 "Enslaved and Emancipated Africans on Crete." In Race and Slavery in the Middle East: Histories of Trans-Saharan Africans in Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Mediterranean, edited by Terence Walz and Kenneth M. Cuno1, 171-195. Cairo and New York: The American University in Cairo Press.

2013 "'It's not destruction, it's urban renewal': the transformation of urban space atop Kadifekale, Izmir." Paper presented at the Quatrième Journée d'étude du groupe d'études turques et ottomanes (GÉTO): « La République Turque : histoire, culture, société », Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 8 March 2013.

2012 "Enslaved and Emancipated Africans in 19th century 'Cosmopolitan Izmir.'" Paper presented at the Centre d'études turques, ottomanes, balkaniques et centrasiatiques (CETOBAC) and CNRS-EHESS-Collège de France, Paris, France, 23 November 2012.

2012 "A Micro-History of the African Slave Trade in the Late Ottoman Empire: The Case of the Mahrousa (1887-1889)." Paper presented at the Indian Ocean World Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 25 October 2012.

2012 "Race and Censorship of the Press in Late Ottoman Izmir (1906)." Paper presented at the Fifth Annual IOWC Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Africa, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 26 April 2012.

2012 "The Tomb of St. Polycarp in the urban history of late Ottoman and early Republican Izmir (1880-1940)." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), New York, New York, USA, 26 February 2012.

2011 "The Emergence of an 'Afro-Turk' Identity Since 2005." Paper presented at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA, 1-4 December.

2011 "Emancipated Africans and Criminality in Late Ottoman Izmir." Paper presented at the IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada 17 November.

2011 "The Tomb of St. Polycarp and the Overlap of Religious Practices in Late Ottoman Izmir." Paper presented at the Modern Greek Studies Association (MGSA) Symposium 22, New York University, New York, NY, USA, 13-16 October.

2011 "Cami Baykurt's account of his travels in Trablusgarp: A new source for the history of Ottoman Slavery and Slave Trade." Paper presented at the Fourth Annual IOWC Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Africa, IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 1 May.

2011 "Cosmopolitanism and Marginalization: The Settlement of Africans in Izmir, Turkey and the Formation of the Upper Neighbourhoods, 1850-1920." Paper presented at the International MCRI Conference, "Enslavement, Bondage and the Environment in the Indian Ocean World," IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 28-30 April.

2011 "The ‘African Festival’ of Izmir 1870-1920: New Aspects, New Questions." Paper presented at the IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 22 March.

2011 "Sharing Sacred Space: The Tomb of St. Polycarp in Izmir in the Late Nineteenth Century." Paper presented at the Sixteenth Annual Graduate Student Interdisciplinary Conference, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, 10 February.

2010 "Barack Obama and the Afro-Turks." Paper presented at the Third Annual IOWC Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Africa, IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 26 April.

2009 "‘Slave Religions’ in Comparative Perspective: The Zar / Bori in Ottoman Lands and Candomblé in Brazil." Paper presented at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, USA, 21-24 November.

2009 "The Sub-Saharan Africans of Chania, Crete in the Nineteenth Century: A Comparative Perspective." Paper presented at the Modern Greek Studies Association (MGSA) Symposium 21, Vancouver, BC, 15-17 October.

2009 "Sultan, Caliph and Patron: Centralization of Patron-Client Relations and Indebtedness in the Late Ottoman Empire." Paper presented at the IOWC International Conference, "Debt and Slavery: The History of a Process of Enslavement," IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 7-9 May.

2009 "Izmir’s Muslim Quarter in the Late Ottoman Period: Mapping Growth and Discussing its Ethnic Composition." Paper presented at the Second Annual IOWC Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Africa, IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 27 April.

2008 "Towards a Social History of Afro-Ottomans: Preliminary Results for the Case of Crete." Paper presented at the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA, November 22-25.

2008 "Towards an Environmental History of the Slave Trade in Africa: The Case of the Waday-Benghazi in the 19th Century." Paper presented at the First Annual IOWC Graduate Interdisciplinary Conference on Africa, IOWC, McGill University, Montreal, QC, 28 April.

2008 "Environmental Factors Shaping the Slave Trade Through Libya in the Nineteenth Century." Paper presented at the Carleton University Underhill Colloqiuim, Ottawa, ON, 7 March.