Kutay Onaylı is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies. His dissertation is a study of cultural history and narrative in late Ottoman Istanbul, focusing on the city’s Greek-speaking communities. His research explores how Greek Ottoman writers –from women journalists to cartoonists mocking nationalism– rethink Orientalist discourse and literary genre to express locally-rooted, hybrid identities. Interests in minority studies, reception studies, and critical theory shape this work.

Kutay received his B.A. in Comparative Literature & Middle East Studies from Brown University. He regularly publishes poetry and criticism in his native Turkish, and is currently working on translations from the 14th-century Persian poet Hafez.