Imperial Classroom

... its comparative and theoretical focus will certainly help to make the region more accessible to students and scholars interested in the history of education and modernity, while widening the horizons of area specialists. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies *
This is an important book which reconciles the various tensions between 'traditional' and 'modern', and 'Islamic' and 'secular' from within ... Fortna's eloquent style is enriched by the multiple narratives of pupils, teachers, officials and statesmen whose individual voices intersected the educational landscape of the Empire. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies *
Imperial Classroom shows theoretical and conceptual sophistication, a clear methodological framework and relies on extensive research in the Ottoman archives. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies *
... a multi-layered, perceptive and carefully crafted study. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies *
... meticulous and well-documented ... the author exhibits a talent for combining clear argumentation with an elegant writing style. This book, with its multiplicity of methodological agendas, should be of interest to a large cross-section of scholarship, including historians of the late Ottoman empire and those interested in the relationship between the state and education in an historical setting. * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society *
Imperial Classroom deserves our attention on several counts, the most important being its innovatory approach, systematic presentation and the large variety of sources consulted to good effect ... well-documented and very readable ... this scholarly book should be read not only by those studying late Ottoman education, but by all those interested in the period of Abdülhamid II. * Middle Eastern Studies *