UCF professor Dr. Hakan Ozoglu presents book

The history department's author series officially kicked off Wednesday evening with Dr. Hakan Ozoglu's presentation of his second book.

The series was organized by Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández.

"Our faculty publishes great books that are published by some of the best presses in the country," Martínez-Fernández said. "We thought this is something that needs to be celebrated and also shared with the outside world."

Ozoglu's book, "From Caliphate to Secular State: Power Struggle in the Early Turkish Republic," examines the Republican Era of Turkey's history and its transition from an Islamic Empire to a modern secular state. Ozoglu stated that while secularism in the U.S. is defined as the separation of religion and state, Turkey's road to secularism involved religion's subordination to state. This has created modern tensions, as Ozoglu discussed later with the audience.

Ozoglu described the writing of his book as a personal journey. In his research, Ozoglu came across much information that was contrary to what he learned in all levels of his education in Turkey. But, he knew that this version of history needed to be written.

"This was a book that took me more than 10 years to write. Not because of money or physical hardships, although those are part of it, but because I had these intellectual limits in my mind. The way you grow up, the way you learn things, usually limits your understanding and studying of something that is so familiar to you," Ozoglu said. "Finally, I came to terms with myself that if I call myself an intellectual, not a Turkish intellectual but of Turkish origins, there's a difference, then I have to write something like this."

The U.S. archives provided a great deal of information for Ozoglu's book, as well as both foreign and domestic sources he was able to access through UCF's library system. He never would have been able to access these sources or write the position he did had he remained in Turkey, Ozoglu said.

History major Natalie Rodriguez said the presentation put in perspective for her just "how much access [to historical documentation] we have as Americans."

After giving a summary of his book, Ozoglu opened the floor to take questions from the audience. The small gathering of 25 to 30 students, faculty and staff engaged Ozoglu in a discussion of more modern Turkish politics. One of the main themes of conversation was the current tension between the secular Turkish government and the fomenting Islamic constituency.

The next author series presentation will transition to the Civil War with Barbara Gannon and her book, "The Won Cause: Black and White Comradeship in the Grand Army of the Republic." The presentation will be held on Nov. 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in room 223 of the UCF Library.