Invitation to World Literature
My Name is Red – Map & Timeline
This map shows the extent of the Ottoman Empire during the the late sixteenth century, the period of My Name Is Red. Founded in 1299, the empire ultimately spanned parts of Western Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa and brought together many cultures and traditions, including those of the master illustrators from China, India, Persia, the Caucasus and elsewhere. In the novel, painting styles from Venice are challenging these traditions.
Alexander the Great of Macedonia creates one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Muhammad (c. 570-632) the founder of Islam, makes his sacred journey, known as The Hegira, to Mecca and Medina; the latter is pictured here in a 19th-century painting by the French Orientalist painter Alphonse Etienne Dinet.
Book of Kings or Shahnameh composed by the great poet Firdausi (here depicted in a monument in Tehran), is presented to the Sultan. The work becomes a source for many later works of Persian writers and miniaturists.
The Mongol ruler Genghis Khan establishes an empire reaching from China to Europe.
The Ottoman Empire was a dominant world military, cultural, and economic power for 700 years, reaching its apogee under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566). His conquests established trade and communication with European centers, including Venice.
Tamerlane (Timur), and later rulers in his line, establish a Central Asian dynasty, fostering a rich artistic and cultural life. Herat (in modern-day Afghanistan) was a cultural capital of the Timurid Dynasty, and it is here that the master Bihzad established his workshop. This miniature from the Walters Art Gallery depicts Timur fighting the Knights of St. John, and is attributed to the 14th-century workshop of Bizhad.
Venice’s development as a center of painting―known both for innovation in style and supreme individual achievement―spanned three centuries, from the Bellini family in the 14th century to the works of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese in the 16th. Here pictured in an etching from the 1740s by Canaletto, Venice both fascinates and repels the artists in My Name Is Red, and has enthralled a long line of musical, artistic, and literary visitors.
The Ottoman Sultan Mehmet the II conquers Constantinople, establishing it as the center of the empire. He commissioned Gentile Bellini to create this portrait in the Italian style and had Italian frescos painted in his palace. Later rulers covered these frescos, and it is Sultan Murad III (1567-1603) whose interest in Italian art prompts the secret book in My Name Is Red.
The reign of Sultan Selim II brought treaties between the Ottoman Empire and Persia and Austria.
On October 7, 1571 Ottoman naval forces battled Christians at Lepanto (Náupaktos) on the Gulf of Corinth in Greece. The battle was undertaken to retake Cyprus, then under Venetian control, and was unsuccessful, with heavy cost to the Ottoman navy, marking an end to Ottoman control of the eastern Mediterranean. The victory at Lepanto proved potent in building military unity among Christian states; it is still evoked in some Catholic publications today, and is portrayed on a wall of the Vatican map library. The Christian victory at Lepanto inspired countless artists, including Yogesh Brahmbhatt of this sixteenth-century depiction, which shows the flags of the galleys and other identifying characteristics of the forces.
The action of the novel takes place in 1591, when Black returns to Constantinople after years away from home.
After seven centuries, including a long period of decline, the Ottoman Empire is dissolved in the aftermath of World War I and the Turkish War of Independence from European control. The last Sultan leaves Turkey, and the “Young Turks,” led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, establish the modern Turkish state. Atatürk promotes westernization in science and technology and in writing, replacing the traditional Persian/Arabic alphabet with a new script based on the Roman alphabet. Ottoman history, literature, and art are de-emphasized in public life.
Benim Adim Kirmizi, My Name Is Red, is published in Turkey. Orhan Pamuk evokes Ottoman and Persian history in the novel, which becomes a phenomenal best-seller in Turkey that is soon translated into many world languages.
Although the novel is set in 1591, Pamuk has said, “You write about the past to say something about the present.” This contemporary photo of an Istanbul street, could, with only a few changes, be a street that Esther hurried down to give a note to Shekure.
Unit 1 The Epic of Gilgamesh
The first known human story is that of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Images of artifacts from ancient Iraq mix with beautiful illustrations, dance, and costume to tell of the relations between gods and mortals, the search for friendship, love, and immortality. Featured cast members include Assyriologist Ben Foster, comic book illustrator Jim Starlin, and poet and playwright Yusef Komunyakaa.
Unit 2 My Name Is Red
Both an historical novel and a graphic murder mystery set among the miniaturists of the Ottoman court. With its focus on Istambul, a major crossroads of the world, it tells of the artistic/cultural contest between Europe and the East. Cast members include the book's Nobel-prize winning author, Orhan Pamuk, and its English translator, Erdağ Göknar.
Unit 3 The Odyssey
Odysseus must travel the known and unknown world before he can return home to his beloved island kingdom of Ithaca. What does this ancient story say to readers today? In this program, Odysseus's story is given ancient and modern historical and philosophical context, and illustrated with centuries of art. Featured are theater director Mary Zimmerman, actor-director Tim Blake-Nelson, and psychologist/author Jonathan Shay.
Unit 4 The Bacchae
The city of Thebes is torn apart by the conflicting demands of reason and religion, as the disguised god Dionysus returns to his home town demanding to be worshipped. Opposing him is the young king Pentheus, who is doomed to suffer the ultimate punishment for his disbelief. Featured speakers include world-renowned playwright/author Wole Soyinka, actor Alan Cumming, and Daniel Mendelsohn of Bard College.
Unit 5 The Bhagavad Gita
This epic tale of the warrior-prince Arjuna confronting a life-or-death dilemma during civil war presents a unique and powerful philosophy of duty, discipline, and serving a higher purpose. Beautiful illustrations connect the story with its rich history and culture. Featured speakers include Sheldon Pollock, Professor of Sanskrit Studies and acclaimed composer Philip Glass.
Unit 6 The Tale of Genji
This portrait of court life in medieval Japan follows the life and exploits of the great Genji. Written by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Japanese court, it provides an insider's view of Japanese court life, the official and behind the screen. Art, clothing, music from the time of the novel illustrate the obserations of authors Jane Smiley and Chiori Miyagawa, among others.
Unit 7 Journey to the West
The powerful and mischievous Stone Monkey King brings chaos to heaven and earth. Freed from a mountain prison in order to guard a Chinese monk on his journey to retrieve the Buddhist scriptures from India, Monkey seeks his own spiritual transformation. Modern performance, contemporary art, and Buddhist philosophers provide a rich context to the ancient tale. Featured cast members include playwright David Henry Huang, storyteller Diane Wolkstein, and translator Professor Anthony Yu.
Unit 8 Popol Vuh
The Mayan book of creation, the dawn of life, and the glories of gods and kings. This magnificent epic was saved from destruction at the hands of the Spanish by Quiché chroniclers. Once repressed, the story is now interwoven with the history of today's Mayan people. Featured speakers include archaeologist Richard Hanson, humorist Mo Rocca, and Guatemalan artist Shuni Giron.
Unit 9 Candide
A satirical novel following the travails of Candide, a hopeless optimist whose faith in his tutor's mantra that his is "the best of all possible worlds" is tested beyond all limits. Voltaire's challenge to the aristocracy of his day proves refreshingly amusing and biting today. Original illustrations, songs, and comic book figures plumb the depths of this satire. Featured speakers include director Harold Ramis, actress Kristin Chenoweth, and cartoonist Chris Ware.
Unit 10 Things Fall Apart
In this foundational modern African novel, Chinua Achebe's story follows the lives of people trying to understand which belief systems deserve their loyalty. The protagonist, Okonkwo is a tribal leader who battles neighboring villages, the English, and his own demons in early colonial Nigeria. The perspectives of readers from around the world reveal the novel's universal themes. Cast members include playwright and professor Tess Onwueme and theater director Chuck Mike.
Unit 11 One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez's multigenerational saga of the Buendía family in the isolated town of Macondo inaugurated the boom in Latin American literature in the 1970s and marked the beginning of magical realism. Writer Sandra Cisneros and scholar of Latin American literature, Ilan Stavans lend their thoughts and voices to the discussion of this epic novel.
Unit 12 The God of Small Things
Fraternal twins Rahel and Estha struggle to reclaim their lives after their childhood is destroyed by tragic circumstances. As past and present merge in this narrative of Indian society and politics, the many layers of the caste system are mirrored in the poetic and inventive language of the author. Featured speakers include Simon Gikandi of Princeton University, author Evelyn Ch'ien.
Unit 13 The Thousand and One Nights
Shahrazad must hold the interest of her despotic husband the sultan with nightly tales, lest she lose her life in the morning. This wellspring of storytelling, circulating from medieval Persia to Egypt to Iraq, like its wily raconteur lives on in many modern adaptations. Art, performance, and film images are employed to show the collection's broad span of influence. Featured speakers include Marin Alsop, musical director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Aly Jetha and Shabnam Rezai, co-producers of the 1001 Nights animated series.