Mehmet Kuru, instructor at Foundation Development Directorate (FDD) , was found eligible for the TÜBİTAK 3501 Career Development Program fund.
Mehmet Kuru’s project is entitled “Aesop Alla Turca: A study on Turkish Translations of Aesop Fables From Pre-Tanzimat Era in the Context of Cultural Translation”
“Project scope that deals with various disciplines such as cultural history, cultural translation and literature history, involves the Turkish translation of Aesop fables from pre-Tanzimat era. In the fields of literature history and the translation history, the studies which are built upon the dominant paradigm, suggest that the first translated literary works from western languages into Turkish were prepared during the Tanzimat era as a repercussion of the social, cultural and institutional transformation observed in the nineteenth century. In the stage of the preliminary research, several manuscripts of Aesop translations that were located in the different European libraries, belong to the pre-Tanzimat era. As the main subjects of this project, these manuscripts challenge the dominant paradigm. Considering these discoveries, the early translated literary works from western languages date back to the seventeenth century. These texts which have a pivotal importance, may provide an alternative perspective for the literature and cultural history and the findings may stimulate a new discussion on these matters” said Mehmet Kuru about his project.