Following the first reporting period (months 1–24), conducted at the partner institution Indiana University Bloomington, during which the Fellow focused on reconstructing Postel’s travels in Ottoman lands, his intellectual European context, and a preliminary assessment of his universalist framework, the final year of the project concentrated on a detailed philosophical analysis of Postel’s concept of universalism—namely, the vision of a global religious and political unity. Specifically, the Fellow explored Postel’s broader intellectual output and biography, as well as the legacy of his Arabic manuscript collection. To do so, the Fellow employed methodologies from intellectual history, book history, manuscript studies (philology and codicology), and philosophical analysis.
Between months 24 and 29, the Fellow conducted a comparative analysis of works authored by Postel in the fields of cosmography, (pseudo-)history, and religion, particularly those published after De orbis terrae concordia (1544). In the following months (30–34), two major research trips were undertaken: one to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, and the other to the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Additional research was carried out using digitized materials from libraries in Copenhagen, Leiden, Berlin, and Oxford. During those months, the Fellow focused on assessing the legacy of Postel’s Arabic manuscript collection within the broader dynamics of transcultural exchanges and knowledge circulation across the Mediterranean and Eurasian worlds. A key outcome of this work is a dedicated website featuring a catalogue of Postel’s manuscript acquisitions, complete with short bibliographic descriptions, created to support future scholarship in the field.
Between mid-month 24 and mid-month 26 of the fellowship, the Fellow was based at the Secondment Institution, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, before completing the return phase at the Host Institution, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia.
Throughout the project, the Fellow combined research and training with teaching, academic dissemination, and public engagement.
Research outputs include:
- 2 published peer-reviewed publications (1 journal article, 1 book chapter);
- 2 peer-reviewed journal articles forthcoming by 2025;
- 4 journal articles currently under peer review.
- In addition to the peer-reviewed papers, the Fellow edited and published 1 special issue, 1 special issue is forthcoming, 1 more special issue is under review. The Fellow also published a book review.
- The Fellow has also prepared a book proposal for her monograph (now in its final draft) and a proposal for an edited volume based on the project’s final conference.
In total, the Fellow delivered 14 conference and workshop presentations and organized and moderated 6 academic events (workshops, panels, roundtables, and seminars), for a total of 11 scholarly meetings. She also organized an international conference to disseminate the results of the PostelEast project and chaired 4 more events (panels).
To engage with the general public, the Fellow organized and moderated 2 public lectures, co-organized the 10th Marie Curie Alumni Association Conference, and participated in 9 outreach events, including the European Researchers’ Night (Perugia, online; Venice). She also gave interviews and created, presented, and recorded a 5-episode podcast titled Mare nostrum? Un mare di idee, forthcoming on Radio Ca’ Foscari.
During the secondment in Barcelona and return phase in Venice, the Fellow received advanced training in Renaissance and Reformation studies, which, combined with the training received in the history of the Islamicate and Ottoman worlds in Bloomington during the outgoing phase, contributed to a broader methodological framework for investigating the Renaissance from a global perspective. The Fellow also developed transferable skills in communication, teaching, project management, and attended classes of Arabic language.
