Hülya Canbakal (PhD, 1999), recently published her book Society and Politics in an Ottoman Town: 'Ayntab in the 17th Century (Brill, 2007), based on her dissertation. She received Honorable Mention in Social Sciences in the Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award. The book was published as Volume 36 of The Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage: Politics, Society and Economy series, edited by Suraiya Faroqhi and Halil Inalcik.

From the book's rear cover:

"This book deals with a provincial town attending to its day-to-day business against the backdrop of an exacting war fought far afield against the Habsburgs (1683-99). The dynamics of long-term economic growth were termporarily disturbed by the wartime economy while realignment in center-periphery relations affected the local power structure and practicds of status management. Meanwhile, the local elite continued to dominate public life, hence the lives of commoners. This study opens a window onto this world through a close examination of the court records of the twon."

Dr. Canbakal now teaches in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Sabanci University.