Associate Professor of Religious Studies Betül Başaran recently completed a four-week seminar for college and university professors in Washington, D.C. Her seminar, titled “Transcending Boundaries: The Ottoman Empire, Europe and the Mediterranean World, 1500-1800.” was funded by a prestigious institutional grant for St. Mary’s College of Maryland from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Sixteen scholars from around the country joined Başaran for an exploration of the history of religious, political and economic exchanges in the larger Mediterranean world in ways that transcend false distinctions between the so-called Christian and Islamic worlds and their societies in the early modern era.

NEH grants are highly competitive and involve a rigorous peer-review and selection process to ensure that the projects represent the highest level of humanities research and public engagement. The primary goal of the summer seminars is to advance humanities teaching. In a July, 2015 press release, NEH Chairman William Adams said “NEH is proud to support programs that illuminate the great ideas and events of our past, broaden access to our nation’s many cultural resources, and open up for us new ways of understanding the world in which we live.”

Please note that any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.