Why I do research: Esra Akkaya
Building connections through literature
- von Juliana Fischer
- 30.03.2026
Izmir, 1919. A Sephardic Jew from Izmir boards a ship bound for New York. His diary recounts a life straddling worlds – a transnational, indeed transhistorical, existence. Literary scholar Dr. Esra Akkaya discovered the document in New York at the Centre for Jewish History. At the University of Düsseldorf (UDE), she researches the history and literature of the Sephardim, the Jewish community that has been scattered across several continents since the Spanish Inquisition.
You are researching Turkish-Jewish history, particularly Sephardic history. What exactly does this involve?
I work on Sephardic literature of the 20th century – that is, poems, plays or diaries, often in several languages: Turkish, French, Ladino, Spanish or English.
These texts tell of migration, often of flight, and of a life straddling languages and cultures. Sephardic Jews originally hail from the Iberian Peninsula and were expelled during the Inquisition. Many ended up in the Ottoman Empire; later, numerous others migrated further afield, for instance to the USA.
Your project is funded for five years. What is particularly important to you?
Bringing research into teaching – that happens far too rarely.
In my seminars, students come together who would otherwise rarely meet, including those with different perspectives on Jewish and Muslim history. My aim is to create a space where these viewpoints can come together without becoming entrenched. Sephardic history in particular helps to break down simplistic narratives and develop a more nuanced understanding – including with regard to current conflicts.
What perspective do you bring to the table yourself?
I’m from Essen; like many of my students, I come from a Turkish family and have got to know a number of different cultures through my time abroad. That helps me to convey the topics sensitively. Literature can create a sense of closeness without being overwhelming.
Where do you find your sources?
Often in archives – in Turkey, but also in the US. In New York, I discovered an unpublished diary written in Ladino. It tells the story of a man who migrated from Turkey to the US and ultimately feels he belongs nowhere. Such perspectives are missing from traditional historical accounts.
What is Ladino?
A traditional language of the Sephardim, based on 15th-century Spanish and shaped by influences from the Ottoman world. Today it is considered endangered because it is hardly spoken anymore.
What would you like to work on in the future?
I am interested in how literature brings history to life – that is, not just conveys knowledge, but generates empathy. Why do some texts move us so deeply that we come to understand history differently? That is precisely what I would like to examine more closely and develop further theoretically.
Further information:
Dr. Esra Akkaya, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Romance Languages and Literatures, Tel. 0201/18 3-7249, esra.akkaya@uni-due.de