| Titels | Prof. dr. |
| Initials | E.J. |
| Main position | Hoogleraar UL |
| Disciplines | Language and literature studies of other language groups |
| Language and literature studies | |
| Chair | Turkse talen en culturen |
| Domain | Humanities |
| Membership | Member |
| Since | 2008 |
| Member of Humanities | |
| Member of Jury of the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for History | |
| Employed by |
Universiteit Leiden
Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Witte Singel-complex Witte Singel 25 / M. de Vrieshof 4 2311 BZ Leiden tel. 071 527 2026 |
| Research/publications |
Erik-Jan Zürcher primarily interested in the period of transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey (roughly: 1880-1950) and in the role of the Young Turk generation/movement in this process.
After a period in which he studied the political history of the period, he gradually became more interested in its social history as well. In his view the key to an understanding of the emergence of modern Turkey lies in linking the processes of forced migration, war, the imperial legacy and nation building. He defines himself primarily as a historian, who is informed by social science theory and able to access Turkish primary sources.