Commendable in an Ottoman of his background: Christopher Ferrard and a reassessment of his contributions on Islamic literary sciences

Abstract

This paper critically assesses Christopher Ferrard's (d. 2024) contributions to the study of nineteenth-century Ottoman rhetorical scholarship. In particular, it examines Ferrard's definition of rhetoric as necessarily grounded in national literary traditions and his assessment of the scholarly output based on its alignment with a nation-centric approach. We demonstrate how this conceptual framework results in favorable evaluations of scholars who advocated for a nation-centric approach while leading to negative assessments of those who upheld the universality of balagha and sought to vernacularize it in the Ottoman context. We conclude by advocating for further research that offers more comprehensive accounts of Ottoman rhetorical thought, balancing universalist and particularist perspectives.