Houssine Alloul holds a PhD in history and is currently a Research Associate at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where he is also a member of Power in History: Centre for Political History (PoHis). His doctoral dissertation investigated the relations between Belgium and the Ottoman Empire, with a special focus on the intertwining of small power diplomacy, the global expansion ... Read moreof Belgian capital, and interculturality. His research interests include consular history, Orientalism(s), travel literature, modern finance capitalism, and Leopoldian colonialism. Edhem Eldem teaches history at Boğaziçi University, Istanbul, Turkey. He concentrates on nineteenth-century Ottoman social and cultural history, with particular emphasis on westernization and relations with Europe. Following publications on funerary epigraphy, trade, banking, urban development, and Orientalism, his current research focuses on archaeology, photography, visual culture, and first-person narratives. Henk de Smaele teaches modern cultural history at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, where he is connected to the research unit Power in History: Centre for Political History (PoHis). His current research includes the modern history of gender and sexuality, as well as the history of relations between Europe and the Middle East. Show Less