BOONE, N.C.—Dr. Jason White, an assistant professor in the Department of History at Appalachian State University, will deliver the annual Appalachian Lecture in British History on April 27.

The lecture – titled “Between Two Worlds: the English Levant Company and the Ottoman Empire, 1581-1688” – will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 114 of Belk Library and Information Commons on the university’s campus.

On the same day, there will be a display of rare books and other items relating to the lecture in the library’s Rhinehart Room between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. For more information, contact Dr. Michael Turner, Appalachian’s Roy Carroll Distinguished Professor of British History, at turnermj@appstate.edu.

White earned his Ph.D. in history from Brown University in 2008. His first book – “Militant Protestantism and British Identity, 1603-1642” (Routledge, 2012) – argued that the 1603 Union of Crowns and the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War in 1618 were significant factors in the causes of the English Civil War. His current research is on the English Levant Company in the 17th century and focuses on the relationship between state formation, trade and empire.

The English Levant Company, first chartered by Elizabeth I in 1581, enjoyed a monopoly on all trade between England and the Ottoman Empire until 1754. In his lecture, White will discuss how the company existed between the two worlds of England and the Ottoman Empire and how the directors and merchants of the company negotiated, responded to and even shaped numerous changes in political authority, economic conditions, diplomatic climates and social factors at both ends of its trading network.

The lecture will also explore the company’s interaction with a broad range of people and interests in both England and the Ottoman Empire. The company played an interesting and important role in the development of the English state, the creation of England’s global trading network and western relations with the Muslim world.

About the Department of History

Part of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of History at Appalachian State University offers a broad curriculum in local, national, regional and world history at both the undergraduate and graduate level, which encourages history majors to develop a comparative approach to human problems. The study of history is an essential part of a liberal arts education and offers valuable preparation for many careers, such as law, journalism, public history, public service and business, as well as in teaching and the advanced discipline of history. Learn more at https://history.appstate.edu

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences is home to 16 academic departments, three stand-alone programs, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities, social sciences, and the mathematical and natural sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university’s strengths, traditions and unique location. Our values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of our students as global citizens. There are approximately 5,850 student majors in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing Appalachian’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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