Lectures on Tap - "Mothers, Wives, Slaves: Politics in the Ottoman Harem"

Mon May 18 2026 at 06:30 pm to 08:30 pm UTC-05:00

Wicker Park | Chicago

Felecia For The Win
Publisher/HostFelecia For The Win
Lectures on Tap - "Mothers, Wives, Slaves: Politics in the Ottoman Harem"
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Professors, experts, and storytellers giving thought-provoking lectures in Chicago bars.
About this Event

📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email

đź§  Lecture: "Mothers, Wives, Slaves: Politics in the Ottoman Harem"

🎤 Speaker: Dr. John J Murphy


📍 Location: Exact address given in confirmation email

đź§  Lecture: "Mothers, Wives, Slaves: Politics in the Ottoman Harem"

🎤 Speaker: Dr. John J Murphy


For centuries, Europeans imagined the Ottoman harem as a secret world of luxury, sensuality, and mystery. In reality, it was one of the most important—and dangerous—political arenas in the empire.


In this lecture, Dr. John J Murphy uncovers the real politics of the harem: the structure of palace life, the rise of powerful royal mothers, and the remarkable story of Roxelana (HĂĽrrem Sultan), a captured woman from Eastern Europe who rose from enslaved concubine to legal wife of Sultan SĂĽleyman the Magnificent.


Dr. John Murphy is a historian and educator who lives for the sparks that fly when politics, culture, and art collide. He’s written on Revolutionary Chinese Ballet, taught everything from Soviet Cinema to World History, and has a soft spot for the oddities—pamphlets, plays, and propaganda—that end up reshaping empires.


Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌


Agenda

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key.

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Lecture begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up.

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Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Wicker Park, Wicker Park, Chicago, United States

Tickets

USD 39.19

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