Mehmet Kalpaklı is the Chair of both Departments of History and Turkish Literature at Bilkent University. He also serves as the Director of Halil İnalcık Center for Ottoman Studies and the Director of Oğuz Tansel Research Center for Turkish Literature.
He started his Ph.D. study at Istanbul University and finished it at the University of Washington in 1992. His specialization is in Ottoman literature and cultural history of the Ottoman Empire. He is also working on several digital humanities projects as the co-founder and active participant in Ottoman Text Editing Project (OTAP) between the University of Washington and Bilkent University.
Some of his publications are: The Age of Beloves: Love and The Beloved in Early Modern Ottoman Turkish and European Literature, Culture, and Society (with Walter G. Andrews), Duke University Press, USA 2005; Ottoman Lyric Poetry: An Anthology, (with Walter Andrews and Najaat Black), The University of Texas Press, 1997, and expanded edition: University of Washington Press in 2006; Osmanlı Divan Şiiri Üzerine Metinler (İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Press, 1999; Maruf Simalar of Ali Fuat Türkgeldi, (with S. Akşin Somel) Turkish Historical Society Press, Ankara, 2013; Binbir Gece’ye Bakışlar, (with Neslihan Demirkol), Turkuaz Press, İstanbul, 2010; and the Complete Works of Halide Edib Adıvar (with others, 18 books) Özgür Press/Can Press, (1995-2015).