The beginning of the twentieth century represents an era of institutionalization of history writing in the Ottoman realm. In this period, new modes of conceptualizing and reclaiming the past began to be discussed among a new generation of Ottoman historical writers. These historians imagined the Ottoman past and present within a modern historical consciousness, which meant the incorporation of comparative approaches, altered periodizations, and nationalist discourses. Furthermore, breaking away from early modern historical writing, which was embedded in Islamic tradition, these historians used new sources and methods that relied upon positivistic interpretations of the field of history. Following the foundation of academic institutions such as the Tarih-i Osmani Encümeni (Ottoman Historical Society, 1909), the Türk Bilgi Derneği (Turkish Association of Knowledge, 1911), the Türk Yurdu Derneği (Turkish Homeland Society, 1911), and the Âsâr-ı İslamiye ve Milliye Tedkik Encümeni (Islamic and National Studies Association, 1915), these debates on history writing began to appear in the pages of the journals published by these institutions. Tarih-i Osmani Encümeni Mecmuası (The Journal of Ottoman Historical Society), Türk Yurdu (Turkish Homeland, the journal of the Turkish Homeland Society), Bilgi Mecmuası (The Journal of Knowledge, the journal of the Turkish Association of Knowledge), and Milli Tetebbular Mecmuası (The Journal of National Studies, the journal of the Islamic and National Studies Association), were the main publications in which the modern historiographical debates were shaped. Leading historians of the period, who were also the main contributors to these journals, including Fuad Köprülü, Ahmed Refik (Altınay), Yusuf Akçura, Abdurrahman Şeref, Necib Asım (Yazıksız), and Halil Edhem (Eldem) wrote articles about the historian’s craft that contributed to the formation of a modern historical consciousness, either national or imperial. This paper explores the ways in which modern historical methodology and the duties of the historian were discussed in these academic journals. It will also trace how these historians discussed the relationship between history and other social sciences, along with the issues of training the “modern” historian and the use of archival documents in historical studies. Ultimately, this paper argues that these historiographical debates shed light on the ways in which the historians of this period imagined the Ottoman Empire’s and, eventually, the Turkish nation’s future.