First call for papers
COLLOQUE INTERNATIONAL : Grecs d'Anatolie et d'Istanbul
De 1821 à 1964 : état des lieux et perspectives de recherche

ΔΙΕΘΝΕΣ ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΟ : Ρωμιοί της Μικράς Ασίας και της Κωνσταντινούπολης
Από το 1821 έως το 1964 : απολογισμός και προοπτικές έρευνας

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Greeks of Anatolia and Istanbul
From 1821 to 1964: current research and perspectives

The conference intends to address the socio-cultural history of this non-territorialized human group, in its centuries-old imperial context and in that of the emergence of the Greek and Turkish nation-states. Indeed, even after 1821, most Orthodox Greeks were still living outside the Modern Greek state. This situation was bitterly reversed by the expulsions of September 1922 and by the treaty on compulsory population exchange between Greece and Kemalist Turkey in 1923. It found its seemingly last epilogues in 1955 and 1964, as the last Orthodox Greeks massively left Istanbul, where only a small community of a few hundreds remains today.

Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the Rum population was thriving on Ottoman lands, without being entitled to the territory where it lived, being simultaneously at home and within a Muslim state, together with other groups whose linguistic, religious, legal, and political standards were partly different. This experience was opposite to that of the citizens of the Greek nation-state. This way of life within the Ottoman imperial framework was lethally affected by Modern Greek, then by Turkish nationalisms. The history of the Rums has long consisted exclusively of descriptive, very accurate monographs, often the work of nostalgic and informed, but poorly trained refugees. The Centre for Asia Minor Studies contributed to a different approach through its documentation and publication effort. As a result, works have been published in the last decade, which are more methodical and freed from state nationalism. This renewed interest is echoed and paralleled in Turkey. What is at stake in this conference is thus the deconstruction of the seamless narratives of Modern Greek history, but also and simultaneously, those of Turkish history and even of neighbouring groups. Current perspectives of appeasement in Greek-Turkish relations invite more than ever a serene and meticulous scrutiny of this common past.

Submissions are invited from historians and other scholars, including young researchers, for this international conference entitled Greeks of Anatolia and Istanbul, co-organized by the EFA and the CAMS, in cooperation with the IFEA. The conference will take place on February 24th and 25th, 2006, at the EFA. Presentations will be allocated up to twenty minutes each and will be delivered in French, Greek or English. A discussion will follow every presentation. Possible topics include:

1. The importance of religion for the Rums
2. The Rums in the Ottoman and regional economy and professional life
3. The Rum secular culture: literature, journalism, music, and sports
4. Maintaining one’s difference: community-based and family-driven social welfare and educational structures
5. The politics of the Rums: developing citizenship?
6. Rum men and women: changing gender relations

Abstracts (350 words) indicating the major topic to be developed and a short curriculum vitae are to be e mailed no later than June 15th, 2005, to the e-mail address provided below. Speakers may be hosted at the EFA during the conference and may apply for financial help for travel expenses.

Proceedings are to be published by the EFA and the CAMS. To this end, the final version of presented texts will be ready before May 15th, 2006.

Stavros ANESTIDIS, Head of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies, Athens
Hervé GEORGELIN, Researcher at the École Française d'Athènes

Pierre Chuvin, Head of the Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes, İstanbul