Call for papers: Colloque international: « Grecs d'Anatolie et d'Istanbul de 1821 à 1964 : état des lieux et perspectives de recherche » | International Conference: « Greeks of Anatolia and Istanbul from 1821 to 1964: current research and perspectives ». February 24th and 25th, 2006. Organized by the École Française d'Athènes (EFA) and the Centre for Asia Minor Studies (CAMS). In cooperation with the Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes (IFEA). Deadline: June 15th, 2005.

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 first 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 has 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:

a. The importance of religion for the Rums

b. The Rums in the Ottoman and regional economy and professional life

c. The Rum secular culture: literature, journalism, music, and sports

d. Maintaining one's difference: community-based and family-driven

    social welfare and educational structures

e. The politics of the Rums: developing citizenship?

f. 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 romioi.rumlar@efa.gr. 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,

Istanbul. Hervé Georgelin, membre moderniste de l'EFA

Didotou 6,106 80 Athina – Hellas.