Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies

In the last ten years Greece has emerged as a center of writing on the Ottoman Empire. A new generation of Greek scholars, some trained abroad, some trained in Greece, have produced an impressive body of literature that engages not only the history of the Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire, but some of the most fundamental issues in Ottoman history. Whereas the pioneers of an earlier generation had to stand in splendid, but lonely, isolation, now a sufficiently large cohort has developed, such that one can speak of a community of scholars working in Greece on Ottoman history. This workshop is designed to bring together recent Ph.D.s and graduate students who are working in Greece on Ottoman history, together with a small group of graduate students and early-career scholars from Turkey, Europe and the United States.

The workshop will focus on the experience of the Greeks under Ottoman rule. Prospective participants are encouraged to consider additional frameworks for their topic, beyond the Ottoman context. In accordance with recent trends in history writing, such as transnational and international history, presenters might want to think about the scale of their work. Are they telling a local, a regional, or even a transnational or international story? And what are the connections among and across these levels? At a future date, the Progam in Hellenic Studies at Princeton University hopes to host a conference on a regional approach to Ottoman history. Such an approach poses the question of the relationship between the political boundaries of the Ottoman Empire and historic or geographic regions (however defined) in the Balkans, the eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and beyond.

Organizing Committee: Molly Greene (Princeton University), Heath Lowry (Princeton University), Andreas Lyberatos (Princeton University), Eleni Gara (University of the Aegean), Dimitri Gondicas (Princeton University)

Participants: Graduate students (at dissertation stage) or recent Ph.D.s (no more than three years since date of award of the doctorate) who do not hold tenure or tenure-track positions. To be eligible to apply, candidates must fulfill one or more of the following criteria: (a) Ph.D. degree or dissertation-in-progress at a university in Greece or Cyprus; (b) B.A. degree awarded by a university in Greece or Cyprus; (c) dissertation-in-progress or recent Ph.D. degree (from any institution outside of Greece or Cyprus), with a focus on Greeks in the Ottoman Empire.

Research languages required: Ottoman Turkish and Greek.

All local expenses will be covered by the Program in Hellenic Studies.

Application (in English, via e-mail, with attachments): (a) cover letter and statement of interest; (b) one-page proposal for a 30-minute presentation on some aspect of work-in-progress; (c) curriculum vitae; (d) confidential recommendation letter sent directly by dissertation advisor or other academic supervisor to: gondicas@princeton.edu.

Deadline for submission of applications: April 15, 2007.

All correspondence should be addressed to: gondicas@princeton.edu.

Seminar Information
For information please contact hellenic.

More information to come.

Class Day reception will take place from 1:30-2:30 in the Scheide Caldwell House lobby.