Royal Holloway History Research Seminar: Christopher Jotischky's on Modern Greek discourses of Ottoman enslavement (Monday, 30 March, 6pm GMT)

[Paris Papamichos Chronakis]

Royal Holloway University of London

History Research Seminar

30 March, 6.00-7.30 pm, IN243 (Egham campus) or Online via Teams 

Christopher Jotischky (History, RHUL)

"‘Protect Our Girls’: Ottoman Sexual Enslavement between Historical Reality and Islamophobic Trope in Nineteenth-century Greece"

The literature, art, and popular culture of Greece following independence in 1830 are replete with the stock figure of the marauding Ottoman stalking the Greek countryside and whisking off any women he finds attractive to a lifetime of sexual enslavement in his harem. Although documented instances of such practices do exist, these are vastly outweighed numerically by the similar experiences of other ethnic groups within the Ottoman orbit (such as Ukrainians, Circassians, or Ethiopians).

While remaining conscious of the real experiences of women and girls who were indeed kidnapped and enslaved within the harem system, I aim in this talk to explore the gap between historical reality and popular representation, asking what ideological purpose the threat of Ottoman sexual enslavement served in the construction during the nineteenth century of Greek national identity as a European Christian population rightfully liberated from the Ottoman yoke.  

 

The talk will be chaired by Sandip Kana (History, RHUL)

All Welcome

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Paris Papamichos Chronakis

Lecturer in Modern Greek History

Department of History

Royal Holloway, University of London