Greece, Turkey and the Past and Present of Forced Migrations – Day 2

Location University of Newcastle, UK

Date and time Tuesday 6 September 2022
08:00 - 16:30 (London GMT)
11:00 - 19:30 (Ankara UTC+3)

Event Summary

The conference will take place on the centenary of the 1922 forced displacement that followed a decade of warfare between Greece and the Ottoman Empire. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne legalised the forced movement of more than a million Greek Christians to Greece and that of approximately 400,000 Muslims to Turkey. The departure and arrival of both sets of refugees left indelible marks on both states and societies with the memory of refugeedom remaining strong today among all those of refugee descent.

Fast forward 100 years, Greece and Turkey are again at the epicentre of forced migrations, in what has become known as “Europe’s refugee crisis”. Greece is one of the main gateways to the EU for thousands of people on the move every year, while Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees worldwide. However, migration to, settlement in, and movement between the two countries is met with a number of challenges for forced migrants: the militarisation of borders, the erection of physical barriers, economic crises, political instability, populism, power politics, old rivalries, and a pandemic have posed insurmountable obstacles to people seeking refuge in recent times.

The centenary of the Greco-Turkish population exchange offers an opportunity to reflect on how forced migrations are remembered, lived, experienced and governed in the two countries and beyond.

Day 2 Programme:

Session 1:

Chair: Daniel-Joseph MacArthur-Seal, British Institute At Ankara

10.00 – 10.15 Zeynep Turkyilmaz, Potsdam University, online

From Exception to Exile: Rethinking the Deportations of the Pontic Greeks (1916-1921)

10.15 – 10.30 İlhan Zeynep Karakılıç, Bahçeşehir University, in-person

Exchangee Habitus in a Black Sea Village of Turkey: Boundary Drawing and Community Making

10:30 – 11.00 Questions and Comments

Session 2

Chair: Violetta Hionidou, Newcastle University

11.00 – 11.15 Alexandros Lamprou, Phillips Universität Marburg, online

Legacies of 1923 Turkish-Greek Population Exchange: Greeks Refugees in Turkey during World War II

11.15 – 11.30 Julia Fröhlich, University of Vienna, in-person

One Route, Many Ways to Relative Freedom. The Multi-facetted Refugee Movement from Greece to Turkey (1941–1944) told through a Multi-perspective Lens

11.30 – 12.00 Questions and Comments

12.00 – 13.00 Lunch

Session 3

Chair: Boluwajo Kolawole, Newcastle University

13.00 – 13.15 Meghan Garrity, Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and Intl Affairs, online

What enables or constrains mass expulsion? Orthodox Greeks & the Lausanne Convention

13.15 – 13.30 Selvihan Kurt, İstanbul Technical University, in-person

The Izmir Museum and its Collection after the War: The Acquisition of the Abandoned Properties of non-Muslims by Izmir Museum

13.30 – 14.00 Questions and Comments

Session 4

Chair: Boluwajo Kolawole, Newcastle University

14.00 – 14.15 Miraç Ayça Türkfiliz, Middle East Technical University, in-person

Tracing the Collective Memory of a Depopulated Rural Settlement Exposed to Population Exchange: The Krom Valley, Gümüşhane, Turkey

14.15 – 14.30 Hasan Sercan Sağlam, CNRS – CESCM, Poitiers, in-person

Identity Confusion of a Multifaceted Landscape: Revisiting the Isolated Rum Heritage in Rural Ayvalık

14.30 – 15.00 Questions and Comments 15.00 – 15.30 Coffee & Tea Break

Session 5

Chair: Dimitris Skleparis, Newcastle University

15.30 – 15.45 Ela Çil & F. Nurşen Kul, Izmir Institute of Technology, in-person

Mapping ghosts: on the demolished Greek legacy of Urla

15.45 – 16.00 F. Nurşen Kul & Ela Çil, Izmir Institute of Technology, in-person

Intertwined settlements, juxtaposed stories: History of Lithri and Ildiri

16.00 – 16.30 Questions and Comments

Session 6

Chair: Elena Katselli, Newcastle University

16.30 – 16.45 Serkan Günay, Oxford Brookes, in-person

Perceptions of the Past; Pleasant Remembrance and Difficult Memories

16.45 – 17.00 Yiorgo Topalidis, University of Florida, online

“Just like my grandparents”: Contemporary Utility of Past Migration Experiences Toward an Empathetic Sociopolitical Praxis.

17.00 – 17.30 Questions and Comments

Sponsored by: Newcastle University, British School at Athens and The British Institute at Ankara.

With the support of: The Greek Politics Specialist Group – GPSG and The Turkish Politics Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association, and the Society for Modern Greek Studies.

In person and online attendees welcome

Register here