Dear colleagues,

Please find below the announcement for the Levantine Conference in Istanbul, with links and contact information. If interested in participating, you can use the contact information below, or email me at acorlu@umw.edu.

Best wishes,

Axel B. Corlu

Department of History and American Studies

University of Mary Washington

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THE LEVANTINES: COMMERCE AND DIPLOMACY
THE FIRST LEVANTINE CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL
MONDAY, TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY 3 - 5 NOVEMBER 2014


THE LEVANTINE HERITAGE FOUNDATION UK is a non-profit membership association which promotes research, preservation and education in the heritage, arts and culture of the different ethnic and religious communities of the wider Levant region of the Ottoman Empire between the 17th and 20th centuries. The Ottoman Levant comprised most of present-day Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt, and its influence extended far beyond the borders of those countries. The Ottoman Empire was made up of many different ethnic groups, including Turks, Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, and Jews. They were joined over the centuries by traders and diplomats from every part of Europe, from England to Dalmatia, both Catholic and Protestant, many of whom settled in the region and intermarried with the local population. In recent years, it has become common to refer to these European settlers in Ottoman lands as “Levantines.” However, research into the cosmopolitan world of the Levantines is still in its infancy, and much remains to be discovered about their way of life and their legacy.

The First Conference on Levantine History organised by the Levantine Heritage Foundation will take place in Istanbul in November 2014. Individuals  who wish to make a presentation at the conference on the 4 or 5 November 2014 are asked to submit the title and a brief synopsis of their intended papers by 31 March 2014, using the form beneath this announcement.

Suggested topics include European and Levantine diplomats in the Ottoman Empire; the Capitulations; Levantine companies and business enterprises; Levantine families and kinship groups; Levantine schools and churches; Levantine social and cultural interaction with the Ottoman Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews; the Levantines and the Turkish Republic; the Levantines as spurs or hindrances to modernisation; Levantine architecture; Levantine clubs, taverns and cafés; and Levantine sports, hunting and yachting.

Papers with a focus on the Levantine communities of the greater Istanbul region would be particularly welcome. It is hoped that the research presented at the conference will contribute to a deeper understanding of the mixed identities of the peoples of the Ottoman Empire, and go some way towards answering the question: “Who were the Levantines?”
 

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS TBC

Organising Committee (UK & Turkey): Jonathan Beard, Quentin Compton-Bishop, Görkem Daşkan, Craig Encer, George Galdies and Dr Philip Mansel

LANGUAGES OF PRESENTATIONS: ENGLISH, FRENCH AND TURKISH

For further information please visit: http://www.levantineheritagefoundation.org
To contact the organising committee please email: contact@levantineheritagefoundation.org

PROVISIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Dates, events and venues are subject to confirmation


CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND EVENTS

Monday, 3 November 2014

19:00 Welcome Reception & Gala Dinner
Venue: Pera House, Beyoğlu (the former British Embassy and current British Consulate, originally built in the 1840s to the designs of the architects William James Smith and Charles Barry)

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

09:30-12:30 Conference Morning Session
Venue: Pera House
12:30-13:45 Buffet Lunch
Venue: Pera House
14:00-17:00 Conference Afternoon Session
Venue: Pera House
19:00-20:00 Concert and Reception
Venue: Crimean War Memorial Church, Beyoğlu (Christ Church, built from 1858-1868 to the plans of William Burges and G. E. Street as a memorial to British soldiers who died during the Crimean War)

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

09:30-11:30 Conference Morning Session
Venue: Pera House
11:30-12:30 Round table discussion involving descendants of Levantine families of Istanbul and Izmir
12:30-13:30 Lunch
Venue: Pera House
14:00-16:00 Bosphorus Cruise (TBC)
Venue: Motor Yacht Halas (a beautifully restored early 20th century ferry built to serve Bosphorus commuters)

Please note that the Istanbul Conference will be preceded by the Second Symposium on Levantine history and genealogy in Izmir on 31 October and 1 November 2014. For more information please consult the Symposium programme or contact Alex Baltazzi, the Symposium Coordinator in Izmir (alexbaltazzi@caravantravel.com) or George Galdies, the Symposium Coordinator in London (george.galdies@btconnect.com).


PROPOSAL FORM FOR PRESENTATIONS AT THE FIRST LEVANTINE CONFERENCE IN ISTANBUL ON TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY 4 & 5 NOVEMBER 2014

Please return to the Organising Committee by email: contact@levantineheritagefoundation.org by 31 March 2014*

Speaker name:

Speaker job title or affiliation:

Speaker contact details (email and telephone number):

Proposed title of presentation:

Proposed duration (maximum 20 minutes):

Short description of content of presentation:

Any other comments/information:

*Please note that it will not be possible to fund travel or accommodation costs for Symposium participants.