How Near Is the Near East? – Hybrid roundtable discussion at the École française d’Athènes

How Near Is the Near East?

Greece, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Multiple Geographies of 19th and 20th Century History

New Research Perspectives at the École française d’Athènes

 

Wednesday, 18 November 2026, at 4:00 pm (Paris time) / 5:00 pm (Athens time), Ecole française d’Athènes, Didotou 6, Athens

 

Hybrid roundtable discussion (in English) with:

Tassos Anastassiadis McGill University
Vincent Lemire Gustave Eiffel University
Alexis Rappas Koç University
Sotiris Roussos University of the Peloponnese
Chantal Verdeil Inalco (online)
Mercedes Volait CNRS (online)

 

Coordination: Angelos Dalachanis École française d’Athènes

 

Where does the Near East begin? And where does Greece fit into the historical geographies of the Eastern Mediterranean in the 19th and 20th centuries? The history of modern Greece has often been written within national or European frameworks. Yet the histories of Greek societies are closely bound up with those of Anatolia, the Ottoman Empire, the Levant, and Egypt. These connections raise questions about the geographical boundaries of historical research, the academic traditions and institutional divisions that have shaped the way we study the region. This roundtable takes these questions as a starting point for a broader discussion about the research orientations of the Early Modern and Modern Studies Section at the École française d’Athènes. How might the Section contribute to new ways of studying Greece and its place in the wider Eastern Mediterranean? What role could it play in bringing Greek, Ottoman, and Middle Eastern studies into closer conversation? And how can its location in Athens help foster new partnerships, exchanges and collaborative research? Bringing together historians working across different fields and historiographical traditions, the discussion will explore both the possibilities and the challenges of studying the region beyond established geographical and disciplinary boundaries. It will also consider how the École française d’Athènes can strengthen its role as a meeting point for scholars working on the Balkans, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean more broadly, while keeping Greece at the heart of its research.

 

Online & in person participation upon registration dir.moderne@efa.gr

 

More information: How Near Is the Near East? – EFA