May 2008

" Ethnographic Maps and the Ethne of Macedonia, 1842-1912 "

Ipek Yosmaoglu, assistant professor of history, University of Wisconsin - Madison
4:00 PM, Thursday, May 1, 2008
206 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive
Sponsors: CREECA

About the lecture: An impressive number of ethnographic maps of the Ottoman Empire appeared during the second half of the nineteenth century in Europe . This activity can be attributed to a number of factors including the emergence of ethnography as a respectable branch of human sciences; a growing interest in the lands and peoples of “Turkey in Europe” and “Turkey in Asia” as distinct entities requiring inquiry; and ultimately, the presumed need to define the principles according to which these lands would eventually be partitioned. My talk will focus on some of these maps that depicted the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire —and more specifically the region that eventually became known as “ Macedonia .” I will argue that Macedonia was first created on paper before it was transformed into a social and political reality; and that ethnography, which was in its origins a tool at the disposal of Europe to classify, enumerate and rule over colonial subjects, was adopted with an impressive facility by the Balkan elite to project their own agendas of regional domination.

About the speaker: Ipek Yosmaoglu (Ph.D., Princeton University ) is an assistant professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Yosmaoglu is an historian of the Ottoman Empire with a special emphasis on “the long nineteenth century.” Her research focuses on the construction of national identity in Ottoman Macedonia, and she is currently working on a book manuscript on that same topic. She has published articles in the Journal of Middle East Studies and the Turkish Studies Association Journal, and she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Endowment for the Humanities/American Research Institute in Turkey postdoctoral grant and an Alexander Onassis Public Benefit Foundation fellowship award.

CREECA End-of-Year Reception: Following the lecture, from 5:15-6:30 p.m. in room 206, please join us for the CREECA end-of-year reception. We will acknowledge the accomplishments of our graduating students in the certificate and MA programs. Light refreshments will be served.

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