THE 2023 ASIA MINOR TRAVEL SEMINAR

The seminar will introduce undergraduate and graduate students to the history of the Christian communities that existed in late Ottoman Asia Minor. The seminar will be set in the Center for Asia Minor Studies, under the direction of Prof. Tom Papademetriou and Prof. Paschalis Kitromilides, with a focus on the oral history accounts of refugees recounting life in their Asia Minor villages prior to their uprooting by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. The second portion of the seminar will be a trip to the western coast of Asia Minor (Turkey) to Izmir (Smyrna), Ephesus, Ayvalik, Junda (Moskonisia), Bergama (Pergamon), Bursa (Prousa), Iznik (Nicaea), and Istanbul (Constantinople). The seminar will visit Greek Orthodox settlements and villages that were encountered in the archives, examining the settlement conditions, and the physical remains of churches and residences. The seminar will also visit the Byzantine church of St. Panteleimon in Nilufer, Bursa. The seminar may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit through Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

2023 Itinerary

  • June 5 – June 23, 2023

    Online Component

    • Online component begins in late May with 2-3 online meetings of 1½ hours each via Zoom.
      • 1. Introduction to Seminar
      • 2. Overview lectures
      • 3. Discussion of readings
      • 4. Introduction to the archives
      • 5. Reading documents from the archives for practice

  • CAMS-Athens (Athens Hotel)

  • Late night flight to Izmir (Izmir hotel)

  • Ephesus and Izmir (Izmir hotel)

  • Bergama and Ayvalik (Ayvalik hotel)

  • Ayvalik and Junda (Moskonisia) (Ayvalik hotel)

  • Bus to Bursa – stop in local Rum villages on way (Bursa hotel)

  • Bursa – St. Panteleimon and Rum villages (Bursa hotel)

  • Bursa-Visit to Mt. Uludag and Rum villages

  • Morning in Iznik – tour of Iznik (Nicaea) – Afternoon bus to Istanbul

  • Early morning checkout – full-day tour of Istanbul – Depart for airport at 6:30pm

  • CAMS-Athens (Athens Hotel)

    A follow-up Zoom meeting or two as needed

Goals

The goals of the seminar are:

  • To learn about the vibrant Greek Orthodox Christian community that existed in Ottoman society until 1923.
  • To learn about the disastrous uprooting of this population in 1922 and the Exchange of Populations of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923.
  • To examine the physical villages where the Greek Orthodox population of Asia Minor lived prior to 1923.
  • To gain experience working in a major Greek archive and with oral histories. 

PROGRAM OF STUDY

Goals are achieved through a two-part program. The first segment covers the general history of the Greek communities of Asia Minor and includes:

  • Historiographic questions related to the study of Christians in a Muslim society
  • The use of oral history archives as historical sources and the creation and categorization of the Center’s oral history archives
  • The general history of the Center for Asia Minor studies
  • The region’s geography, topography, economy, agriculture, political organizations, daily life and customs, religion, and festivals

The last segment consists of site visits. Students will visit settlements in western Turkey to examine the physical locations of the settlements, and the remnants of the Greek Orthodox community. Also, particular attention will be paid to Ottoman era monuments, churches, mosques, homes, and other historical buildings and artifacts that offer material context to the archival documents. 

REQUIREMENTS

  • Attendance and daily preparation
  • Presentations on readings
  • Archival and village presentations
  • Participation in creation of group exhibition
  • Completion of research agenda of Oral History Archive material (to be determined in consultation with instructors)
  • Collection and translation of files
  • Preparation of summaries and abstracts

Students registering for the seminar as a three-credit course are also required to complete a 25-page historical paper based on oral history sources.

SPONSORSHIP

FELLOWSHIP AND COSTS

Fellowship

Most participant expenses for the Summer Asia Minor Travel Seminar will be covered by the NY Life Insurance Company Center for the Study of Hellenism in Pontus and Asia Minor at Hellenic College Holy Cross.

The Summer Fellowship is worth approximately $5,000.00, which includes cost of hotel accommodations (shared double rooms), some meals, travel from Athens to Western Turkey (Izmir, Ayvalik, Bergama, Bursa, Iznik, and Istanbul), and tours. Each participant will receive a reimbursement of up to $1,500 for international (US-Athens round-trip) travel. Final reimbursement of $250 will be released upon submission of final paper. 


Costs

Each student accepted as a Summer Fellow is required to pay a $750.00 registration fee. Travel arrangements to and from the United States are the responsibility of each participant. Student participants are responsible for their international travel to/from Athens.

All participants must comply with the standards and practices set forth by the Stockton University Office of International Studies. Upon acceptance into the seminar, students will be responsible for the payment of the $750.00 fee due when registering online with the Stockton College Global Engagement Office website.

APPLY NOW

Applications will be announced and reviewed on a rolling basis and will continue until filled.


Upon acceptance into the program, participants will be required to register for the trip through the Stockton University Office of Global Engagement Study Abroad website.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For further information on receiving course credit for the seminar, please contact the HCHC Registrar at jostrosky@hchc.edu or 617.850.1261.

For additional information about the program, please contact Professor Nicholas Ganson at nganson@hchc.edu.


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