Co-sponsored by European Studies and the Karpat Center for Turkish Studies.
This talk traces the development of Byzantine studies in Turkey from the late Ottoman period to the present, highlighting the roles of state institutions, foreign scholars, and civil society. It explores how shifting political ideologies—Kemalist, nationalist, humanist, and religious conservative—have continuously reshaped perceptions of Byzantium. The talk also examines how Byzantine heritage has been variously contested and reinterpreted over time, with particular attention to education, archaeology, historiography, and the growing influence of non-state actors since the 1990s.
Koray Durak is an associate professor in the Department of History at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, where he also serves as the vice-director of the Byzantine Studies Research Center. Since 2008, he has been teaching courses on the history of the medieval Mediterranean, Byzantine history, and Byzantine medicine. His primary research interests include Byzantine-Islamic relations—particularly their economic dimensions—the commercial history of Byzantine Constantinople, and Byzantine pharmacology.
More information will be forthcoming.