Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Lecturer: Dr Andrekos Varnava
Entry: Free

This talk summarises the main arguments of Dr. Varnava's monograph on British Imperialism in Cyprus, 1878-1915: The Inconsequential Possession (April 2009), which examines Cyprus’ progress from a perceived imperial asset in 1878 to an expendable backwater by the time of the Great War, by explaining how the Union Jack came to fly over the island and why after thirty-five years the British wanted to lower it.

It deals with British imperialism and the problem of the worthless territorial acquisition. Ultimately, Cyprus’ strategic, political and economic importance was more imagined than real and was enmeshed within widely held cultural signifiers and myths.

Biography:

Andrekos Varnava was born (1979) and raised in Melbourne to Cypriot-born parents, obtained a BA (Honours) from Monash University (2001) and his PhD from the University of Melbourne (2006).

He is the author of British Imperialism in Cyprus, 1878-1915: The Inconsequential Possession (Manchester University Press, 2009; paperback 2012); and the co-editor of Reunifying Cyprus: The Annan Plan and Beyond (I. B. Tauris, 2009; paperback 2011) and The Minorities of Cyprus: Development Patterns and the Identity of the Internal-Exclusion (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009).

He has published articles and book chapters in various international journals and volumes and in 2011 became the series editor of Cyprus Historical and Contemporary Studies for Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

He was Assistant Professor in History at the European University, Cyprus (October 2006 to January 2009).

In January 2009 he was appointed Lecturer in Modern History at Flinders University and in 2012 was promoted to Senior Lecturer. He is currently working on a monograph on the Cypriot Mule Corps during the Great War.