Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Presenter: Assoc. Prof. Nick Doumanis
Entry: Free

Abstract

In the interwar period, the Dodecanese Islands were formal possessions of Italy. Under Mussolini’s dictatorship, Rhodes, Kos and Lero specifically became showcases of Italian modernity and Italianization.

The lecture will consider the impact of Italian modernity and assimilation from the perspectives of those who were targeted by these efforts.

It reconsiders the ways in which subject peoples negotiated the symbols and practices of an empire that, on the one hand, represented “Europe’ and modernity, and which the other posed a threat to Greek Orthodoxy and Greek ethnicity.  

Despite these threats, however, the local Greeks would often recall the Italians with a sense of nostalgia. Why did they like the idea of being ‘una faccia, una razza'?

Bio

Nick Doumanis is an associate professor of history at the University of New South Wales. His recent books include A History of Greece (Palgrave, 2010), Before the Nation (Oxford, 2012), and his is currently completing The Oxford Handbook of Europe 1914-1945. He is writing a long history of the eastern Mediterranean and co-writing a new history of twentieth century Greece with Antonis Liakos. 

Sponsors

We would like to thank Southern Cross Chauffeur Drive for sponsoring tonight’s lecture. Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public. If you would like to participate as a sponsor from as little as $100 please send us an email: Αυτή η διεύθυνση ηλεκτρονικού ταχυδρομείου προστατεύεται από κακόβουλη χρήση. Χρειάζεται να ενεργοποιήσετε την Javascript για να τη δείτε.