The long 19th century was crucial for the development of South Eastern Europe since during this period the region was modernized on different layers – political, economic, and social. Many factors which had impact on this process could be pointed out. No doubt the “agents of modernization” stand out among them. These were persons who, directly or indirectly, were bringing, transmitting, developing, or adopting new ideas and knowledge in this part of Europe during the long 19th century.
The workshop is focused on two major issues. One the one hand, these are the figures and the personalities and their role in the processes of change and innovation that occurred in the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans. These agents of modernization could be grouped into several categories:
- figures from the Ottoman political elite;
- representatives of the Great Powers and other states who were active in the region and were promoting different policies before the Sublime Porte and the other local governments;
- foreigners who integrated into Ottoman society;
- political fugitives who have found shelter in the lands of the Sultan;
- Ottoman subjects (merchants, state officials, newspaper editors, etc.) who were representatives of the local political, economic and/or intellectual elite;
- members of different ethnic or religious communities of the Ottoman Empire who were living abroad.
One the other hand, the workshop will focus on the layers of modernization. Since this process was neither uniform, nor it was carried out with the same intensity in different parts of the region, three key dimensions, within which the agents of modernization were active, could be highlighted:
- Political modernization of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans, which was related to the development of states in the region, the establishment or the development of modern state institutions and structures, the relations between state and minorities, various attempts to implement political projects from top to bottom such as the idea of “Ottomanism”, the development of modern nationalism, etc.;
- Economic and technological modernization of South Eastern Europe, which was related to the introduction and the spread of new practices in trade, industry, transportation and communications, adaptation of new technologies, and the globalization of the region in general;
- Social and religious modernization in the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans, which was related to the transformations that happened on everyday level, the attitude towards religion, women and their place in the social life, the formation of public memory, which projected contemporary problems in the past.
The workshop is going to be held with the institutional and financial support of the Center for Excellence in the Humanities "Alma Mater", Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", which is going to host the entire event. The intention of the organizers is to bring together established and young scholars who are specialists in the field of the late Ottoman history and the history of the Balkans.
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