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Nations and Identities - The Case of Greeks and Turks
Ten essays define and explain how nationalism, identities and ethnic conflicts Hercules Millas are created and function. The Greeks, the Turks and their historiographies, textbooks and literary texts are studied as a case to show how ethnic images, perceptions and prejudices of the Other are formed and operate. Based on his personal interethnic lifelong experience, the author proposes a way to approach these issues in education, too. All the essays in this study make use of the comparative approach to demonstrate how national identities are associated with an imagined Other. The identity of the Self –and national identity– as well as the related discourse can become meaningful and easy to understand when judged as counteractions of the involved groups. The whole endeavor is an effort to approach nationalism as a manifestation that needs to be examined with a variety of academic disciplines.
Imagologists are used to dealing with the distinction between auto-image and hetero-image. What Millas’s research has highlighted is something which, to my knowledge, has not yet been thematized in image studies, but which is of great importance: the collapse between auto-image and hetero-image, our image of the other’s image. I think something as important as this “image of an image” deserves its own name, so that it can be thematized without circumlocutions. The term “meta-image” seems to present itself. Prof. Dr. J. Th. Leerssen, University of Amsterdam
Imagologists are used to dealing with the distinction between auto-image and hetero-image. What Millas’s research has highlighted is something which, to my knowledge, has not yet been thematized in image studies, but which is of great importance: the collapse between auto-image and hetero-image, our image of the other’s image. I think something as important as this “image of an image” deserves its own name, so that it can be thematized without circumlocutions. The term “meta-image” seems to present itself. Prof. Dr. J. Th. Leerssen, University of Amsterdam
240 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2016
8 people want to read
About the author
Hercules Millas
4 booksHercules (Iraklis) Millas was born (1940) and brought up in Turkey and presently lives in Greece. He has a Ph.D. degree in political science (Ankara University, 1998) and a B.Sc. in civil engineering (Robert College, Istanbul, 1965). He speaks Greek, Turkish and English and has a working knowledge in French. In his youth he was a champion in 100/200 meters dash and a member of the Turkish varsity team. He is married and has two sons and three grandchildren.
In the years 1968-1985 he worked as a civil engineer in Turkey, Greece, Bahrain, Qatar, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, where he held various managerial positions and established his own consulting and construction company. Since 1985 he has focused on cultural activities. He published various books and articles, mostly on interethnic perceptions, and completed his education in political science.
During the period 1990-1995 he contributed in establishing the Greek literature department at Ankara University teaching Greek language, literature and history. Later he taught Turkish language and literature at the University of Macedonia in Thessalonica, at the Aegean University in Rhodes, Greece (in 1999-2003) and Turkish literature and Turkish political thought at the University of Athens (2003-2008). In 2009-2010 he taught Greek-Turkish relations with respect to literary criticism and conflict resolution at the Işık and Bilgi Universities in Istanbul.
He operated as moderator in the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project supported by the European Commission (2002-2004) and he participates in a project to assist minority youth in matters of education in Western Thrace, Greece (2005-2012). Together with Nefin Dinç (State Un. Of N.Y at Fredonia) prepared a documentary, The Other Town, on how Greeks and Turks perceive each other.
He received the ‘Abdi Ipekçi Peace Award’ twice, first in 1992, and again jointly with the Greek-Turkish Forum in 2001, the ‘Dido Sotiriou’ award of Hellenic Authors’ Society in 2004 and the award Free Thinking and Expression of Publishers’ Association of Turkey in 2005. The documentary The Other Town got the audience award at the 13th Film Festival of Thessaloniki in 2011.
Publications: He has many publications covering various fields such as literature, language, historiography, textbooks, political science and interethnic perceptions, mostly related to Turkey and Greek-Turkish relations.
He translated more than twenty books, mostly Greek and Turkish poetry and published more than thirty articles on literature. Among his translations are the complete works of G. Seferis and K. Kavafis and two books on Turkish poetry: Yunus Emre and Can Yücel. He participated in the preparation of a voluminous Greek-Turkish dictionary (1994), he directed the publication of a Turkish textbook for Western Thrace, Türkçe Kitabımız, (2008) and a Catalogue of Common Greek-Turkish words, expressions and proverbs (2008).
He published various books on the historic dimension of Greek-Turkish relations in Turkish, Greek and English. His Master’s degree is on 19th century Greek history and the related Turkish historiography and his Ph. D. degree is on national images, national identities and the ‘other’ as presented in Turkish and Greek literature, both published in Turkish.
(http://www.herkulmillas.com/en/about-...)
In the years 1968-1985 he worked as a civil engineer in Turkey, Greece, Bahrain, Qatar, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, where he held various managerial positions and established his own consulting and construction company. Since 1985 he has focused on cultural activities. He published various books and articles, mostly on interethnic perceptions, and completed his education in political science.
During the period 1990-1995 he contributed in establishing the Greek literature department at Ankara University teaching Greek language, literature and history. Later he taught Turkish language and literature at the University of Macedonia in Thessalonica, at the Aegean University in Rhodes, Greece (in 1999-2003) and Turkish literature and Turkish political thought at the University of Athens (2003-2008). In 2009-2010 he taught Greek-Turkish relations with respect to literary criticism and conflict resolution at the Işık and Bilgi Universities in Istanbul.
He operated as moderator in the Turkish-Greek Civic Dialogue Project supported by the European Commission (2002-2004) and he participates in a project to assist minority youth in matters of education in Western Thrace, Greece (2005-2012). Together with Nefin Dinç (State Un. Of N.Y at Fredonia) prepared a documentary, The Other Town, on how Greeks and Turks perceive each other.
He received the ‘Abdi Ipekçi Peace Award’ twice, first in 1992, and again jointly with the Greek-Turkish Forum in 2001, the ‘Dido Sotiriou’ award of Hellenic Authors’ Society in 2004 and the award Free Thinking and Expression of Publishers’ Association of Turkey in 2005. The documentary The Other Town got the audience award at the 13th Film Festival of Thessaloniki in 2011.
Publications: He has many publications covering various fields such as literature, language, historiography, textbooks, political science and interethnic perceptions, mostly related to Turkey and Greek-Turkish relations.
He translated more than twenty books, mostly Greek and Turkish poetry and published more than thirty articles on literature. Among his translations are the complete works of G. Seferis and K. Kavafis and two books on Turkish poetry: Yunus Emre and Can Yücel. He participated in the preparation of a voluminous Greek-Turkish dictionary (1994), he directed the publication of a Turkish textbook for Western Thrace, Türkçe Kitabımız, (2008) and a Catalogue of Common Greek-Turkish words, expressions and proverbs (2008).
He published various books on the historic dimension of Greek-Turkish relations in Turkish, Greek and English. His Master’s degree is on 19th century Greek history and the related Turkish historiography and his Ph. D. degree is on national images, national identities and the ‘other’ as presented in Turkish and Greek literature, both published in Turkish.
(http://www.herkulmillas.com/en/about-...)
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