« AMiMo Working Papers » seminerinin çerçevesinde
23 Mayıs 2016 Pazartesi saat 17.00’de IFEA’da
Gabriel Doyle (EHESS)
Missionaries and Muhacirs:
A spatial perspective on the missionary management of refugees in Istanbul
during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913)
This presentation is drawn from research completed for a Master’s degree at the EHESS in 2014-2015 under the supervision of Professor Nathalie Clayer. It will focus on the massive arrival of refugees in Istanbul during the Balkan Wars, and its consequences on the French-Catholic missionaries at work in the Ottoman capital. Based on missionary archives and the records of the Lazarist François-Xavier Lobry, Visiteur de Constantinople, the thesis aimed to study the spatial strategies of a French congregation. The analysis included constructions and enlargements of buildings as well as real estate acquisition accomplished in his term as local head of the Congregation. What emerged was an understanding of how Père Lobry and his counterparts attempted to increase the number of buildings under their administration while still perceiving them as enclaves separate from the rest of the city. The missionary schools, hospitals and asylums were to operate as legally, materially and symbolically autonomous institutions. However, with the urban crisis that occurred in 1912-1913, missionaries took part in a larger cooperation initiated by Ottoman agents. With the wide array of Catholic charity networks helping refugees as well as injured soldiers, missionaries found themselves working in unfamiliar environments such as mosques or Ottoman hospitals. This urban governance in times of exceptionality created a new urban experience for missionaries, where symbolic barriers were transcended. By analysing spatial perceptions and practices in the cityscape, the paper therefore touches on such historical debates as refugee agency, the Ottoman city and missionary endeavours. The paper is not intended for publication but as a possible blueprint of ideas for Phd research.