EVENT: Online Panel: Hagia Sophia: Perspectives from Cultural Heritage. Cornell University, 19 September 2020

Event: Online Panel: Hagia Sophia: Perspectives from Cultural Heritage. Cornell University, 19 September 2020

This panel is organized to bring together scholars and analysts to comment on the recent conversion of the Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque from the perspective of architectural history in geopolitical context. What is the building’s significance for Byzantine, early and late Ottoman, Republican and contemporary Turkish architecture? How will the Hagia Sophia’s conversion into a mosque in 2020 impact its use, global and local public meaning, place in the city and nearby monuments, physical attributes, Byzantine mosaics, Christian and Muslim symbols, marble floor, and acoustics, among other things? What effects did the building’s recent conversion make in different areas of historical studies? Are there comparable examples elsewhere in the world? Speakers will make 8-minute presentations in the rough chronological order of their historical field of expertise and comment on the contemporary decision from the perspectives of their own scholarly work and study area. After a discussion where speakers respond to each other, the panel will conclude with a Q and A session.
Panelists in order of presentation:

  • Namık Erkal
  • Bissera Pentcheva
  • Christina Maranci
  • Maria Georgopoulou
  • Sevil Enginsoy
  • Çiğdem Kafesçioğlu
  • Belgin Turan Özkaya
  • Peter Christensen (Co-moderator)
  • Nikos Magouliotis
  • Esra Akcan (Co-moderator)
  • Mesut Dinler
  • Mücahit Bilici
  • Bülent Batuman.

The panel is organized by the IES of Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University. The funding is provided by the Central New York Humanities Corridor, as part of the multi-year event series “New Approaches to Scholarship and Pedagogy of Ottoman and Turkish Architecture” organized by Esra Akcan (Cornell University) and Peter Christensen (University of Rochester). For questions, please contact Pamela Hampton ph55@cornell.edu
The panel will take place online, on 19 September 2020, 12:00–2:30 p.m. EST. You can register at this link.

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