Biography of a Landmark: The Chora Monastery/Kariye Camii in Constantinople/Istanbul from Late Antiquity to the 21st Century

27-28 avril 2021

Dre Manuela Studer-Karlen, UNIFR

Prof. Michele Bacci, UNIFR Dre Manuela Studer-Karlen, UNIFR Prof. Alessandra Ricci, Koç University, Turquie Prof. Holger A. Klein, Professor, Columbia Unviversity, USA Dr Kerim Altu, Technical University, Istanbul, Turquie Prof. Robert Ousterhout, niversity of Pennsylvania, USA Prof. Michael Featherstone, University of Oxford, UK Prof. Nevra Necipolu, Bogaziçi University, Turquie Prof. Costis Smyrlis, New York University, USA Prof. Baha Tanman, University of Istanbul, Turquie Prof. Cidem Kafesçiolu, Bogaziçi University, Istanbul, Turquie Prof. Paul Magdalino, University of St. Andrews, UK Prof. James Crow, University of Edinburgh, UK Prof. Brigitte Pitarakis, CNRS, Paris, Fra

Following the decision of the Turkish government – in August 2020 – to change its juridical status, the former church of Saint Saviour in Chora in Istanbul entered a new phase of its history. As with other Byzantine monuments – starting from Hagia Sophia – its conversion into a mosque is for many a cause for alarm, inasmuch as its renewed destination for Islamic worship can be expected to have a strong impact on the conservation of its décors and be at odds with its meaning as shared heritage of mankind that its use as a museum was able to convey. The Fribourg workshop aims to look at Chora from a transcultural perspective, by retracing its continuous transformations in form and function from Late Antiquity to the present day. The main aim will be to warn scholars against the enduring tendency to look at monuments as living remnants of lost worlds and to more deeply analyse the dynamics by which historical landmarks are gradually invested with new meanings and uninterruptedly reshaped. 1st day: march 2nd 2021: Ph.D. Workshop. The question in a wider spectrum If the health situation allows, the doctoral students should meet in a room at the University of Fribourg. The two experts will be connected online. Alessandra Ricci, Professor, Koç University, Istanbul Holger A. Klein, Professor, Columbia Unviversity, New York The Ph.D. students will be given the following tasks: presenting papers based on their own experience and opening perspectives as to both the specific case of the Chora building, but also from a comparative viewpoint with reference to other Medieval monuments, concerning the questions of conversions, heritage, transformation, conservation. 2nd day: march 3rd 2021: scientific Workshop. Chora as example Ph.D. students will be given the following tasks: 1) chairing the different sessions; 2) serving as respondents, working out general questions, and making final comments on each paper.

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