The first section of this volume aims to examine various aspects of the impact of Enlightenment thought in the Balkans in the 18th and 19th centuries. Particular topics include the idea of modernization, with respect to the role of science or the position of women, and the growth of new forms of political consciousness, but Professor Kitromilides is throughout concerned with the conflict between these incoming political, cultural and religious ideas and the traditions of Orthodoxy which had dominated the region under the Ottomans. Of the articles, a number focus specifically on the Greek world, both before and after the creation of an independent Greek world, and extend the coverage to include Greek communities beyond Europe. Similarly, the second part of the volume, on dilemmas of nationalism, looks also at Greek irredentism in Asia Minor and Cyprus. The final item combines bibliographical additions with the author’s further reflections on the subjects covered here and their historiography.
