5.03 Balázs Szélinger; Jan Záhořík
Ethiopia and Eastern/Central Europe/The Balkans: From Haile Selassie to the Derg Era
Eastern/Central Europe and the Balkans form a distinct geo-political and historical entity in Europe. The panel organizers consider this territory (which today includes the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Belorussia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine) as almost unexploited regarding sources for Ethiopian Studies. In these countries, with the only exceptions of Poland and Russia, both financial and academic resources are lacking to establish institutionalized Ethiopian (and sometimes even African) Studies. Meanwhile, as we already know from Czech and Hungarian examples, there are immense sources (historical, anthropological, ethnographic etc.) in state, church and private archives and collections. Greece is a significant example: while Greece developed one of the longest relationships with Ethiopia among the European countries, there is no systematic Ethiopia related research there since the 1940s. One important aim of the panel is to raise awareness about these sources and to encourage research in those countries. One of the most important (and missing) field of research in this regard is the relationship (political, military, scientific, cultural) between Ethiopia and the Eastern Block in the Derg Era. It is also important to understand the relations between Ethiopia and Central/Eastern Europe as a dynamic historical process, so one of the questions is how different were relations between these states and Ethiopia during Imperial and the Derg Era, was there any kind of continuity or direct change? Archival surveys: the panel participants are very welcome to investigate state, church and private archives hosting Ethiopia-related materials (documents, letters, photographs, films, artistic works etc.). The papers should show locations, names of archives (or private possessors), the kind and amount of the findings etc. Research based on these findings is also welcome, of course.
ACCEPTED PAPERS
| Ms. | BACHES Daniela | Evolution of Romanian-Ethiopian relations in the context of a one century political changes |
| Dr. | COHEN Leonardo | The Eritrean People's Liberation Front discovers Ber Borochov. Madrid 1979 |
| Dr. | JEŽEK Václav | Orthodoxy and diversity- Russian Ecclesial and cultural attitudes towards Ethiopia in late nineteenth century Tsarist Russia |
| Dr. | RUPPRECHT Tobias | Faith and Power, Resistance and Collaboration. The Russian and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches during the Cold War |