Anastasios Mikalef

Anastasios Mikalef

Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies
Doctoral researcher

Contact details

Title of thesis: The press in the Ionian Islands during the British rule “1849-1864”

Supervisor: Professor Dimitris Tziovas

Biography

During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to come across a wide variety of historical areas which enriched my academic background and broaden my horizons. In the last year of my undergraduate studies, it became obvious to me the pleasure of being involved in the area of research. The undergraduate project was about the impact of Greek newspapers of the early 19th century in Corfu. The aim of the dissertation was to analyze in depth the literary and sociocultural frameworks of a specific newspaper named “Rigas Feraios” (Mikalef, 2007). Since “Rigas” was first published in the aftermath of the British domination, it communicated mainly Greek ideological concepts and nationalistic values under an intellectual and literary framework. Without being engaged with dominant political ideologies of that historical period, “Rigas Feraios” was one of the most influential newspapers at that time since it had a critical view mainly about Greek nationalistic political issues that were evolved at Ionian Islands. Yet, the opportunity of cultivating my research skills in a more advanced level derived from my postgraduate studies. The Master degree provided me with more expertise in the area [of history and especially] of the research methodology and that of critical analysis of publishing historical sources. The thesis of my Master degree focused my interest on how and under which methodological concerns a historical source could be published. More specifically, it focused on exploring the role of the English domination in Ionian Islands by examining Samartzis’ Codex, a primary source, with the existing scholarly studies about the Ionian State and Ionian bibliography. This research mainly provided significant information about dominant sociocultural and political ideologies during the British domination -1815 to 1864 period- (Mikalef, 2010). Throughout the research process, it became apparent, however, that there was not any relevant research regarding the British domination through Ionian newspapers. As a result and due to lack of relevant research, the outcome of the research had to derive mainly from Samartzis’ perspective.

Doctoral research

PhD title
The press in the Ionian Islands during the British rule “1849-1864”
Supervisor
Professor Dimitris Tziovas
Course
Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies PhD/MA by Research (On-Campus or by Distance Learning)

Research

The primary aim of the research is to explore the Ionian local press (1849-1864) during the British rule (1815-1864). More specifically, I will examine the political press in Ionian Islands from 1849 to 1864 taking into consideration all local newspapers, (Radical, reform, pro-government/satirical, rural and Independent).My aim is to provide a critical perspective about the relations between colonizers and colonized through the local papers by exploring the gazetteer not only as a primary and political source but as a guide of public sentiment with impact on public perceptions (i.e. the construction of ideas, views, beliefs, moralities and customs of the Ionian character that were applied/ promoted by the ruling government).

Other activities

  • Greek Palaeography and Greek Manuscripts- Taught by the Head of the Historical and Palaeographical Archives.
  • Historical Demography, scientific directions, field of research and occupations.
  • Panagiotis Samartzis, “Daily News” Corfu, February 1863 – March 1864, Ionian University.
  • International Conference, ‘Greek antiquity and Literature.
  • Parliamentary, Party and Archives and their Neighboring Institutions, Eugenios Voulgaris, Bibliography, Ecclesiastic History.
  • 10th Panionian Conference “The pro-government press during the British rule in the Ionian Islands”

Publications

  • Mikalef, A. (2010) Panagiotis Samartzis, “Daily News” Corfu, February 1863 – March 1864, (Accepted for publication). Available at: http://history.ionio.gr/postgraduate/methodology/publications
  • Mikalef, A. (2010) First Palaeografical and Philological analysis of Panagiotis Samartzis autobiography cited in Pilarinos, T., Kouroupakis, A. (2010) The Family of Panagiotis Samartzis, Corfiot Studies Society, Athens.