Richard Calis

Richard Calis, an assistant professor specializing in cultural history, discusses the intriguing German scholar Martin Crusius, who studied Greek life under Ottoman rule without ever visiting. Crusius's work sheds light on early modern cultural debates, particularly about Greek identity. He relied on a vast network for information, blending ethnography with religious inquiry. Calis also explores Crusius’s dreams and the paradox of Amomans as both central and peripheral in his narratives. The conversation reveals how his efforts shaped European perceptions of Greeks and the Ottoman Empire.