Conviviality in Burgaz

This open access book tells stories of conviviality, solidarity, and everyday management of conflicts and tensions, by building on original, long-term ethnographic research (fourteen months in 2009-2010, followed by fieldwork trips until now) on Burgaz, an island home to more than twenty ethnic and religious groups from different socio-economic backgrounds. The island provides an excellent case study of post-Ottoman conviviality, as the homogenisation process during the nation-building stage of modern Turkey triggered migrations from the island, especially of non-Muslims, yet the island’s population retains elements of its Byzantine and Ottoman diversity. The book explores the islanders’ representation of diversity through ethnographic research, media analysis and interviews, and shifts the analytical framework of Post-Ottoman plurality from “coexistence/toleration” to that of conviviality. The author critically engages with the literature on multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism andconceptualises conviviality as both living together in diversity as shared ways of living as well as living with difference. The book further explores the relationship between conviviality, solidarity, coexistence/toleration, intoleration and nationalism.

This is an open access book.

“Deniz Duru offers a fascinating glimpse into the everyday intimacies and frictions through which Burgaz islanders, fiercely proud of their ethnic, religious, class and political diversity and their histories of protecting their members from state-sponsored violence, create a shared life. Examining their media productions, she traces, moreover, how they conceptualise their distinctive social relations on an island they see as a place of refuge, pleasure, solidarity and freedom.” (Jane K. Cowan, Professor Emerita, University of Sussex, author of “Dance and the Body Politic in Northern Greece”)

“This insightful ethnography provides a captivating exploration of Burgaz Island where different classes and ethno-religious groups live together. Through the concept of "conviviality," Dr Duru reveals the dynamic social interactions that shape the island's way of life and the islanders’ collective identity. This book offers valuable insights for scholars, students, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding the potential for shared lives across diverse communities.” (Elif S. Uyar, Department of Sociology, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey)

Deniz N. Duru is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Communication and Media at Lund University. She holds a PhD/Dphil in Anthropology from the University of Sussex and worked in the Sociology Department at the University of York and at the Media, Cognition and Communication Department at the University of Copenhagen. Her research interests include conviviality, multiculturalism, diversity, social media, media anthropology, anthropology of Turkey, and refugees and migrants in Europe. She has published journal articles in the South European Society and Politics, Southeast European and Blacksea Studies and Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and several book chapters. She currently teaches Digital Ethnography, Digital Research Methods, Media and Diversity, Public Opinion Building, and Media Content Analysis.