What are the collective memories of the Ottoman, Habsburg and Romanov Empires, and where do they overlap? Jeremy Walton introduces his ERC Project “Revenant: Revivals Of Empire: Nostalgia, Amnesia, Tribulation,” which is a comparative study of empires and imperialism at the intersection of memory studies and urban studies. Introducing sites such as Ada Kaleh, the island in the Danube which was flooded under Ceausescu (also discussed in our podcast with Pinar Odabasi Tasci), inter-imperial relics like a golden dagger in Topkapi Palace, and mythologized figures such as Nikola Tesla, he explores a shared vocabulary that allows new conversations across different post-imperial domains.

If you spend time in these post-imperial capitals it’s clear that those spaces curate and enforce a very sanitized image of the empire that as scholars it’s our obligation to de-centre. It’s the semi-peripheral spaces and places that offer us the ability to do that.

The Revenant Project’s conference, “Postcolonial, Decolonial, Post-imperial, De-imperial” will take place 15-17 May 2024 in Rijeka. Keynote speakers include Priyamvada Gopal, Madina Tlostanova and Maria Todorova. More information can be found here.

Episode 50 – Revivals of Empire

Podcasts are published by TLP for the purpose of encouraging informed debate on the legacies of the events surrounding the Lausanne Conference. The views expressed by participants do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of TLP, its partners, convenors or members.

PODCAST EDITING BY JAN ALBRECHT. PHOTO: NINETEENTH-CENTURY BOSNIAN HEADDRESS FEATURING OTTOMAN KURUS AND HABSBURG THALERS.