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The Greeks through the eyes of the Bulgarians: (Doctoral thesis)

Παπαγιάννη, Ειρήνη/ Papagianni, Eirini

The image of the Greek through the eyes of the Bulgarians - which is directly and inextricably linked to the process of building and stabilizing the Bulgarian national identity - as it appeared in the public discourse of the Bulgarian newspapers in the period of the second half of the 19th century, is the content of this dissertation. We attempt to examine the representations, which are systematically included in the pages of the newspapers of the time, about the "other" Greek and at the same time to explain why the formation of a national identity, the Bulgarian, was influenced in contrast to the figure of the "other", which in this case was the "common feeling" for the Greeks of the Ottoman Empire and their relationship with the Bulgarian nation. The formation and consolidation of the relevant national identity and the validation of a long past, a companion of the collective identity, which was at the center of the Bulgarian narrative representation of the middle of the 19th century, was connected with a perpetual struggle with the Greek nation. In this context, the effort of the Bulgarian nation for its complete disengagement from everything “Greek” was recorded, which was implemented and shaped by the emergence of demands in the provision of education that would have as its direct goal the spiritual emancipation of the Bulgarians, the promotion of the Bulgarian language against the Greek and the establishment of an independent church on a national basis.