Intellectual activists in an age of revolutions

• Department of History

PhD thesis defence by Elisavet Papalexopoulou

In this thesis, I examine the writings and the political lives of women who were willingly or unwillingly identified as Greek at the time surrounding the Greek Revolution of 1821. As empires crumbled and geographies changed, women tried to reposition themselves in the political landscape. They were affected by the ideas of enlightenment and romanticism that were forming an interesting hybrid in the Southeastern Mediterranean. Sometimes they used the tools they already had in hand (salons, translation), while others they tried to reinvent what was possible for their sex (publication of original works, secret societies). As is often the case with female actors, despite the earnest efforts of Greek women’s historians, historiography has not acknowledged their importance. They have, in one way or the other, been omitted from all accounts, or when they are present, their role has been severely underplayed. In this thesis, I recover some of them who were completely lost while I recast the lives and role of others. 

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