Retour sur le premier atelier doctoral du programme Gouviles (1/3) avec Petros Kastrinakis

Could you introduce yourself in a few lines, and tell us what your research is about?

My name is Petros Kastrinakis, I am a PhD candidate in history at the University of Crete in collaboration with the Institute of Mediterranean Studies. My research studies the island of Crete, focusing on the capital city of Chania and specifically the port of the city, as well as the people involved in the maritime professions. My research is based on sources in Ottoman, French, English and Greek. This topic is studied in the context of the technological changes that took place in shipping in the 19th century with the transition from the sailing ship to the steamship. This is also the topic addressed by the research project I participated in, SeaLit (Seafaring Lives in Transition) ERC Research Grant, investigating the effects of this transition on Mediterranean and Black Sea maritime communities. The project took place at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies in Rethymno, in collaboration with other research centers and universities outside Greece.

A chance of creating a group that would constructively discuss together

Was this your first time participating in a doctoral workshop? What are your general expectations in general for this kind of event, and what were your expectations for this one?

Yes, it was the first time I participated in a PhD workshop. I have participated in several conferences and research project workshops, but they were very different. The difference and the importance I see in these workshops is the choice of a topic that is more specific compared to conferences where it is harder to find a presentation that is close to your own. Combined with the fact that the workshop would be attended by a few people increased the chances of creating a group that would constructively discuss together and focus on topics that can help everyone’s research. More specifically, I had in mind that we would discuss specific topics that have in common the study of islands and island societies, while also talking about the existing literature on these topics.

Is there a theme that was discussed during this workshop that particularly interested you, and why?

There were several topics that were of interest to me. It is very important that there was a plethora of themes that were not limited in time to one century, and in these themes one could hear about island communities and marriage, about trade, about seafaring, about islands and ideology and many other interesting issues. The intervention of the professors was important, and the topics they chose conveyed nice ideas about the study of islands. For example, I liked Daniel Faget’s intervention on sponge fishing in Kalymnos very much since I have followed the discussion around this topic in Greek historiography. In addition, Guillaume Calafat’s work and the discussion around the approach of what are the jurisdictional limits of a state at sea and the role that islands played in these approaches I think led to a fruitful discussion among the participants.

Important to understand how many different sources exist for the study of islands

What did you gain from the exchanges with the trainers and doctoral students from other disciplines than your own? The fact of being together for almost a week is rather enriching… or tiring?

I think it was very useful to have this contact with professors and PhD students for these few days. As I said in the last comments before the workshop ended, the work of a PhD candidate is generally very solitary. Few opportunities are given to a PhD candidate to become part of a community with people who have similar interests and concerns to him or her. At the same time, talking to other professors beyond our thesis supervisors can lead to new questions and reflections on the research we are already doing. However, more specifically, it was important to understand how many different sources exist for the study of islands, and what methodology should be used for our study.

You went to Naples to visit the Archivio di Stato and the Cartastorie museum, what did you think and retain from this trip?

The trip to Naples was a very pleasant experience. Apart from visiting a port city with an important history – which interests me because I study port history – the visit to the archives and the museum provided us with important insights. In terms of the archives, the discussion about shipping in southern Italy was something I found quite interesting and the museum visit got me thinking about how cleverly a history museum can be set up where visitors learn information about what archival material means. I think that such an initiative can also provide nice experiences for young children, who might visit the museum as part of field trips.

Once you have completed your thesis, do you have a particular career objective?

I hope to finish my PhD in the near future as I am in the final stage of writing. I would then like to get into research as it is a great passion for me. However, it can be said that the situation in Greece does not offer many job opportunities since there are a large number of researchers looking for work without many positions available. This leads a lot of people to look for work abroad.

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