The unmixing of peoples

On 10 October, Lea Ypi visited SEESOX to discuss her forthcoming book, Indignity, and share a full chapter from it. The event provided a fascinating glimpse into Ypi’s latest work, which investigates historical injustice, the nature of dignity, and the interplay between truth and imagination.

Ypi began by recounting the inspiration for the book, sparked by the discovery of a 1941 photograph of her grandmother, Leman, honeymooning in the Italian Alps—an image posted by a stranger on social media. The photograph, which contradicted the family narrative that all records of her grandmother’s youth had been destroyed during the early days of communism in Albania, raised unsettling questions for Ypi.

In her talk, Ypi described how Indignity explores these questions through a reimagining of the past. The book takes readers into the vanished world of Ottoman aristocracy in Salonica, the making of modern Greece and Albania, the horrors of World War II, and the rise of communism in the Balkans. She explained how her investigation drew on secret police archives, court depositions, and family anecdotes, blending fact and fiction to grapple with uncertainty and the fragility of truth.

Ypi also reflected on her grandmother’s enigmatic life. Why did Leman speak French if her family had lived in the Ottoman Empire? What drove her to Tirana, where she met a socialist sympathizer whose father led a collaborationist government? And, perhaps most intriguingly, why was she smiling in that 1941 photograph while the world was at war?She read an entire chapter focusing on the 1923 population exchange and its impact on an Albanian family in Thessaloniki, weaving this deeply personal story into broader reflections on the collapse of empires and the formation of nation-states in the Balkans. These moments of upheaval, she suggested, expose the tension between historical fact and fiction, and they invite readers to reconsider how human dignity is shaped by crises and social transformation.

The event featured Marilena Anastasopoulou as the discussant and was chaired by Othon Anastasakis, adding valuable perspectives to the discussion.

Throughout her presentation, Ypi offered insights into the broader themes of Indignity. She spoke about the moral dilemmas of judging past generations, the role of personal and collective memory, and how historical archives shape our understanding of the past. These reflections, she noted, are central to the book’s narrative, which weaves together epic historical events with intimate family stories.

Ypi’s engaging reading of a full chapter from Indignity brought the book’s themes to life, leaving the audience with much to reflect on. Her talk underscored the importance of reckoning with history while acknowledging the limits of certainty, and it highlighted the enduring relevance of philosophical inquiry in understanding both the past and the present.

Julie Adams (SEESOX/ESC Administrator)