15th Annual Pallas Lecture: Speaking Greek at the American University Over the Last Two Centuries (2017)

Context: University of Michigan Lecture Series

Scope: "Celebrating the continuous presence of Greek as a language and a subject of learning on the Michigan campus since 1817 offers an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of "Greek." A host of questions arises: What do Ancient and Modern Greek studies have to say to each other? What kind of conversation have Modern Greek studies–where Modern Greek is spoken–and Classics–where Ancient Greek is read–been carrying on over the last couple of centuries? What tensions, silences, and mutualities have defined this relationship? The lecture traces the history of this relationship, and focuses on ways in which academic multiculturalism has fostered intellectual exchange among scholars of Ancient and Modern Greek. It discusses institutions, scholars, films, fiction, and poetry that bring Classics into conversation with Modern Greek Studies, and develops its own word play on this relationship. It concludes by proposing a framework for future collaboration between the two academic fields: cultivation of a particular ethos of citizenship among students and the wider public" (narrative by the host institution)

Abstract: What do ancient and Modern Greek studies have to say to each other? What kind of conversation have Modern Greek studies–where Modern Greek is spoken–and Classics–where ancient Greek is read–been carrying on over the last couple centuries? What tensions, silences, and mutualities have defined this relationship? This talk traces several aspects of the history of this relationship, and focuses on ways in which academic multiculturalism has fostered intellectual exchange among scholars of ancient and Modern Greek. It discusses institutions, scholars, films, fiction, and poetry that bring Classics into conversation with Modern Greek studies, and develops its own word play on this relationship. It concludes by proposing a framework for future collaboration between the two academic fields: cultivation of a particular ethos of citizenship among students and the wider public. 

Opening paragraphs: I will be speaking today about speaking Greek at the American University. I do not, for a moment, take this opportunity for granted. Speaking about Greek, particularly ancient Greek in relation to Modern Greek, is not always an available option in the academy. I must, therefore, place my speaking in relation to the wider context that enables it. The fact that I am able to speak Greek in the academy stems from the immense labor of scholars who have founded Modern Greek programs in this country. But I do not also forget the support for Greek by those outside the university, such as the Greek American community and philhellenes whose financial support promotes the academic presence of Modern Greek. 

This very lecture is possible because of Dimitri Pallas, Founder and President of the Foundation for Modern Greek studies, and Irmgard Pallas, a philhellene. I extend my deep appreciation to the donors and the Foundation. I am neither a classicist, nor a linguist. How do I enter the terrain of speaking Greek over a span of two centuries? My training is in cultural studies. I am interested in the question of knowledge; who produces it and for what purpose. I have devoted my 2 professional life, for example, around a key question: how do we get to know Greek Americans? Who represents Greek identity in the United States, how, and for what purpose? This interest helps me focus. Ancient Greek and Modern Greek studies, two fields of knowledge: What defines their relationship in the American academy?

To read the talk see here: https://lsa.umich.edu/content/dam/modgreek-assets/modgreek-docs/2017PallasLecture.pdf

To watch, the lecture, https://vimeo.com/221459248

The lecture incorporates bilingual poetry, and features analysis of the film City Hall (1996), Jeffrey Eugenides's novel Middlesex, and Harry Mark Petrakis's short story Pericles on 31st Street. 

January 26, 2017