2019 Special Issue of Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand) - Greek Journeys and Philosophical Reflections
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ItemThe Image of ruins in Greek aestheticism: evoking the distant past and reflecting the human emotion(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)The purpose of this work is to present the image of ruins in Greek Aestheticism, as it appeared in the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century in Greek literature. This research will be mainly focused on the works of Nikolaos Episkopopoulos, Constantinos Christomanos and Platon Rodokanakis, who are the writers mostly connected to the Aestheticism in Greek literature. The image of ruins, literally or metaphorically used, has different functions in their works as it either evokes the glorious distant past, or it reflects the inner world and the intimate thoughts of the main characters. Ruins become the means to experience a historical reality, to express melancholy or even emotional and spiritual devastation. Moreover, this work presents the interrelation that exists between the European Aesthetic Movement in literature and Aestheticism as it appeared and evolved in Greece, pinpointing at the same time the assimilation of the European characteristics of Aestheticism in Greek literature.
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ItemReligious sacraments and dance in the Greek Orthodox Church(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)The article analyses the Dance of Isiah as performed during the sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders in the Greek Orthodox Church. The paper is concerned with ritual process merging both biblical text and sacramental dance. The paper explores sacramental ritual and dance that is institutionalised through the patriarchal cosmology of the Greek Orthodox Church. The performance of the Dance of Isaiah will be analysed during Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders defining “rites of passage” that move initiates toward a religious change of status — out of one religious status and in to another. The Church perpetuates these religious performances through ritual in order to define changing religious identities rooted in the institution of the Church. The paper is concerned with the coalescence of ritual process — biblical text and sacramental dance — in order to understand ritual initiation settings of the Church.
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ItemGreek-Australian women's love poetry: of terrain and transnationalism(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)This paper seeks to showcase the various facets of love, romantic and otherwise, explored by Greek-Australian women writers in their poetry and prose. It reinforces the paramount significance of contextuality in relation to women’s experiences if verbal privilege is, indeed, going to have the effect of breaking through community-engendered silences. To that end, being cognizant of the socio-historical context of these poems, particularly those of first-generation women writers of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, gives to these works a certain resonant depth, thus saving them from the charge of being merely facile fancies. Further, this paper seeks to demonstrate that those writings emanating from their second-generation daughters reflect persistent intersections with a keenly experienced transnationalism, the traversing of terrain, in all its tangible and intangible complexity, a central feature throughout.
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ItemPersonal narratives after stoke: stories from bilingual Greek-English immigrants living in South Australia(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)Narratives are intricately intertwined with quality of life, culture, and social participation. This paper reports stories told by bilingual people describing the events or consequences of a stroke on their lives. Six immigrant participants (mean age 70 years) who were less than four years post-stroke spontaneously produced a narrative recounting their personal experience of having a stroke in their native language (Greek) and in their second language (English). Stories from the two languages were taken at least ten days apart. All participants had learned English in early adulthood upon migration from Greece to Australia, and not through formal teaching but informally, in the community. This group of immigrants had lived in Australia on average for 46 years. Narratives in the two languages underwent quantitative (length, number of propositions) and qualitative analyses (ratings of coherence, ratings of clarity). Most individuals produced coherent “tellable” stories despite disruptions in language because of stroke-related language deficits or aphasia. Overall, stories were better told (length, complexity of content, temporal-causal sequencing, reference) in Greek — their native language. The results have implications for policy-makers providing health and welfare services to ageing immigrant populations. The findings are also relevant to other countries that have large immigrant populations of stroke survivors.
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ItemLost in translation? Investigating the linguistic and conceptual understanding of translated text for older adults of Greek background.(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)South Australia is home to a significant cohort of post-World War II migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds. These migrants now constitute a sizeable portion of those 65 years and older in the state. It has been well-documented that migrants often revert to their first language as they age. The quality and efficacy of interpreting and translating services are therefore significant to the wellbeing of this group. Consequently, this chapter investigates the experience of older adults of Greek background with translated text distributed by local government. It concludes by suggesting that education plays an important role in migrant settlement and that language policy cannot be separated from the wider cultural, social and political norms within which it operates.
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ItemIdentity and social connection of Greek dancing in diaspora(Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand, 2019)This paper will discuss findings from a qualitative study undertaken in Melbourne, Australia that investigated Greek dancing as an aspect of cultural identity and wellbeing. This research involved nineteen participants (four male and fifteen female) recruited from a well-established, long standing dancing school in Melbourne. These students were enroled in either the senior, adult or performance group. The participants were interviewed about their participation in Greek dancing and the meaning it had for them as well as their reason for participation. There were a number of differences among the participants, which included country of birth (Australia or Greece), age, dancing class, and length of experience. Despite this, the diaspora experience of the participants was particularly significant, and the core reason for participating in Greek dancing of all participants was to express their identity and manifest their Hellenic heritage in diaspora. Preserving this heritage was important to all participants and served as a vehicle for social connection that enhanced their physical and emotional wellbeing.