Proceedings of the 6th Biennial International Conference of Greek Studies, 2005

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The sixth Biennial Conference of Greek Studies held at Flinders University from 23 to 26 June 2005 marked an important step forward: it became an international conference, thus attracting a considerable number of specialists from Europe as well as academics and post-graduate students from Australia. Fifty-five papers were published in these Proceedings after being assessed as significant contributions to knowledge by scholars of international repute.

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    Γιώργος Θεοτοκάς: “ταξίδι” και μυθασχολία
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Palaktsoglou, Maria
    Please note: this article is in Greek. In this paper we examine the notion of “journey” in two novels by George Theotokas: "Argo" (1936) and "Invalids and Wayfarers" (1964). More specifically, firstly we trace the direct and indirect references the writer makes with regard to the notion of “journey” and then we critically examine the significance this notion plays on his ideas on novel writing and life in general. For Theotokas, the meaning of “journey”, closely associated with the figure of Jason, the famous Argonaut of Greek mythology, and the Aegean Sea, is not static; in his early fiction it represents the need for adventure and renewal ("Argo") and in his latter, the confrontation with merciless fate and historical injustice ("Invalids and Wayfarers"). Thus, George Theotokas, following to some extent other European and Greek writers, such as Gide, Zweig, Solomos or Sikelianos, uses the notion of “journey” in his novels in order to express and reflect on his traumatic experiences from the historical events of his era and his humanistic ideas on art and life.
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    Ελληνόγλωσση Υπερλογοτεχνία της Διασποράς
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Garivaldis, Iakovos
    Please note: this article is in Greek. It is a fact that a plethora of studies have been carried out on all types of traditional literature, with the exception of literature in electronic formats, an area which has remained largely unexplored. This paper examines one facet of such literature as a distinct body; that which appears in digital format on the Internet in Greek, mainly created by writers of the Diaspora. Greeks abroad have an important presence in this area, one which is evidently worthy of further research. The historical period covered in this study is ten years starting from the midnineties, when languages other than English acquired the technological capability to appear in droves in this new medium. Here, it is shown that this type of literature boasts a significantly improved potential for the adventurous writer, on account of its ease of composition, its inexpensive publishing means and its numerous display formats. Electronically presented literature is defined by some as hyper-literature; a term loosely used to describe that creative type of writing which is digital and appears in textual format whilst it can be enhanced by picture, sound or video. The scope is to discover its significance within the realm of its conventional counterparts.
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    Ανθολόγιο της Διασποράς και Διαπολιτισμικότητα
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Mitrofanis, Yiannis
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This article describes the terms and conditions in which the Greek Diaspora is defined in a school anthology. Using systems theory it analyses the relation of migration literature to the pedagogical framework of the anthology. In particular, the article deals with the criteria for selection of texts which are: a) a representative geographical sample of the areas of the Greek Diaspora; b) that the texts be appropriate for students for learning at this level; c) a representative sample of literary genres; d) that the sample shows the historical development of Greek migration literature; and finally e) that the sample illustrates the multicultural aspects of the literature.
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    Η αμφισβήτηση της αποικιοκρατίας σε κυπριακά πεζογραφήματα
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Herodotou, Maria
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This paper examines the way in which two prose writings of Cyprus challenge the colonial thought and domination during a specific historical moment, i.e. while the armed struggle against the British colonial rule is being fought. It begins with a general introduction to the theme of challenging colonialism and then focuses on the examination of two specific literary works: "Liberty Street-Death Stop" (Kastaniotes, 1997) by Sophocles Lazarou and "My Brother the Traitor" (Kalendis, 2003) by Kostas Giorgallides. The aim of this examination is to add the paradigm of the Cyprus colonial experience to the general universal experience of colonialism. Today an increasing number of critics accept the view that the colonial experience is to a great extent a textual experience as well. Consequently, literary works can play a vital role in projecting contesting meanings, which are embedded in the colonial experience (rulers–oppressed, dominance–resistance, terrorism–heroism, nationalism–postnationalism, etc).
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    “...και σ’ αγαπώ παράφορα”: Απηχήσεις του εθνικού σε έργα πρώιμων σουρρεαλιστών στην Ελλάδα και στις χώρες του εγγύς Νότου
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Frantzi, Kyriaki
    Please note: this article is in Greek. The following text owes its basic idea to a research seminar on the poet and painter Nikos Engonopoulos that took place at the University of New South Wales, during which participants made the interesting objection that his art cannot be characterised as surrealistic because his painting perception of space is not related to that of his European colleagues. The text examines the artist’s unorthodox ethnocentric surrealism in general. Using his poem “Bolivar” as a guide and the relationship between surrealism and the subject of the nation as wider theoretical frame, it detects parallel tendencies in the way early surrealism of the period 1920–1950 “was translated” in western countries near and far, mainly in Mesoamerica and Mediterranean countries. The text also comments on this extensive divergence, relating it to its socio-political and cultural context.
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    Για τη “στιγμή” και την πολυφωνία στον Καβάφη με αφορμή το ποίημα “Εν Σπάρτη”
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Dracopoulos, Anthony
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This paper revisits the function of the “moment” in Cavafy’s poetry within the context of Bakhtin’s theoretical framework and Seferis’ views of the Cavafean use of history. By analysing the poem “In Sparta”, it demonstrates that the Cavafean “moment” is a complex point in time and space on which diverse voices and points of view meet and participate in a dialogue. None of these voices, however, is privileged in the articulation of a central theme or idea. Each brings to the moment its own world view, interests and experiences and as a result the moment, and by extension the poem itself, cannot be reduced to a single meaning...
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    Éloge des larmes: Με λογισμό και δάκρυα
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Tsianikas, Michael
    Please note: this article is in Greek. When and why do people cry? This is a very interesting cultural question, in particular if we are examining this topic throughout the development of different cultures. In this paper I will only try to focus on selective periods that will allow us to understand the cultural diversity of crying. At first, I will refer briefly to the ancient Greek culture when, for example, Plato, in his “perfect” Republic does not allow people to weep publicly. Later when a more “popular” Christianity arises, tears are more frequent than in the first period of Christianity. An important part of this paper will then focus on the Romanticism and especially the Modern Greek Romanticism with specific references to Kalvos and Solomos. It seems that in Solomos’ poetry tears are becoming less frequent in his late or “mature” period. Then I will examine Kariotakis’, Cavafis’ and Egonopoulos’ works. Finally, I will focus on Pentzikis’ “compositions” using references from various texts: in particular I will focus on Pentzikis’s text “With reason and tears” from his book “Water Overflowing”. This will allow us to interconnect Solomos’ mind and Pentzikis’ “inter-lect” and I will conclude that in Pentzikis’ “dictional” creation nothing separates tears and reason — and that spiritual or material bodies arise together in an un-cultural landscape full of waters and dry stones.
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    Η αέναη αναζήτηση της ρωμιοσύνης. Διαπολιτισμικά στοιχεία στο Διπλό Βιβλίο του Χατζή
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Blioumi, Aglaia
    Please note: this article is in Greek. The aim of this paper is to show the intercultural elements present in the novel "Double Book" written by Dimitris Chatzis. The starting point is the concept of “the Greek Nation”, which is a key objective in the work. Although this concept is central, other studies have hardly focused on it. Therefore, before searching for the intercultural elements of the work, the dimensions of the very concept of “Greek Nation” will be examined. My position is that, while the work promotes an essentialist concept of the Greek character, the narrator's inability to present certain aspects of this concept refutes this essentialist mood. Instead, certain intercultural elements are promoted, which render the work a pioneer for its time.
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    Ειδική διδακτική της νεοελληνικής ποίησης: Η περίπτωση του ποιήματος “Η Επιστροφή της Ευρυδίκης” του Νίκου Εγγονόπουλου
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Degermentzidis, Symeon
    Please note: this article is in Greek. Undertaking to teach students to interpret the poem “The Return of Eurydice” written by Nikos Engonopoulos, we propose some didactic operations for combining its verbal structures and the corresponding cultural structures, which bridge the gap between school and society. The first group of students is asked to elaborate the archetypal dimension of Lethe and her function in relation to Ingratitude; the second group is asked to analyze the archetypal component of the symbolic role performed in the poem by the Virgins; the third group is asked to develop the archetypal context of the Minotaur symbol; the fourth one to study the convergence of the archetypal structures marked by the mythical allegory of Agamemnon and the symbol of the fish in connection with the observed shift towards the Orphic pattern of the Wheel of Necessity; finally, the fifth group is asked to examine the identification of the poet with Orpheus and his descent from Hermes Trismegistos.
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    Αναπαριστώντας τον έμφυλο Άλλο: Ξένες γυναίκες στη Χαμένη Άνοιξη και στους Αθώους και φταίχτες
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Paparoussi, Marita
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This article discusses alterity and gender in two novels by S. Tsirkas and M. Douka. It focuses on the processes and mechanisms through which foreign women, immigrants and self-deported, deal with the multi meanings of marginalization/belonging, alienation and power. Most significantly it explores the location of those women in new political and social environments from a perspective informed by ethnicity, ideology and sexuality and exemplifies both novel’s concern with the complex relationship between self and narration — in particular, with the techniques available for dramatizing interesting questions about gender, speech and subjectivity.
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    Προς μια φιλοσοφική θεμελίωση της φιλολογίας: Η περίπτωση του Ιωάννη Συκουτρή
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Niftanidou, Th.
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This article focuses on the work of Ioannis Sikoutris (1901–1937), a significant scholar of Modern Greek literary studies, and its dialogue with the field of philosophy. In this context, the study presents and discusses Sikoutris’ principal works conversant with philosophy and analyses the theoretical context of two of his texts, chiefly contiguous to Modern Greek literary studies, namely “Literary Studies” (“Γραμματολογία”, 1929) and “Philology and Life” (“Φιλολογία και ζωή”, 1931). Special emphasis has been placed on the relationship of Sikoutris’ work with Hermeneutics, a paradigm of great importance in European philosophy and literary theory.
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    O ίσκιος του ενδεχόμενου στο αφηγηματικό σύμπαν του Γ. Bιζυηνού
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Angelatos, Dimitris
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This paper deals with aspects of fictional representation and modes of understanding reality in Vizyinos’s mature narratives. It maintains that Vizyinos’ writing broke with the 19th century modes of representation, namely romanticism (the historical novel) and the kind of “realism” which was developed under the premises of ethografia. Introducing new ways of delving into the characters’ inner life, Vizyinos’ narrative techniques challenged representation which rendered reality as either a transparent direct naturalness or a mediated reflective relationship between actuality and art (verisimilitude). Employing Genette’s narrative typology this approach argues that transparency is associated with zero focalization in which the omniscient narrator has an absolute authority and control over the character’s actions and inner thoughts. Consequently, in narratives of sorts, human existence is rendered transparent through the narrator’s penetrating viewpoint. Reversely, in Vizyinos writing the internal focalization manifests itself through the alleged incapacity of an autobiographic narrator to offer a complete account of events and thoughts of the past. To construct his retrospective representation the narrator draws upon the characters’ experience expressed through their personal and momentary testimony upon the thoughts and the actions of the past. The proximity between narrator and character and the latter’s subjective point of view set the terms of an ellipsoid narrative structure unsettling the tradition of naturalness and verisimilitude. Thus, contradiction and suspense become the main characteristics of this narrative in which subjectivity is unsettled, often reduplicated and opaque. Accordingly, the enigmatic titles, the intricate plot and the characters’ ambiguous presence in the narrative turn the quest for truth into an obstructed race. Dealing with the fluid and ambiguous consciousness of the inner world, representation, here, works for the moment of uncertainty; it enacts a multi-perspective world of potential versions of truth, putting at stake reality and verisimilitude. The shadow of contingency looms over this ellipsoid narrative and by revealing and concealing at the same time facts and thoughts it creates an enigmatic atmosphere reinforced by titles such as “Who was my brother’s killer” or “My mother’s sin” or “Moskof Selim”.
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    'Γάμοι με προξενιό': Φυλ(ετ)ικές, πολιτισμικές και καλλιτεχνικές συνάφειες και “συζεύξεις” στο θεατρικό έργο του Θόδωρου Πατρικαρέα Πέτα τη Φυσαρμόνικα Πεπίνο και την κινηματογραφική ταινία του Tom Cowan "Promised Woman"
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Nazou, Panayiota
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This paper attempts to investigate the multiplicity of concepts encapsulated by the term “wedding”, taking as its basic premise that a diversity of social, cultural, ideological and political parameters determine its form and type, even in the case of “proxy” weddings. Furthermore, at a symbolic level, the term “wedding” is employed in the sense of an artistic osmosis of transcultural, inter-gender and intertextual relations, since in this study we will explore the various interconnections and “conjunctions/wedlocks” which exist/are performed in the theatrical play by Theo Patrikareas, "Throw Away Your Harmonica" and its cinematic adaptation by Tom Cowan, "Promised Woman/Λογοδοσμένη".
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    Ο Ελληνοαυστραλιανός Τύπος της περιόδου 1960–1975: Πόλωση, δύσκολες προσαρμογές και σταδιακή εκτόνωση
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Fifis, Christos N
    Please note: this article is in Greek. This article examines the role and the contribution of six Greek-Australian newspapers from 1960 to 1975. From many aspects this is a very important period for the Greek-Australian community. It includes the overdoubling of the Greek born settlers between 1961 and 1970, the Archdiocese — pre-1958 Greek Communities dispute, the imposition of the Greek military dictatorship in Greece in 1967, the 1974 Turkish invasion to Cyprus, the collapse of the Greek military regime and the coming to Australia of about 6,000 Greek-Cypriot refugees. Other Greek-Australian and Australian developments contributed also in shaping the development of the Greek-Australian community. Events such as the visit to Australia of Mikis Theodorakis in 1972, Andreas Papandreou in 1974, the social and adjustment problems of the new Greek-Australian families, the coming and the falling of the Gough Whitlam era and the introduction of Multiculturalism played a role in the shaping of the community. How were these situations and developments presented by the Greek-Australian Press?
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    Λαϊκοί Οργανοπαίχτες και Μουσικοχορευτική Παράδοση της Φλώρινας, στη Μελβούρνη της Αυστραλίας
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Tsonis, Konstantinos
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. Having faith in the value of laography, which presupposes that migrants are faithful to tradition, I began this study with the belief that the process of this project would be a straight forward one. After all, from the outset there was a desire by all to cooperate. In May 1993 by witnessing and documenting first and second generation migrants, I commenced my work in Melbourne Australia, becoming part of the music and dance tradition of Florina, which was still alive and flourishing 17,000 km away from its natural environment. In the process however, circumstances changed and unforeseen difficulties occurred. Besides the individuals, the procedures, the alterations -- whether deliberate or coincidental -- and the conditions, which contributed to the transfer, and preservation, I encountered in ascertaining and isolating this music and dance tradition, I also had to overcome the gap which had developed between the opposing sides on the “Macedonian” issue. Here things weren’t at all easy. Both sides use the same dance and music, often using it against each other not willing to accept under any circumstances that music and dance unite rather than divide, and that you cannot enclose music and dance within borders.
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    Η εξ αποστάσεως διδασκαλία σε τμήμα αρχαρίων: η τηλετάξη του Ντάργουιν: προβλήματα και προοπτικές
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Frazis, George
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. In this paper the new programme of Modern Greek which is delivered through Flinders University (South Australia) to Charles Darwin University (Darwin) is described, analyzed and evaluated. The programme focuses on the delivery of Modern Greek to students of non-Greek background through a number of mediums including video teleconferencing. Within the scope of delivery there is marrying between, new technologies with synchronous and asynchronous communication as well as face to face instruction. This paper examines the results of a questionnaire given to students in the first stages of the programme.
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    Η σημαντικότητα των προγραμμάτων κατάρτισης στη διδακτική της ελληνικής ως Δεύτερης / Ξένης γλώσσας (ΕΔ/ΞΓ) με τη χρήση Τεχνολογιών Επικοινωνίας και Πληροφόρησης (Τ.Ε.Π.). Η Περίπτωση της Ελλάδας-Πρόταση επιμόρφωσης
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Haidas, Alexandros; Karras, Ioannis; Spinthourakis, Julia Athena
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. The aim of this paper is to present the results of a case study conducted to identify the educational/training needs of primary school teachers teaching Greek as a foreign/second language (GFL/GSL). We focus on the use of computer aided language learning and other technologies. The findings of this study revealed the lack of training teachers have in the aforementioned area. The training programme that has been created to cover these needs is based on both a distance learning format and in-house seminars. The goal of the training programme is to equip teachers with the necessary tools and skills, both theoretical and practical, so as to more effectively teach GFL/GSL. The programme endeavours to cover the needs of all involved (pre-service, in-service teachers and postgraduate students).
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    Η μεθοδολογία της διδασκαλίας του μαθήματος “Ελληνική Γλώσσα” στο Ολοήμερο Σχολείο (έρευνα)
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Taratori-Tsalkatidou, Eleni; Chatzidimou, Dimitris
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. The methods and means of instruction used by elementary school teachers were investigated in a survey of 210 6th grade students which was conducted in numerous elementary all-day schools in the cities of Thessaloniki and Chania (Crete), May 2004. Content analysis was employed for the purpose of gathering data and texts served as a methodological tool. The results of the investigation indicated that: 1. Teachers use the same method in the subject of “Greek language” on a daily basis without any possible surprises. 2. Few students reported the use of audio-visual material by their teacher. 3. Students prefer female teachers in this linguistic subject; and 4. The majority of students, particularly girls, designated the subject of “language” as their favorite despite the occasional difficulties. The above data enable us to conclude that, despite the multitude of teaching methods, available by Departments of Elementary Education in their curricula, only a few educators use them to good account in teaching language in school.
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    Tο γεγονός — η “ευεργεσία του έθνους”— η έκδοση
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Stathis, Gregorios
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. In 1814, the Patriarchiate in the Fanari of Constantinople transformed the notation for religious chanting, from which came the so-called “new method”. In January 1815 there was founded a “new school” for teaching and disseminating this method. The new method of Greek music of Byzantine and neo-Byzantine melody, and the opening of the new school is the event which signifies an epoch in which there was a turning point in chanting in the Greek Orthodox Church. For the development and dissemination of the New Method and for the creation of the new school of music, around 1815, there circulated a Patriarchal Decree, in one page, sent as a Patriarchal Universal Message by the Ecumenical Patriarch Cyril the 6th, in the month of April or May of 1815. At the same time, an effort was made to translate all the Byzantine and Meta-Byzantine melodies into the system of the new method in a work which contains 62 “Exegitical Manuscripts”. This article, first, discusses the background history of notation and its use up till the transformation, and later discusses the exegetical work in the manuscripts.
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    Αλληλογραφία: Ένας αδιάψευστος μάρτυρας των ιστορικών γεγονότων. Aλληλογραφία από τη Συλλογή του Mετοχίου του Παναγίου Tάφου Kωνσταντινούπολης
    (Department of Languages - Modern Greek, 2007) Stathis, Pinelopi
    Please note: this article is written in Greek. The letter series “Correspondence of the Great Dragomans, 1671–1797” from the ms collection of the Holy Sepulchre in Constantinople, kept in the National Library of Greece, is a rich source of historical evidence for the eighteenth century, since the persons involved are the Greek Patriarchs of Jerusalem, living mostly in Constantinople, and the well known Great Dragomans of the Ottoman Empire. The letters shed light on the cultural, political, and ideological movements of the time and provide a narrative for major contemporary political events, known from various other sources, and vividly described by their protagonists.