Fall Seminar Series Speakers Announced

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies is pleased to announce the return of the popular seminar series for the Spring semester. These public events will feature presentations by Hellenic Studies faculty, graduate students, and visiting scholars to the Centre.

Seminars will be held twice a month throughout the Fall 2018 semester and feature presentations on a range of Hellenic topics in the fields of Archaeology, Classics, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Modern Greek History, as well as Literary and Cultural Studies.

Campus: Burnaby
Room: Academic Quadrangle 6204 
(unless otherwise stated)
Time: 2:30-4:00pm

This event is free, but seating is limited.

September 14^th – Dr. Julian Brooks (Douglas College)

"Mass Tourism, Mountains, and Movie Sets: A Brief Journey through Montenegro and the Drina Valley"

This presentation considers a recent journey along a trail fraught with bitter poverty, newfound wealth, scenic settings, and contested historical spaces. The journey begins amidst mass tourism in coastal Montenegro before moving inland to the burgeoning adventure tours along the Tara and Drina rivers. Next, it is down the river to Visegrad, Bosnia, home of the historic “Bridge on the Drina” and controversial “Andricgrad”. Finally, the trip proceeds to a unique “eco-hostel” in Uzice, Serbia.

September 28^th – Dr.  Ozren Jungic

"Ideology and War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1992-95: Evidence from the Tribunal"

Dr Jungic will speak about archival research pertaining to the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Using the records of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, he discusses the decisions of top-level actors from the three belligerent sides and shows how ideology shaped their strategic approaches to the conflict and the peace negotiations.

October 12^th – Dr. Sadia Abbas (Rutgers University)

*please note that this seminar will take place in AQ6229

October 26^th – Dr. Alexander Grammatikos (Langara College)

"Mary Shelley and the Greek War of Independence"

In this presentation, I will discuss Mary Shelley’s engagement with early nineteenth-century Greek politics and involvement with the British Philhellenic movement. Shelley’s various responses to the Greek War of Independence will be analyzed in relation to her literary circle, which included her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and their friend Lord Byron, arguably two of the most popular Philhellenes of the nineteenth century. Moreover, by focusing predominantly on Mary Shelley’s 1826 novel The Last Man, my paper will analyze the trajectory of the author’s own response to the Greek War of Independence, from, initially, idealistic (and perhaps, naïve) supporter of the war to astute examiner of the sociopolitical and cultural issues involved with Europe’s intervention in Greco-Ottoman warfare.

November 9^th – TBD

November 23^rd – TBD