Welcoming our newest postdoctoral fellow, hiring for the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies, and more for the month of October

In this month's digest, register for events in our Fall Seminar Series, meet this year's postdoctoral fellow, and if you qualify, consider applying to work with the outstanding faculty, staff and students located in Simon Fraser University's Department of Humanities as the Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies!

Introducing our 2021/2022 Hellenisms Past and Present, Local and Global Postdoctoral Fellow: Danai Thomaidis

Please join us in welcoming Danai Thomaidis to the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies! Danai studied cultural heritage at Statale University of Milan and earned her MA in medieval and Byzantine art history at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Her  research interests include the reception of Byzantine icons in the West, Marian studies, the materiality of the sacred and artistic and cultural interactions in the Mediterranean. Danai will be working on several projects during her time at the Centre, including finalizing her book manuscript, The Life of Icons in Venice , which realizes the power of icons as social agents, challenging the traditional methods of art history research.

SFU's Department of Humanities hiring for Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies

The Department of Humanities at Simon Fraser University invites applications for a full-time appointment of a scholar who will hold the 5-year, renewable Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies, starting July 15, 2022. This position is advertised as open rank and will be filled by either an Assistant Professor or Associate Professor. Applications will be reviewed starting November 30, 2021, and will continue until the position is filled.

Don't miss a beat: watch the latest event recordings form the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies

Wish you could have attended our seminar with associate lecturer Spyros Tsoutsoumpis on paramilitaries, patronage and nation-building in Civil War Greece, or with author Raphael Cormack on 1920s Cosmopolitan Egypt? Good news! You can find a collection of previous event recordings on our YouTube channel.

Remember, not all of our events are recorded and the best way to enjoy our presentations and to ask questions is always to attend our events live!

Meeting Communities Half-Way: A Launch Presentation for "Project Africanisms" Powered by the Benaki Museum

Friday, October 22nd, 2021 at 10:00 AM PDT (In-Person)

This Friday, we will virtually host Curator of World Cultures at the Benaki Museum, Dr. Sophia Handaka, anthropologist and member of the African community in Athens, Grace Nwoke, and filmmaker, Menelaos Karamaghiolis, to discuss "Project Africanisms," an ambitious program  of research and community engagement as well as a collaborative exhibition. The exhibition will allow the Benaki Museum, a public space and driving force of society, to play a central role in shaping an intercultural dialogue, connecting communities with different traditions, religious beliefs and value.

This exciting event with Greece's largest and most active museum organization will be moderated by SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies faculty member, Eirini Kotsovili.

The Instrumental Past: Colonialism and Ethno-Nationalism in South Asia and Eastern Europe 

Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 8:00 AM PDT / 11:00 AM EDT (Virtual)

Tomorrow, join our friends at the Center for European Studies at Rutgers for a webinar featuring talks from the Center's Director, associate professor Sadia Abbas (Rutgers), associate professor Tamara Sears (Rutgers),  professor Jan Kubik (Rutgers), Marta Kotwas (UCL) and Faisal Devji (Oxford) on the topic of colonialism and ethnographic-nationalism. This will be the Center's second event focused on colonialism, inter-war Europe and Archaeopolitics.

Icons as Goods of Self-Expression from Byantium to Medieval and Renaissance Venice 

Friday, November 5th, 2021 at 2:30 PM PDT (Hybrid - Virtual & In-Person)

We are delighted to invite our community to attend our first Fall Term hybrid event where attendees can participate in-person or on Zoom! At the start of November, join us for a presentation from our very own 2021/2022 Hellenisms Past and Present, Local and Global Postdoctoral Fellow, Danai Thomaidis. Danai will examine the role of icons as media for self-expression. Beginning with Byzantine texts and then moving on to Venetian legal documents, she will trace the variety of ways in which icons were used in order to express one's needs, intellectual status, social position and/or aspiration. The event will be moderated by assistant professor Sabrina Higgins, the holder of the Hellenic Studies Professorship in Aegean and Mediterranean Societies and Cultures.

Sexuality, Tourism and Social-Political Transformations in Greece, 1960s-Early 1980s

Friday, November 26, 2021 at 10:30 AM PDT (Virtual)

Be sure to register for our seminar in late November with Nikolaos Papadogiannis, an AHRC Research Fellow in History at the University of St Andrews. Nikolaos will explore how mainstream Greek newspapers and magazines approached sexual changes in Greece in relation to the intensifying engagement of Greeks with tourism. Moderated by Eirini Kotsovili.

COVID-19 news and resources

For more information and updates regarding COVID-19 and SFU operations please see SFU's return to campus plan. 

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