Ergastirio: Conversations on Greek America

Scope and Goals

Ergastirio: Conversations on Greek America was an an online forum that, from 2020 to 2022, sought to foster a series of conversations among academics, authors and cultural producers with the aim of promoting the practice of writing and teaching Greek America in the context of U.S. multiculturalism, the Greek diaspora, and European Americans. We envisioned a discussion contributing toward a greater understanding of what it means to produce and disseminate knowledge about this subject. Our reflections were guided by multiple perspectives: fostering a critical community; exploring new research directions, including collaborations; placing our research within the academy as well as community publications; understanding ethnic communities from their own perspectives and ways to engage with these points of view in the classroom and public fora.

The initiative was the product of institutional collaboration between the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture and the Modern Greek Program at The Ohio State University.

Ergastirio was co-hosted by Professor Yiorgos Anagnostou (Director of the Modern Greek Program at The Ohio State University) and Dr. Simos Zenios (Associate Director, UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture).

Sessions

Session 1: Greek Americans and African Americans (June 18, 2020) 

Session 2: Perspectives on Gender and Sexuality (June 18, 2021)

Session 3: Placing Greek Diaspora Studies in North American Curricula ( April, 2022)