U Michigan 2025 Vassilis Lambropoulos Essays on New Directions in Modern Greek Studies

[Artemis Leontis]

Dear colleagues and friends,

I am delighted to announce the publication of the Second Annual Vassilis Lambropoulos Essays on New Directions in Modern Greek Studies.

Offering new perspectives on the field, the endowed series honors Vassilis Lambropoulos, the first C.P. Cavafy Professor of Modern Greek and Comparative Literature, who directed the Modern Greek Program at the University of Michigan from 1999 to 2018. Thus it joins the future of Modern Greek studies with the past.

Two essays are commissioned each year by the chairs of the departments of Classical Studies and Comparative Literature (or a proxy whom they select) and the Director of the Modern Greek Program. The committee invited Konstantina Zanou and Nektaria Klapaki to write this year's essays.

In “What Is Mediterranean Humanities?” Konstantina Zanou argues that Modern Greek Studies flourishes when placed within the multifaceted framework of Mediterranean Studies. She describes “Mediterranean Humanities” as an intellectual and pedagogical project emphasizing the interconnectedness, hybridity, and complexity of the Mediterranean region—moving beyond fixed borders, single geographies, and national narratives. The Mediterranean here is not just a place but a concept, a methodology, and an ethical horizon, challenging Westernized models of time and identity. By critically engaging with histories of colonialism, diaspora, migration, and cosmopolitan port cities, Zanou’s approach fosters empathy, multi-vocality, and a deep appreciation for the lived realities of people in motion. Ultimately, she proposes Mediterranean Humanities as a powerful alternative to the canon of “Western civilization,” one that honors ambiguity, self-reflection, and the ongoing necessity of viewing the world through shifting, plural perspectives. Konstantina Zanou is Associate Professor of Italian specializing in Mediterranean Studies at Columbia University.

In "The Rethinking of Secularization and Modern Greek Literary Studies," Nektaria Klapaki uses a comparative, interdisciplinary approach to explore how revised secularization theories and the “religious turn” have unsettled long-held assumptions in literary studies. Klapaki argues that modern Greek literature, long understood through a dichotomy of religious tradition versus secular modernity, is better seen as traversing a dynamic landscape where religious and secular perspectives are intertwined. She suggests that this new lens enables fruitful comparative research and teaching opportunities, positioning modern Greek literature alongside other modern literatures and challenging its supposed exceptionalism. Nektaria Klapaki is a Lecturer in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies and Director of the Greece Study Abroad Program at the University of Washington. She specializes in modern Greek literature, secularization, religion, and classical reception.

Happy reading!

Artemis Leontis

C. P. Cavafy Professor of Modern Greek and Comparative Literature 

Director of the Modern Greek Program

Editor of JMGS

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