CALL FOR PAPERS: KAZANTZAKIS (CYPRUS, SUMMER 2026)

[Marinos Pourgouris]

Dear all,

 

Please circulate this call for papers among your colleagues and students.  Please address any questions to the following e-mail:  kazantzakis...@ucy.ac.cy

 

Thank you.

 

All the best,

 

Marinos Pourgouris

Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, Chair

University of Cyprus

 

 

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS

CALL FOR PAPERS

University of Cyprus, June 19-21, 2026

 

The Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at the University of Cyprus, in collaboration with The Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, The Centre for Hellenic Studies at King's College London, Baylor University, the Modern Greek Studies Program at Rutgers University, and The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University, is pleased to announce an international conference dedicated to the life, work, and legacy of Nikos Kazantzakis (1883–1957), to be held in Nicosia, Cyprus, from June 19 to June 21, 2026.

 

Kazantzakis remains one of the most influential and provocative figures in twentieth-century world literature. His novels, plays, travel writings, philosophical treatises, and translations engage questions of faith, identity, and human freedom in ways that continue to resonate across disciplines and cultures. From his dialogues with classical antiquity and his bold re-imaginings of religious narratives, to his political engagements and global travels, Kazantzakis challenges conventional boundaries between literature, philosophy, theology, and history. His work has been celebrated, contested, banned, and translated into numerous languages, ensuring its enduring presence in both scholarly and popular spheres. This conference aims to bring together established academics and emerging researchers to examine the multifaceted dimensions of Kazantzakis's writings, his intellectual networks, and his cultural impact, and to reconsider his relevance in a rapidly changing twenty-first-century context.

 

Topics may include (but are not limited to):

      •     Kazantzakis in literary, philosophical, or theological contexts

      •     Reception of Kazantzakis in Greece and internationally

      •     Translation, adaptation, and global circulation of his work

      •     Comparative approaches (literature, art, philosophy, film, history of ideas)

      •     Kazantzakis and politics, ideology, or spirituality

      •     Interdisciplinary perspectives

      •     Kazantzakis's literary circle

      •     Kazantzakis and Cyprus

      •     Kazantzakis's travel writing

 

 

Keynote speakers

Prof. Darren Middleton and Dr. Lewis Owens

 

Practical Information

Location: The conference will take place at the University of Cyprus Campus in Nicosia. 

Languages: The main language of the conference will be English

Format: Twenty-minute presentations ideally to be delivered in person.

 

Accommodation

Please feel free to reserve your travel and accommodation as you see fit. The University of Cyprus will provide guidance on hotels and transportation in Nicosia once your paper is accepted. 

 

Abstract Submission

Please submit an abstract of 250–300 words, along with a short biographical note (100 words), to kazantzakis...@ucy.ac.cy by January 15, 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by January 31, 2026.

 

 

The Organizing Committee

Afrodite Athanasopoulou

Darren Middleton

Lewis Owens

Marinos Pourgouris

Paola Pruett-Vergara