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On the occasion of the establishment of the
“Miltiadis Marinakis Endowed Professorship for Modern Greek Language and Culture” at The Ohio State University
&
of the appointment of the first Professor, Dr. Yiorgos Anagnostou

You are cordially invited to the
Capital Link Webinar discussion on the topic of:

“Culture and Education among Greek Americans”

follow this link to register:

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Penelope Foudeas. There will be a Trisagion service in the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Columbus on Thursday, April 1 at 3pm followed by viewing of the funeral service in Alaska at 4pm in the Reception Hall.

A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Penelope came to Ohio State in 2017 to study Psychology with a Minor in Modern Greek Studies. Over the course of her undergraduate career, she took a range of classes in Modern Greek language and culture and, with her friends, produced several memorable videos, including one documenting her father’s journey to the United States from Greece.

As a student of Modern Greek, Penelope excelled in all her courses. Her careful preparation and lively personality were always in evidence. She continued to the fifth semester, Modern Greek 4002, and earned excellent grades. With ten of her peers in the Modern Greek Program, Penelope participated in the THYESPA 2018 summer course in Modern Greek at the University of Athens. Her joyful, considerate, and responsible character cemented friendships and made the experience more enjoyable for everyone.

After graduation, she attended Case Western Reserve, pursuing a Master’s Degree in Nutrition while working as a patient care advocate at the Cleveland Clinic.

Her professors in the Modern Greek Program remember her often insightful and always enthusiastic participation in discussion, and her bright, cheerful presence in class.

She was loved and appreciated by her peers as an unusually kind and considerate person who worked well with other students and was very much a team player. An enthusiastic member of Sigma Epsilon Phi for three years, she attended meetings with passion and optimism.

Penelope’s studies in Biology reflected her longstanding interest in the field. Already in high school she aspired to a career in a biomedical field, particularly physiology. Her interest in physiology constituted an important aspect of Penelope’s life that shaped her character.

Penelope was a dancer. Having danced ballet since she was 10 years old, Penelope continued ballet at Ohio State’s distinguished Department of Dance. She did gymnastics in high school, and also danced tap, hip hop, jazz, and acrobatic dance. Contemporary dance was her favorite. She taught at the Marjorie Jones School of Dance and continued to develop as a dancer. Dance was inseparable from her personality, part of what made her such a disciplined, conscientious, but also fun, expressive, delightful, and authentic human being.

The faculty and students of the Modern Greek Program at Ohio State as well as her fellow members of Sigma Epsilon Phi will miss Penelope greatly. May her memory be eternal.

The students of Sigma Epsilon Phi in conjunction with the Modern Greek Program are establishing a fund in Penelope’s memory to provide an annual scholarship to a deserving member of Sigma Epsilon Phi. A link will soon be posted for donations to the memorial fund.

Leontis Memorial Lecture Flyer 2021

The Lecture Series

The Thomas E. Leontis Lecture in Modern Greek Studies was established in 1987 by the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University with gifts from Dr. Thomas E. Leontis. In 1995, Anna P. Leontis made additional gifts in memory of her late husband to create the Thomas E. Leontis Endowment in Modern Greek. The purpose of the Endowment is two-fold: first, to serve as a catalyst in the Modern Greek Program at the University in generating a keener awareness of the importance of Greek history and culture, especially since 1204; and second, to bring annually to the Ohio State campus a distinguished speaker of international reputation who will contribute to the cultural growth of the University and the community by offering new ideas and historical and cultural interpretations of important past and current situations. In addition to the lectureship, the Endowment supports regular conference activities.

=====This workshop is organized on the occasion of celebrating International Day of the Greek Language. It is aimed at students and scholars of Ancient Greek who would like to gain a foothold in the study of Modern Greek. We draw attention to the overwhelming presence of Ancient Greek vocabulary in the modern language; for instance, to the words we call carry-overs. These are Ancient Greek words that can be used in the modern language without explaining any pronunciation rules concerning Modern Greek spelling and thus without needing to adjust for all the changes in phonology, morphology, and semantics that have occurred between Ancient and Modern Greek. Examples of such words include νόμος, μόνος, κρέας, μέλι, etc. We show how these and other Ancient Greek words can be a tool for introducing Classicists to the modern language.=====

It will be done virtually on Zoom and all are welcome to join for any amount of time.  It starts at 12:00noon Columbus time, and can be accessed through this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82572767152.

Exceptionally this week, online reading of Markaris, Ληξιπρόθεσμα Δάνεια, will be on Wednesday, February 3, from 12:40-1:35pm. Next week  on February 12 we will resume our normal meeting time of Fridays from 12:40-1:35pm. Please join us this Wednesday or a subsequent Friday at the following link:

https://osu.zoom.us/j/96136412895?pwd=cUM1OVNuVkkwVmg1VUo4dlNKNXF3dz09

For a presentation on Wednesday’s reading please follow the link below.

Chapter 7: Leslie Scott

Reading and discussion of Ληξιπρόθεσμα Δάνεια continue in 2021, meeting now on Fridays from 12:40-1:35pm at the Zoom link below. We begin chapter 6 on Friday, January 15 at 12:40; for the reading follow this link.

Friends of the OSU Modern Greek Program in the US and Greece are welcome to join OSU Modern Greek major Niko Soulas ’21 for Greek reading and discussion in English as he leads us through the text of Ληξιπρόθεσμα Δάνεια, a detective novel by Petros Markaris about the Greek financial crisis featuring Inspector Haritos. The works of Markaris have been translated into fourteen languages and circulate in twenty countries; this 201ο novel by Markaris provides a riveting glimpse into Greek society and tells a fascinating story of intrigue and high crime. We are reading through the text and discussing vocabulary and questions as they arise; sessions last for no more than one hour, you can come and go as you like. Reviews of the book in several languages can be found here.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://osu.zoom.us/j/96136412895?pwd=cUM1OVNuVkkwVmg1VUo4dlNKNXF3dz09

Meeting ID: 961 3641 2895
Password: 058887

Congratulations to our student Anthony Katsaounis for earning a summer 2020 American Hellenic Institute (AHI) internship.

Anthony is active in the Modern Greek Program, and has taken several of our course.

According to the official AHI announcement,

Anthony is a senior undergraduate student at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, majoring in Business and Economics. He is also a member of the Politics, Society, and Law Scholars program and the Sigma Epsilon Phi Greek Orthodox student organization at the Ohio State University. In addition to his business studies, Anthony enjoys learning about Greek language, history, and philosophy. Last summer, he had the privilege to attend a month-long study abroad course on the Geography of the European Union at the Neapolis University in Paphos, Cyprus.

https://www.ahiworld.org/press-releases-1/2020/6/15/ahi-welcomes-2020-summer-interns?fbclid=IwAR01qgPlDNIEJYsZc5jrxRQZxz97Q35pTpI66Uo0SL4PffI_UwiO6BkEDK8

“Conversations on Greek America,” a collaborative initiative between the OSU Modern Greek Program and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture, is in the news.

https://www.thenationalherald.com/archive_arts_literature_usa/arthro/learning_about_our_hellenic_community_s_history_and_culture_a_new_initiative-489681/

This online forum initiates 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 envision a discussion contributing toward a greater understanding of what it means to produce and disseminate knowledge about this subject. We will be reflecting on a variety of topics, including: 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. We will be incorporating the interests and questions that the participants will be bringing in the forum.

The initiative is 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. It will be co-hosted by Yiorgos Anagnostou and Simos Zenios. The meetings will be biannual.

This is a broadly inclusive initiative though the online platform imposes limitations regarding the number of participants. In order to facilitate discussion via Zoom, the number of participants is capped at 30.

Session One: Greek Americans and African Americans
Language: English
Date and Time: June 18 (10:00–12:00 a.m. Pacific Time)

Thirty seven individuals have registered to join this inaugural event. This interest speaks to the innovative work done in the field as well as to the strong interest for frameworks that facilitate the sharing of research and broader discussion.
The large number of participants, especially in Zoom sessions, poses the risk that the event may be unproductive if it prioritizes simply the statement of positions and perspectives. In the interest of fostering an in-depth exchange, the moderators have no choice but privilege those researchers who have published extensively in Greek American topics. We will be accepting, of course, questions and insights from everyone through chat. But priority in response will be given to those who are particularly active in Greek American studies or U.S. ethnic studies. We appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely,

Yiorgos Anagnostou (Professor, Director of the Modern Greek Program at The Ohio State University)

Simos Zenios (Associate Director, UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture)