090104 VO Modern Greek Poetry: Comparative and Political Contexts (2023W)

Aims:
This course aims to:
Offer students an overview of modern Greek poetry from Romanticism to the present
Shed light on modern Greek history through literary texts
Introduce students to the theoretical questions pertaining to the relationship between literature and history
Make students familiar with the methods of comparative reading

Content:
Since the institution of the Greek nation state, Greek literary production has been embedded in evolving historical, political and ideological contexts, and has been marked by the shifting formations of Greek identity. In this perspective we will explore a series of questions (representation of nature and space, evolving notions of Hellenicity, East and West, the relation of past and present, classical reception, issues of heritage, diaspora, cosmopolitanism, colonizing and self-colonizing discourses, canon formation, travel writing) across poetic texts that range from Romanticism to the present. Our main concern will be to shed light on the texts’ relation to a complicated network of cultural and historical pressures, as well as to place each literary movement in Greece in a comparative perspective with relevant literary and intellectual developments in Europe.