Conference - June 22-23, 2018

Homeland-Diaspora Relations in Flux: Greece and Greeks abroad at times of Crisis

Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony's College, University of Oxford.
Convenors: Othon Anastasakis, Foteini Kalantzi and Manolis Pratsinakis

About the conference Programme Donors

About the conference

The Greek Diaspora Project at SEESOX is organizing a conference "Homeland-Diaspora Relations in Flux: Greece and Greeks abroad at times of Crisis" on June 22-23, 2018 at St Antony's College, University of Oxford.

Greece's long drawn out economic crisis is by now an indisputably pivotal event in the country's history and as such, it cannot but redefine the nature and role of Greece's diaspora.

The modern Greek state was constructed by and for a trans-territorial national community and since its establishment the proclaimed aim of its diaspora policy has been the strengthening of ties between the Greek 'national centre' and Greeks abroad.

The latter have historically demonstrated high levels of homeland orientation and have had a major input in Greece's evolution in economic, political, social and cultural terms.

But how is the interrelationship between Greece and its diasporic communities shaping up in the current context and conjunction of the crisis?

To what extent are Greeks abroad willing and able to contribute to the crisis resolution and, more importantly, to Greece's long term transformation?

Aiming to answer these questions the conference will explore the impact of Greek diaspora communities on the trajectory of their homeland through interactions in the domains of the economy, politics, philanthropy and in the sociocultural field.

Conference Programme

Time
Events
08:30-9:00
08:30-9:00Registration
9:00-11:00
9:00-11:00Session 1

The Greek Diaspora project at SEESOX

Political elites and diaspora party politics during the crisis years
Othon Anastasakis (SEESOX, University of Oxford) and Foteini Kalantzi (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Assessing the recent resurgence of emigration from Greece
Manolis Pratsinakis (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Diaspora Philanthropy: Opportunities and Constraints
Antonis Kamaras (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

The Greek diaspora in a comparative perspective: conceptual and theoretical framework
Irina Laphsyna (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Studying the Greek diaspora in Oxford
Renee Hirschon (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Chair

Kalypso Nicolaidis (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

11:00-11:30
11:15-11:30 Coffee break
Served in the lobby of the Hilda Besse Building
11:30-13:00
11:30-13:00Session 2

Diasporic identities and constructions of Greekness

Greek diaspora citizenship
Yiorgos Anagnostou (The Ohio State University)

The 'unbearable' legacy of Greekness: Destabilising Greek and migrant youth categories
Anastasia Christou (Middlesex University)

Castellorizo and its diaspora in Australia: Traumatic memories and divergent identities
Vassiliki Chryssanthopoulou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)

Chair

Dace Dzenovska (COMPAS, University of Oxford)

13:00-14:00
13:00-14:00Lunch break
14:00-15:30
14:00-15:30Session 3

Diasporic institutions and the thrid sector

Failed institution: The World Council of Hellenes Abroad (SAE) since 2008
Marina Frangos (University of the Aegean)

Diaspora philanthropy and volunteerism as a contestable process: Tracing the connections and disconnections between diaspora and homeland
Antonis Kamaras (SEESOX, University of Oxford) and Marilena Anastasopoulou (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Teaching Modern Greek within the community framework in France from 1971 to 2017. Social, cultural, economic interactions and future perspectives: from the Marseilles case to a general overview
Ioanna Mousikoudis (University of Aix-Marseille)

Chair

Effie Voutira (University of Macedonia)

15:30-17:00
15:30-17:00Session 4

Diaspora and church

The Ecumenical Patriarchate as a diaspora actor: Between the end of the Cold War and the Greek economic crisis
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis (Bilkent University)

Political advocacy along ethnic and national lines: the case of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America
Athanasios Grammenos (University of Macedonia)

The Greek American church, the community & Greece: The state of play in the early 21st century
Alexander Kitroeff (Haverford College)

Intra-European mobility, emigration, and new dynamics within Greek-Orthodox Religioscapes
Georgios E. Trantas (University of Erfurt)

Chair

Renee Hirschon (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

17:00-17:30
17:00-17:30Coffee break
Served in the lobby of the Hilda Besse Building
17:30-18:30
17:30-18:30Session 5

New media and the Greek diaspora

From diasporic communities to transnational networks of practice: Social media use transforming the experience of place and diaspora
Ioanna Doutsou (Athena Research and Innovation Center)

"It's all Greek to me": The impact of mass media on contested immigrant identity
George Topalidis (University of Florida)

Chair

Lamprini Rori (Exeter University)

18:30-19:00
18:30-19:00Presentation & film

"New Diaspora: the collective narrative of a borderless nation" - including a 10 minute documentary film (world premiere)

By Nikos Stampoulopoulos (New Diaspora)
Time
Events
9:30-11:00
Session 6 9:30-11:00

Diaspora and economy

From popular markets, to Russian products stores, to “big business”: Economies and ethics inside Pontic Greek communities of Thessaloniki after the Soviet experience
Dimitris Kataiftsis (University Paris IV-Sorbonne) and Anastasios Grigorakis (University of Macedonia)

The new Greek emigration and the remittances sending patterns in the crisis period
Aymeric Faure (London School of Economics), Manolis Pratsinakis (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

"Migrants mean remittances!" Perhaps not anymore!
Sokratis Koniordos (University of Crete)

Pensions and the Greek diaspora: International portability as a lifecycle bridge
Platon Tinios (Piraeus University)

Chair

David Madden (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

11:00-11:30
11:00-11:30Coffee break
Served in the lobby of the Hilda Besse Building
11:30-13:00
11:30-13:00Session 7

Diaspora and brain-drain

Student migration from Greece to the UK: Understanding aspirations and decision-making
Vasiliki Toumanidou (University of Leeds)

Measures and policies intended to reduce the Greek brain drain
Anthi Koskina (College IdEF / Universite Paris XIII)

Greek diaspora interactions between Gastarbeiter and ‘neo-immigrants’ in Germany
Eleni Tseligka (Staffordshire University)

Chair

Franck Duvell (COMPAS, University of Oxford)

13:00-14:00
13:00-14:00Lunch break
14:00-15:30
14:00-15:30Session 8

Diaspora engagement

The Greek diaspora in Australia: Decoupling identity and obligation towards the homeland
Elizabeth Mavroudi (Loughborough University)

Engaging the Greek-Australian diaspora: The potential to advance Greece's relations with the Asia-Pacific region
Andonis Piperoglou (Australian Catholic University)

Greek diaspora in Poland: Public relations of the economy
Olimpia Dragouni (Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin)

Surveying the Greek Diaspora in the UK
Anastasia Kafe (SEESOX, University of Oxford), Manolis Pratsinakis (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

Chair

Katerina Lagos (California State University, Sacramento)

15:30-17:00
15:30-17:00Diaspora initiatives

What is it to be done?

Nikolaos Theodorakis (BrainGain), Effie Kyrtata (Reload Greece), Nikos Stampoulopoulos (New Diaspora), Manolis Pratsinakis & Kalypso Nicolaidis (SEESOX, University of Oxford).

Chair

Othon Anastasakis (SEESOX, University of Oxford)

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