This event introduced the new book by Dimitris Tziovas, titled 'Greece from Junta to Crisis: modernization, transition, diversity'.

The recent economic crisis in Greece has triggered national self-reflection and prompted a re-examination of the political and cultural developments in the country since 1974. While many other books have investigated the politics and economics of this transition, this study turns its attention to the cultural aspects of post-dictatorship Greece. By problematizing the notion of modernization, it analyzes socio-cultural trends in the years between the fall of the junta and the economic crisis, highlighting the growing diversity and cultural ambivalence of Greek society. With its focus on issues such as identity, antiquity, religion, language, literature, media, cinema, youth, gender and sexuality, this study is one of the first to examine cultural trends in Greece over the last fifty years. Aiming for a more nuanced understanding of recent history, it offers a fresh perspective on current problems.

Meet our speakers and chair 

Dimitris Tziovas is Professor of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Birmingham. He has taught as a visiting Professor at a number of European and American Universities and is the author of The Other Self: Selfhood and Society in Modern Greek Fiction (2003) and Greece from Junta to Crisis: Modernization, Transition and Diversity (2021) and editor of Re-Imagining the Past: Greek Antiquity and Modern Greek Culture (2014) and Greece in Crisis: The Cultural Politics of Austerity (2017). He has also published a number of books in Greek.

Thalia Dragonas is Professor Emerita of Social Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She was Dean of School of Education and Chair of Department of Early Childhood Education. Her research and publications are on minorities, refugee integration, psychosocial identities, intergroup relations, social inclusion, intercultural education, ethnocentrism in the educational system, prevention and promotion of early psychosocial health. She co-directed a 22 year-long intervention for the education of the historical Muslim minority in Greece. She served as an MP with PASOK and was Special Secretary at the Greek Ministry of Education on Educational Planning and Intercultural Education.

Stathis Kalyvas (@SKalyvas) is Gladstone Professor of Government at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, and a fellow of All Souls College. Until 2018 he was Arnold Wolfers Professor of Political Science at Yale University, where he founded and directed the Program on Order, Conflict, and Violence and co-directed the Hellenic Studies Program. In 2019 he founded and directs the T. E. Lawrence Program on Conflict and Violence at All Souls College. He has written extensively on civil wars, ethnicity, and political violence. His current research focuses on global trends in political violence and conflict. He has an additional interest in the history and politics of Greece.

Kevin Featherstone is Eleftherios Venizelos Professor in Contemporary Greek Studies and Professor in European Politics in the European Institute at LSE, where he is also Director of the Hellenic Observatory.

* Buy this book with a 35% discount, using the code GREECEJUNTA35UK valid until midnight on 30 April 2022.
Please note the code is only valid on //Bloomsbury.com/uk and they aren’t currently able to deliver print copies to EU addresses.

More about this event

The Hellenic Observatory (@HO_LSE) is internationally recognised as one of the premier research centres on contemporary Greece and Cyprus. It engages in a range of activities, including developing and supporting academic and policy-related research; organisation of conferences, seminars and workshops; academic exchange through visiting fellowships and internships; as well as teaching at the graduate level through LSE's European Institute.

Twitter Hashtag for this event is: #LSEGreece

Podcast

Listen to the podcast here.

Video 

Watch the video here.