Abstracts for Select Papers
"Creating Greeks in Canada: Theories of Ethnicity and Multiculturalism" (1997)
This paper provides an overview of the history of Canadian multiculturalism and its influences on Greek Canadian ethnic identity. I apply the theories of ethnogenesis and symbolic ethnicity, popularized in the United States, to the Greek Canadian Community in Calgary, Alberta. In my conclusions I state that although the community has been experiencing its own ethnogenesis over time, symbolic ethnic identity is not yet part of the current reality. This, in part, is due to the migration of Greeks into Canada during the 1960s when multiculturalism was popularized. This paper also makes predictions concerning the transnational trajectory of Greek Canadian ethnic identity and the global link between Greeks of the diaspora and homeland.
"Citizens of the TransNation: Political Activism and Greek Canadian Ethnic Identity" (1998) In world politics, diasporas are being recognized as actors on the international political scene. For the Greek diaspora, the break-up of Yugoslavia and the creation of an independent Macedonia sparked incredible reactions throughout Greece, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States. In this paper I look one Greek Canadian community and its reaction to the independence of Macedonia in 1991. Community members signed a petition which was given to the Canadian federal government and also held a protest rally. I argue that such political expressions are important markers of ethnic identity in diasporas and that they challenge current ideas of citizenship and nationalism. In addition, they mark a moment in which distant communities which have a sense of ethnic solidarity utilize their transnational links such as Internet, satellite television, and newspapers to respond to crises in the homeland.
Published in Diaspora: Journals of Transnational Studies
Spring 1998, Volume 7 Number 1, Pages 53-74
"The Anthropology of Greece: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives" (1997)
This paper provides an overview to the important works on the Anthropology of Greece that have been written since the 1950s. It discusses the debates of doing 'Mediterranean anthropology' and theories that have gone beyond the honor/shame complex. I take a critical look at Jill Dubisch's 'In a Different Place' which explores actos of pilgrimage through an analysis of politics and gender on Tinos. 'A Place in History' by Michael Herzfeld which discusses monumental and social time in Rethemnos and the ownership of history. Renee Hirschon, in 'Heirs to the Greece Catastrophe', gives an account of the Athenian quarter of Yerania which was settled by Asia Minor Greeks after the Balkan War. Finally I contrast these three works about specific localities with Loring Danforth's 'The Macedonian Conflict,' a decidedly postmodern account of Greek and Macedonian ethnic nationalism and its proliferation in the diaspora through transnational processes. In conclusion I apply the current concerns of social theory to these works including globalization, the interplay between the local and the global, Greece's position in the EU, postnational processes, and the role of the anthropologist.
In Search of Adonis: Marriage Stategies and the Renegotiation of Gender Identity in Transnational Migration (2003)
Transnational migration, or the circular pattern of mobility between two or more nation-states, has been a relatively new phenomenon studied by social scientists. Focusing mainly on household economics and social networking, scholars are only now accounting for the effects of transnational migration on gender identity or marriage. Using the case of the Greek diaspora, this paper explores how transnational migration itself is used as a marriage strategy among young Greek Canadian women who travel to Greece in search of new lifestyles and potential marriage partners. I argue that the imagining of Greece as the ancestral homeland is realized through satellite t.v., travel, Internet and other forms of rapidly changing communications by creating a sense of belonging that transcends spatial and temporal distances. This movement represents a new chapter in the history of Greek migration since few Greeks are seeking permanent settlement in Canada but are instead choosing to engage in lifestyles that allow greater mobility and flexibility. Conversely, some Greeks born and raised in Canada are exploring new possibilities in Greece, even while their aging immigrant parents remain in Canada. The search for an idyllic lifestyle and spouse has implications for how gender identity is performed and constrained by social conventions as individuals move between two different nation-states and two different gender systems. In addition, the "type" of ideal spouse sought in both Greece and Canada exposes underlying assumptions about the development of Greek ethnic and gender identity in the diaspora. As such, I adress what "marriage strategies" constitute in the context of a globally mobile Greek population, and how women, traditionally viewed as a commodity in marriage exchange, utilize education and economic success to become decision makers in their marital choices (and conversely how they are reinserted into a patriarchal system once a choice has been made).
Revisiting the Immigrant Family: The Impact of Transnational Migration on Family and Marriage in the Greek Diaspora" (2000) The study of transnationalism, as an emerging research field, is influencing how scholars regard the causes and effects of international migration. This paper addresses the rising intellectual interest in transnational migration while taking pause at the very definition and limits of this new field of inquiry. Using the case of Greek Canadian youth, I explore the motives for transnational migration in the Greek Canadian community of Calgary, Canada. I trace a vital movement in the Greek Canadian community in which young people first experience Greece through cyclical summer vacation travel and then, as they make the transition to young adulthood, choose to transform travel into cycles of migration. I address how Greek Canadian youth, growing up in the folds of an immigrant community centered around the Greek Orthodox church, are socialized to view Greece as their homeland, both in imagined and real terms. Specifically I relate how technologies such as the Internet, e-mail, rapid (and cheaper) travel, and satellite television are helping young Greek Canadians redefine their identity vis-à-vis the homeland by embracing a particular version of global Greekness. The Greek diaspora imagines itself in the context of Canadian society and the world of Greece in ways that promote transnational identities, and in some individuals, the desire to "return" to the homeland. Among Greek Canadian youth this sometimes mean a rejection of Canadian multiculturalism and "hybrid" culture for what they perceive as authentic culture - that of the homeland. On a theoretical note, I investigate the ideas of "travel" and "migration" - two seemingly different practices with distinct motivations whose boundaries are blurred in this case. Travel, particularly to Greece, invokes images of nude beaches and night clubs, Byron and the Parthenon. Popularized by such films as Shirley Valentine, travelling to Greece means shedding inhibitions while embracing a hedonistic tourist culture. Migration, however, historically seen as an economic endeavor, seems to have little in common with the practice of tourism. Greek Canadian transmigrants have ready-made social networks in Greece composed of extended kin and friends who facilitate the transition to a seemingly familiar, yet foreign, culture. Studying the social fields which transcend nation-state boundaries exposes how identities and culture are renegotiated through the practice of transnational migration. By presenting the case of young Greek Canadian transmigrants, who are both outsiders and insiders to Greece, I seek to complicate the research field of transnational migration by demonstrating how the very concepts we use shape the ways we think about this form of migration.
Presented at the
American Ethnological Society Annual Conference
"The Social Worlds of Children, Adolescents and Youth
In the Context of Transnational Migration"
Tampa, Florida - March 2000
"Reversing the Trend: the Immigration of Greek Canadians to Greece and Impacts on Pan-European Identity" (1997)
The idea of adopting a pan-European identity is inherently problematic considering the localizing tendencies of ethnicity. This is particularly the case for individuals of Greek ethnic identity who immigrate to Greece from diasporic communities in Canada and the United States. The identity of these individuals is constructed through their ancestral link to Greece while containing core elements of American or Canadian world view as well. Furthermore, their ethnic orientation is founded in their commitment to the idea of Greece as their homeland and shared experience which evokes emotions of nostalgia, ethnic pride, and nationalism. The identity of these migrants counters the construction of a pan-European identity since they identify first and foremost as Greeks, and secondly as Americans or Canadians. There is no perceived link with the larger construct of Europe, thus identity remains localized at the level of the ethnic group. This presence of diasporic Greeks in Greece could undermine the broader notion of European identity by reinforcing the reified nature of "Greekness" as it was constructed abroad in opposition to the dominant American and Canadian societies. Can Europe lay claim to these individuals, who, although residing within its constructed borders do not conceive of Europe as part of their identity.
Presented at the
The 11th Annual Conference of Europeanists
Council for European Studies
"Nostalgic Homelands and Imagined Futures: Local Ethnographies
of Heritage and Homeland in the European Union"
Baltimore, Maryland - February 1998
"The Greek Orthodox Church and Greek Ethnic Identity in California: When an Ethnic Institution Becomes Multicultural" (1997) This paper addresses the changing nature of Greek identity in California's Central Valley as it is constructed through the institution of the Greek Orthodox church. Specific attention is given to the interplay between the Orthodox church as the primary marker of Greek identity and the infiltration of other Orthodox peoples who are not of Greek descent into the church hierarchy and its related institutions. The membership of the church is shifting to a more multicultural constituency which has consequences for the definition of the Greek Orthodox church as an ethnic Greek institution. In relation to this, the issue of identity becomes problematized for Greeks in this particular community who must reassess the role of the Greek Orthodox church in defining the boundaries of their collective identity.
Presented at the
Social Science History Association Conference
"The Consequences of Migration for Greek Identity"
Washington, D.C. - October 1997
"The Anthropologist had a Dowry: "Native" Status and the Politics of Gender in a Canadian Ethnic Community" (2000) Two familiar dilemmas in contemporary fieldwork are the politics of being a female ethnographer and the debate between insider versus outsider status. As Kirin Narayan notes, one's position as a "native" anthropologist does not necessarily overshadow other factors such as gender, class, sexual orientation or race. This paper revisits recent feminist critiques of ethnography by focusing on the intersections of "native" status and gender during fieldwork. How does one's status as an insider create ethical dilemmas in one's behavior as a woman and anthropologist? Female ethnographers face a variety of problems based on the patriarchal assumptions of the community or society being studied. These can include pressure to lie about one's marital status, using male privilege to enter the field and gain rapport, or to dress according to gender norms. Based on my fieldwork experiences in a Greek Canadian community, I offer an account of how my own status as a "native" and a woman has been contested, renegotiated and reinforced over three years of research . Particularly, I propose that insider status is often as much a curse as a blessing and that dichotomized views of insider/outsider status do not account for intersections with gender, race or class.
Presented at the
Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) Annual Conference
"Anthropology at Home: Dilemmas and Opportunities"
Calgary, AB Canada - May 2000
"Decolonizing Anthropology and the Transformation of a Discipline: When Going "Native" is Not an Option" (2001)
I am the Margin of the Margins
I am an anthropologist. South of the 49th parallel I am Greek American, US citizen, female white majority, academic, second generation on the path to assimilation. North of 49 I am Greek multicultural, Canadian citizen, "exchange student," voice of the Greek immigrant experience and champion of Greek culture, daughter-of-so-and-so, anthropologist on a one year lease, option to buy. I am the margin of the margins. I study middle class whites - who, according to statistics take about 2.5 generations to assimilate. Am I their voice of defiance in the face of such sweeping accusations? What will they think of my account of their community, their Greekness? Already there is disagreement. My ideas on gender change in the community are met with raised eyebrows. Older immigrants regard me with suspicion and refuse to answer my demographic survey thinking I will betray them to the government. I fight gender stereotypes that I am "just a Greek woman" and politely decline the advances of Greek bachelors looking for new prey. What if, in the end, I agree with the statistics and proclaim the twilight of their ethnicity? My conscience, my sense of Greek pride, prevents me. It comes down to priorities. What responsibility do I have to the anthropological enterprise? How can a paradigm ever compare to the accountability I feel towards flesh and blood informants, friends, relatives, my "people." If the divine voice of academic authority declares that all is well in Greek North America - the baklava fresh, the dancing lively, the language preserved - doesn't that make it true?
Presented at the
American Anthropological Association Annual Conference
Invited Session: "Decolonizing Anthropology and the Transformation of a Discipline: When Going "Native" is Not an Option"
Washington, D.C. - November 2001
Downloading New Identities: Ethnicity and Technology in the Global Greek Village
This paper addresses the ways in which new media and technology contest how Greek immigrant communities in North America are organized and structured. New technologies allow Greeks to supercede their physical community and interface, via computer, television or periodical, with Greeks on a global scale. I argue that current uses in media and technology signal the creation of new dimensions to Greek diasporic identity, and imply stronger ties with the homeland thus contesting traditional assimilation paradigms which indicate European ethnic groups are in the twilight of their existence. These findings suggest an increase in application of new technologies among the first and second generations with interesting implications for our understanding of ethnic identity. I propose the advent of high-tech forms of media in the last fifteen years has created new outlets for expressing ethnicity among those who already have some Greek ethnic consciousness. The means of acquiring social and cultural capital within diasporic communities is expanded to include these new forms of media which then has implications for habitus and daily practices
In Identities: Global Studies in Power and Culture 10.2:201-219(2003)
Anthropology for the Cyber Masses
This article asks the question "does anthropology have a public face in cyberspace and how well does it inform the general public about what we do?" I argue that anthropologists can do much to provide the general public starting with the dissemination of their research through the Internet.
In Anthropology News 44.9 (December 2003)