Narratives of Greekness in the Diaspora

Abstract

The present study aims at analyzing the ethno-cultural identity of Greeks abroad. The basic axis of investigation is the field of Greekness and the analysis of its structural elements, as projected by the Greek people of the diaspora. The author’s involvement in the program “Education for Greeks Abroad program – Paideia Omogenon (The implementation of the program had been assigned to the University of Crete and more specifically to the Centre of Intercultural and Migration Studies (E.DIA.M.ME.) at the Primary Education Department of the University directed by Professor Michael Damanakis. The main goal was to maintain, develop and promote the Greek language and culture among Greeks and their descendants who live abroad through the improvement of primary and secondary Greek language education in the diaspora.)^” gave her the research stimuli so as to approach the issue of the identity of Greeks abroad. Different types of diaspora with different historic circumstances lead to different types of interconnections between Greek populations and the national centre. Focusing on three different examples of diaspora, and more specifically on Greek students in Germany, the United States of America and in countries of the former Soviet Union, the study attempts to analyze their ethno-cultural identity, the basic axis of investigation being the semantic field of Greekness. Particularly, the chapter attempts to outline the way the Greeks abroad assume Greek-based traits of their identity, how they internalize them and what content they attribute to them.