Open Call | International Cavafy Summer School 2023

Since its inauguration in 2017, the International Cavafy Summer School has aimed to enrich and strengthen participants’ knowledge of Cavafy’s poetry and to encourage future research collaborations between junior and senior scholars from diverse disciplines. Themes explored in previous Summer Schools include “Cavafy in the World,” “Cavafy and Antiquity,” “Cavafy’s Orient/ations,” and “Cavafy Mediated.” The theme for the 2023 Summer School will be “Cavafy Across the Disciplines and the Arts.”

The 2023 Summer School, 3-8 July 2023, will address Cavafy's literary work and cultural status, as well as the poet’s virtual archive, through the lens of a broad spectrum of discourses and artistic idioms, including Cinema Studies, Creative Writing, Education, Genealogy Studies, History, Linguistics, Music, Visual Culture and more. This Summer School aims to enrich the discussion of Cavafy with new methodological paradigms and address his poetry through cross-artistic and inter-textual approaches, exploring his work's cultural relevance for interdisciplinary exchanges and collaborations across the arts and humanities. In addition to literature scholars and Modern Greek Studies specialists, the 2023 International Cavafy Summer School aims to attract advanced students and junior researchers from various fields of the arts and humanities.

The International Cavafy Summer School 2023 will be led by Peter Jeffreys (Suffolk University) and Takis Kayalis (Hellenic Open University) and will take place in the center of Athens. Among invited scholars who will hold seminars and will act as mentors, supervising and responding to participant’s presentations, are: Elsa Amanatidou (Brown University, USA), Mark Doty (Rutgers University, USA), Katerina Karatassou (Frederick University, Cyprus), Alexander Kitroeff (Haverford College, USA), Eleni Papargyriou (Hellenic Open University, Greece), Yannis Skarpelos (Panteion University), Victoria Solomonidis (University College London, UK), Thanasis Vassiliou (Poitiers University, France) and Panos Vlagopoulos (Ionian University, Greece).

The 2023 summer school will involve twelve participants meeting for six days of morning and afternoon sessions (3-8 July) with seminars offered by the invited scholars followed by presentations given by the participants. Seminar participants are expected to attend all sessions and are encouraged to engage in creative dialogue with one another, with the workshop leaders, and with the invited scholars, a format that will foster stimulating exchanges over the six-days period of the summer school session and beyond. Additional events, including cultural visits and special presentations by artists, will also be scheduled during the week. The working language of the International Cavafy Summer School will be English. Knowledge of modern Greek is not a requirement, though a measure of familiarity with Cavafy’s work is. This year’s Cavafy Summer School is particularly suitable to participants from a wide range of fields, including, but not limited to Modern Greek Studies, Comparative Literature, Creative Writing, History, Music, Cinema Studies, Art History, Education, World Literature, and the Digital Humanities.

Thanks to the generous support of the Onassis Foundation and the Cavafy Archive, the International Cavafy Summer School will cover all room and board expenses for its participants. In addition, all tuition charges and other fees will be waived. Students and early-career researchers may also apply for grants to cover their travel expenses in whole or in part.

Ph.D. candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scholars working in relevant fields are invited to apply to the 2023 International Cavafy Summer School. In exceptional circumstances, one or two graduate students at the Masters level may also be accepted, on merit of their academic preparation for and interest in the theme of the Summer School.

Applicants are asked to send:

a) a cover letter that includes a brief outline of their current research and their motivation for participating in the International Summer School (max 500 words);

b) a description of the particular topic they would like to develop in a 30-minute presentation during the International Summer School (max 300 words);

c) a detailed c.v.; and

d) contact information of an individual who could provide a reference letter in support of your application.

Participants will be recorded and portions of their presentations and/or discussions may be made public.

The deadline for applications to the International Cavafy Summer School is 27 December 2022. Successful applicants will be informed at mid-January and will be asked to submit a draft of their presentation ahead of time.