Cavafy Archive Research Seminar Series 2020-2021

Photo: Nikos Katsaros

Following up on the digitization of the Cavafy archive, this year’s Research Seminar Series focuses on the work of C. P. Cavafy from a different perspective. The online version of the archive’s contents in digital and fully documented form marks the completion of the first phase of the archive’s development and provides young scholars and researchers, academics, cultural and research institutes, and all interested parties and individuals with the opportunity to study precious items, to try out new critical approaches and to attempt to renew their research methodologies.

The 2020–2021 Research Seminar Series will be held in the form of webinars, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and will focus on the new challenges and opportunities presented by the major event of the Cavafy archive’s online opening. Seminars will highlight the ways in which literary archives – and archives in general – may be activated in the contemporary world and discuss the benefits ensuing from relevant actions.

Initially scheduled for the 2019-20 season, this educational program was postponed for a year, due to the precautionary national health measures established by the Greek government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

First Seminar

Thursday 6 May, 19:00-20:30

The Cavafy Archive in the public sphere. New uses – new approaches

This seminar will focus on new functions and uses of the Cavafy archive, in contexts and communities other than academic research, which became possible after the online opening of the digital collection. Centering on specific archival documents, panelists will discuss potential new uses of the archive as a resource for journalism, essay writing and literary criticism and reflect on other possible aspects of its function in the public sphere.

Speakers
Titika Dimitroulia (Professor at the Department of French Language and Literature, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and literary critic)
Vangelis Hatzivasiliou (literary critic)

Moderated by Takis Kayalis (Professor of Modern Greek Literature, Hellenic Open University)

Second Seminar

Thursday 13 May, 19:00-20:30

Protecting the objects: The preservation of archival and bibliographic material

This seminar will present the various types of archival material, the causes of its physical deterioration as well as examples which require a special approach with regard to the preservation and restoration of archival objects, in order to extend their lifespan or restore their aesthetic integrity. The seminar will also present the means and methods for preserving and protecting archival objects in order to save not only the information they contain, but also that borne in their very fabric.

This seminar is addressed to students and professionals of various specializations in the fields of archive, library, and museum studies.

Speakers
Angeliki Stassinou (Book and Paper Conservator, MA in Conservation, Head of the Department of Conservation and Preservation of Archival Material, General State Archives of Greece)
Penelope Banou (Paper Conservator, MA in Conservation of Fine Art, Department of Conservation and Preservation of Archival Material, General State Archives of Greece)

Moderated by Amalia Pappa (Deputy Director of the General State Archives of Greece)

Intended for students and professionals from a range of specializations from fields relating to Archives, Libraries, and Museums.

Third Seminar

Thursday 20 May, 19:00-20:30

The Cavafy Archive and university students

In the course of the seminar “Modern Greek Literature and Digital Technologies”, offered during the Fall semester of 2019 at the Department of Philology of the University of Crete, participating students became acquainted with the digital collection of the Cavafy Archive and wrote papers on topics related to its diverse contents. The main findings of selected papers, which highlight new potential uses of the Cavafy archive in research and education, will be presented by their authors, with support and commentary by the seminar’s instructor, Alexandros Katsigiannis.

Speakers: Alexandros Katsigiannis (Assistant Professor of Modern Greek Literature, University of Crete) and students from the department of Philology, University of Crete.

Moderated by Takis Kayalis (Professor of Modern Greek Literature, Hellenic Open University)

Fourth Seminar

Thursday 27 May, 19:00-20:30

The Cavafy Archive from the viewpoint of History and the History of Art

Paper A: “The Cavafy archive and Egyptian History: Items related to the British Invasion of 1882”

This paper aims to demonstrate the Cavafy archive’s significance as a source for the study of modern Egypt and, especially, for the British invasion of 1882, which resulted in the country’s colonization. The items to be discussed offer new perspectives for historical research on modern Egypt, the British Empire, the Greek community in Egypt, multicultural Alexandria, and for research on Cavafy’s life and work.

Paper B: “Images in the Cavafy archive and an art historian’s awkward moments”

This paper proposes new ways of reading images from the archive (photographs, etchings, sketches), which in some cases attempt to go beyond the limits of contextualization and documentation of the poet’s life and work. Beginning with observations on the culture of viewing at the turn of the 20th century, the paper will discuss issues including the poet’s relation to images and illustrated periodicals, the ways in which artists perceived his face, his photographs and photographs of the spaces in which he resided.

Speakers
Alexander Kazamias (Senior Lecturer of Political Science, Coventry University)
Kostas Ioannidis (Associate Professor of the Theory and History of Art, Theory and History of Art Department, Athens School of Fine Arts)

Moderated by Takis Kayalis (Professor of Modern Greek Literature, Hellenic Open University)

Fifth seminar

Thursday 3 June, 19:00-21:00

The Future of Archives

This seminar will present and discuss a series of ameliorative measures concerning the Cavafy Archive’s digital collection. These include the assignment of DOI unique codes to digital items, the introduction of automatically generated references and downloads of the items’ metadata in machine-readable format, as well as the development of a strategy for interfacing the archive’s contents and for assuring its long-term preservation. The seminar will examine the technical, organizational, and legal dimensions of these actions.

Speakers
Diomidis Spinellis (Professor in the Department of Management Science and Technology, Athens University of Economics and Business)
Prodromos Tsiavos (Head of Digital Policy and Development, Onassis Foundation)

Moderated by Amalia Pappa (Deputy Director of the General State Archives of Greece)