Public Scholarship and Greek America: Personal Reflections, Intellectual Vocations

Abstract

This essay explores Modern Greek Studies as public scholarship from the angle of Greek American cultural studies. The author’s intellectual biography serves as a departure point to situate Modern Greek Studies as an organic location from which to empower Greek American studies. The dimension of public engagement comes into view through the following question: What is the place of cultural critique in the context of collaborative public engagement? The discussion identifies a range of possibilities for public collaboration and reflects on their respective implications. This work aims not only to explicate prospects of public scholarship for Modern Greek Studies, but also make a case in this context for the intellectual importance of Greek America as a subject intertwined with Modern Greek Studies.