The Status of Modern Greek Studies in Higher Education: A Case Study on the West Coast of the United States

Abstract

This paper surveys the status of Modern Greek Studies programs on the West Coast of the United States. It compiles some preliminary data of the long-standing programs at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), the University of Arizona (UA), and San Francisco State University (SFSU). In countering how corporatization has gradually eroded the ideals of public education in the United States, the paper proposes the re-instilling of democratic values in the curriculum from the vantage point of Modern Greek and Greek American Studies. It draws from Henry A. Giroux and Susan Searls Giroux's recent argument for a democratic paideia, inspired by the philosophy of Cornelius Castoriadis.