Posted at Oct 20/2005 12:37PM:
Daniel Fisher How's it going Chris? I can't say I have any specific ideas concerning my project. I do, however, foster particular disdain for the occasional stuffiness of classics and, that in mind, I appreciate your efforts to relate the past to the present. Therefore, as far as my project goes, I'd like to make the past a bit more real, to take a close look at the degree to which ancient civilization figures in our very different modern world.

Dan, you and I spoke today about the topic of the past and Greek nationalism. This is a topic of recent interest in Greece so there is a wide literature to refer to here. I recommended Michael Herzfeld's Our's Once More. I also recomend Ian Morris Introduction from his 1994 Classical Greece. Also Michael Shanks deals with this quite effectively in the Classical Archaeology book. You will want to look at the material contexts of this connection. So beyond currency which is a great starting point, in what other material contexts do you find such connections to the Greek Past? The heritage industry and tourism will be the best places to start. Here I recommend you have a flip through Lynn Meskell's Archaeology under fire and read Kostas Kotsakis' chapter, Chris.

Posted at Nov 10/2005 12:53AM:
Sorry for the delay in posting. I just got a chance to review Kotsakis' chapter in Archaeology Under Fire. It made for fairly good reading but was a bit dense at times. It provides a broad summary of how archaeology can be used for nationalistic ends, but focuses on the specific case of Macedonia and the political necessity of placing it within the historical Greek historical context. I'm more interested in the way Greece defines itself against other European nations. I'll need to re-examine Shanks and take a look at Our's Once More before getting back to you again.

Posted at Nov 10/2005 12:59AM:
Whoops, used 'historical' twice in the last post. So, when you say that "the topic of the past and Greek nationalism is of recent interest in Greece," do you mean the way in which Greece incorporates various aspects of its myriad internal identity to give itself national cohesiveness or the way in which Greece distinguishes itself among European nations (i.e. as a source and reference point to high culture)? Both perhaps?

Posted at Nov 10/2005 08:04AM:
Chris Witmore: Both. But, the theme of nationalism and archaeology has received a great deal of scholarly interest over the last 20 years or so. Let me know how the readings progress. Also let's hammer out what form the final product will take!