Optional Modules
Optional Modules
Specialisation: Literature - Culture
The module examines the entirety of Greek-French relations during the 20th century, emphasizing political, diplomatic, educational, and scientific relations. The focus of the module is on the institutional dimension of Greek-French cultural relations, particularly the role played by the state institutions of the two countries. Aspects of cultural diplomacy and the transnational cooperation that developed between France and Greece during this period will be analyzed.
Modules:
1. Historical Panorama: Diplomatic relations between Greece and France in the 20th century.
2. Aspects of Greek-French Institutional Cooperation: Transnational cultural agreements and joint commissions.
3. Francophiles and Germanophiles in 20th Century Greece: Groupings and rivalries.
4. French Educational and Cultural Institutions in Greece: The French Institute of Athens.
5. French Scientific Institutions in Greece: The French School of Athens and the Athens School of Pasteur.
6. Student Emigration: The study of Greeks in French higher education institutions.
7. The Scholarship Policy of the French State and Greek Scholarship Holders.
8. French-Greek Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education: The establishment of chairs, the creation of research centers, and the operation of university institutions.
9. Greece as a Place of Pilgrimage: Visits and lectures by French scientists and intellectuals.
10. France as a Host Country: Migrations and Greek communities.
11. French Military Missions and Modernization of the Greek Armed Forces (first half of the 20th century).
12. France as a Place of Political Exile in the 20th Century: Refugees and self-exiles from the Metaxas period to the dictatorship.
This module is an initiation into the decisive role that translation, in general, and literary translation, in particular, played in shaping Greek society from the period of the Greek Enlightenment (1770-1821), as well as in the years when the young Greek state took its first steps in the 19th century, without losing its decisive role in the 20th century.
Modules:
1. Greek Enlightenment and Translation. Adamantios Korais and the metacenosis.
2. Issues of Translation Theory from the Greek Enlightenment Thinkers.
3. Mapping the Translation Landscape from the Late 18th Century to the 1830s.
4. The Literary Translation Revolution of the 1840s.
5. The Counter-Revolution of the 1850s.
6. The 1860s and 1870s and the Boom of French Translations.
7. From Boom to Bust: The 1880s and 1890s.
8. Mapping Translation Production from the Early 20th Century to the Dawn of the 21st Century.
9. The Paths of French Writers in Greek Literature.
10. Portraits of Translators.
11. The Works, the Originals, and their Translations.
12. The Publishing Landscape.
13. Overview of the Translation Adventure.
If from its conception French literature was widely inspired by Ancient Greece, France and French letters have been a source of attraction for many writers of modern Greece. In this module, we focus on Greek Francophone writers from the 19th century to the present. We present the lives and intellectual trajectories of Greek writers who chose to write in French for all or part of their work, and explore the reasons that led each of them to the decision to adopt French. This is followed by an analysis of typical excerpts from literary works by Greek French-speaking authors, written directly in French.
Modules:
1. Introduction: France and French letters as a source of inspiration for Greek writers - Greek French-speaking writers (from the 19th century to the present day).
2. Jean Μoréas
3. Jean Psichari
4. Nikos Kazantzakis
5. Melpo Axioti
6. Gisèle Prassinos
7. André Kédros
8. Marguerite Libéraki
9. Clément Lépidis
10. Georges Haldas and Théo Crassas
11. Vassilis Alexakis
12. Takis Théodoropoulos
The module aims to examine the relationship between literature and the theatrical and cinematic spectacle, exploring the “intersemiotic” translation of literary texts both on stage and on screen, i.e., theatrical dramatization and filmic adaptation of French novels (cf. Robert Bresson / Diderot, Renoir / Zola, Maupassant, Mérimée, Flaubert). The filmic adaptation of French plays will also be presented through specific examples (see Labiche / René Clair, theatrical and cinematic Jean Cocteau), tracing the ideological expansion of these two arts. Through the analysis of specific examples, "texts" - adaptations will be studied as cultural metaphors and as aesthetic objects of conversation and interaction between genres, and the notions of literariness and theatricality will be redefined.
The module focuses on phenomena related to the themes of migration, exile, and diaspora in their historical and literary dimensions. The aim is to trace the various manifestations of these phenomena from the late 18th century, when a Greek community was gradually formed in Paris, until the period of the Doctorate in Greece, when ties with France culminated at institutional, intellectual, artistic, and political levels.
The module examines how the initiatives of the expatriates contributed decisively to the final shaping of the ideological framework within which the Greek liberation struggle was prepared and how, after the creation of the independent Greek state, the Greek community in France retained part of its earlier political role, which, in fact, was upgraded during periods of national crises in Hellenism. The module also explores how the experience of emigration and exile permeates the work of many writers.
The problematic of cultural identity in the context of Francophone regions is an area of research that is increasingly found in the humanities and social sciences. In recent years, this problematic has been approached through many theoretical perspectives, while always being situated in a postcolonial context, since Francophonie is "a (post)colonial discovery" (Dominique Combe). The module will approach historical and social contexts as building blocks of identity, transnational cultures, migratory and diasporic cultures, and notions of cosmopolitanism and borderland, focusing on the geographical contexts of the Maghreb, the Antilles, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The module focuses on the concepts of “gender,” “public space,” “citizenship,” “politics,” “feminism/s,” and tries to trace their relationships within the Greek-French space from the late 18th century to the present day. It addresses issues that run through modernity and examines the historicity of the above categories: their historical formation and their changing meanings, a process directly linked to periods of political-social and international crises, such as revolutions and wars (the French Revolutions of 1789, 1830, 1848, the Commune, the 1821 Revolution, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and the Greek-Turkish War of 1897, the First and Second World Wars).
In the context of the module, the individual points of discussion relate to the claims to citizenship, which are never neutral, but are, of module, linked to the parameter of gender and are directly linked to access to education and work, but also to civil rights in the context of the institution of marriage. In addition, the emphasis of the second wave of feminism on the political dimension of what had hitherto been considered 'personal' issues turns the focus of attention to issues relating to the body, reproduction, and sexuality. The consolidation of institutional and state feminism after the 1980s and the related policies of the European Union brought to the fore the issue of the equal presence of the sexes in the public sphere and, directly related to the first, the issue of linguistic inequality at all levels of linguistic analysis.
Modules:
1. Theoretical, methodological, and historiographical issues.
2-3. The formation of “gender consciousness” in Greece and France in the 19th century, a prerequisite for the emergence of “feminist consciousness” and the assertion of rights — civil, social, and especially political — that constitute the gendered content of citizenship (expanded approach to the political). The birth of the feminist movement in the two countries.
4-5-6. Perceptions, gendered educational theories, and policies from the century of lights to the present day in France and Greece. Gender access to knowledge and at all levels of education as a prerequisite for access to public life. Wage labour as a basis for the formation of identities and the organization of collective action.
7. The assertion of civil rights in Greece and France during the inter-war period. The transformation of the concept of citizenship.
8-9. Gendered approaches to the two world wars.
10-11. The institutionalization of universal suffrage. The second wave of the feminist movement in Greece and France in the 1970s and 1980s. Institutional feminism and the issue of gender equality in the public sphere (1980-2015).
12. Presentation of research papers.
Issues related to the relationship between language and society, mainly in its historical dimension, are addressed. Indicatively:
1. The history of the formation of French and Greek as national languages.
2. The history of language regulation and standardization in France: the French Academy, grammars, Remarqueurs, “bon usage.”
3. Centrifugal forces: Canada, “francophonie.”
4. Ideas of language in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Their influence on ideas about the Greek language.
5. Perceptions and attitudes toward language, temporal and inter-linguistic approach: linguistic purification, linguistic insecurity.
The module aims to train students in theoretical reflection on the literary phenomenon: definition and function of literature, the relationship between literature, history, and society, issues of reading and interpretation of the literary text. It examines the basic elements of the emergence of literary theory and criticism in modern times, and in particular, the formation of relevant trends and schools from the second half of the 20th century to the present day. Emphasis is placed on the various manifestations of French and Francophone thought, as well as on theories and methods of investigating the reception and translation of literary works.
Guided by recent theoretical studies that focus on the importance of material objects in the cultural life of a society and the complex relations between archaeological discourse and national ideologies, the module examines literary texts in which ancient materials play a central role. Issues such as the animation of antiquities, the relations between literary and archaeological discourse, and the archaeological constitution of literary writing are explored.
Starting from an approach to the definition of the classical, the shifts, the different approaches, and the contestations of antiquity, the module focuses on the reception of ancient and modern Greece in France. Among the issues examined are the role of Hellenists and then Neohellenists in shaping the image of Greece in France, and the formation of cultural networks, the chairs of ancient and modern Greek literature in French universities, the role of cultural institutions and cultural diplomacy, the reception of ancient theatre in French drama, Greek antiquity and French neoclassicism, antiquity as an object of national construction in France, and the representations of Greek antiquity in French art. The module also delves into the role of publishing production (periodical and scientific press, publishers, printers, printed matter, etc.), the role of Greek cultural institutions and cultural diplomacy in France, and the role of French cultural institutions and cultural diplomacy in Greece.
The aim of the postgraduate module is to introduce and train students in modern software that supports translation practice. The goal is to develop skills in the selection and use of appropriate translation tools depending on the type of translation, as well as to familiarise students with new technologies and modern translation practices directly related to the labour market.
Modules:
1. Introduction to language technology
2. The role of technology in translation
3. Corpus linguistics
4. Terminological databases
5. Translation project management and coordination tools (projects)
6-7-8. Translation memories
9-10. Audiovisual and multimedia translation
11. Localisation tools
12. Post-editing, crowdsourcing, collaborative translation, collaboration forums and collaborative translation platforms.
Within the framework of the module, special topics in literature will be approached, which will be determined by the respective lecturer(s) and will cover a specialized scientific field.
The module addresses specific topics in the history of French culture, to be determined by the lecturer(s) and covering a specialized scientific field.
Optional Modules
Specialisation: Translation
The course aims to train students in the translation of particular forms of literary expression, such as poetry and theatre. The exact subject matter will be determined according to the interests of students and instructors. This is a laboratory-type course, combining criticism of published translations with translation work by the students themselves. The course also includes basic elements of theory and technique of the corresponding genre (French and Greek prosody and elements of metrics, theory, and technique of theatrical performance). Working texts relate to a variety of trends from the 19th century to contemporary forms of poetic and theatrical expression.
Adaptation is the ultimate act of translation, encompassing the set of processes required to transition from one textual form to another, textual or non-textual, while carrying the same message. The most important elements that the adaptor must take into account are cultural references, style, and the place and time of production of the source text, in order to decide which of these are to be preserved and which are to be changed in the new version of the text to be adapted. The main factors determining these choices are the genre of the target text and the audience to which it is addressed. Through examples of mainly literary, theatrical, and film adaptations of classical and contemporary French literary works, the mechanisms that determine these choices in each case are examined, as well as the consistency that these choices require for an adaptation to be successful.
In the first introductory three-hour session, we will become acquainted with the concept of creative writing and the role it plays in our time, where the internet offers endless possibilities for publishing and reading. In the next ten sessions, we will focus on four key abstract concepts: loss, memory, freedom, and happiness, and we will explore how French philosophers, poets, prose writers, and columnists from the 19th and 20th centuries negotiated these concepts. We will focus on style as the primary vehicle of the message and practice writing, in turn producing texts centered on these concepts. The genres we will engage with in the exercises are the poem, short story, essay, and letter. They have been chosen for variety, but also for their potential for independence, in order to be completed within the one-week period between one meeting and the next. At the end, we will edit an essay by each participant, with the aim of creating a blog where we will publish the fruits of our meetings.
The course involves the systematic study and interpretation of the retranslations of important works of French literature into Greek and their critical evaluation based on literary criticism and translation theory. Original texts and different translation versions will be analysed in light of concepts such as “translation horizon,” “translation project,” “right”, “wrong”, “divergent homology”, “relative divergence”, “radical divergence”, “adaptation”, etc.
Since its inception at the beginning of the 19th century, comparative literature has been a discipline in crisis: 20th century comparativists regularly announce its death or the disciplines that are preparing to replace it. According to its critics, comparative literature can hardly be considered a science, as it has no exclusive object of study or methods of its own.
The practice of comparative literature is inextricably linked to its history, and its boundaries change according to the theoretical or institutional context of the time. The course aims to introduce students to the history of this protean discipline and the methods it has used or still uses, focusing on the transformation of its critical and theoretical presuppositions since the emergence of “theory”.
Course modules:
1. Introduction: What is comparative grammar?
2. Comparative Literature in the 19th Century
3. Comparative Literature in the 20th Century
4. Nationalism and Comparative Literature
5. Comparative Literature and Literary History I: Period, Trend, Genre, Canon
6. Comparative Literature and Literary History II: From Quellenforschung to the Concept of Influence in Intertextuality and Theories of Reading
7. Comparative Grammar and Literary History III: The Aesthetics of Reception and the New Literary History
8. From Thematic Criticism and the History of Ideas to Structuralism
9. Comparative Grammar and Translation
10. Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
11. Literature and the Arts
12. Literature and Law.
If from its conception French literature was widely inspired by Ancient Greece, France and French letters have been a source of attraction for many writers of modern Greece. In this course, we focus on Greek Francophone writers from the 19th century to the present. We present the lives and intellectual trajectories of Greek writers who chose to write in French for all or part of their work, and explore the reasons that led each of them to the decision to adopt French. This is followed by an analysis of typical excerpts from literary works by Greek French-speaking authors, written directly in French.
Course modules:
1. Introduction: France and French letters as a source of inspiration for Greek writers - Greek French-speaking writers (from the 19th century to the present day).
2. Jean Μoréas
3. Jean Psichari
4. Nikos Kazantzakis
5. Melpo Axioti
6. Gisèle Prassinos
7. André Kédros
8. Marguerite Libéraki
9. Clément Lépidis
10. Georges Haldas and Théo Crassas
11. Vassilis Alexakis
12. Takis Théodoropoulos
The course aims to examine the relationship between literature and the theatrical and cinematic spectacle, exploring the “celebrity” translation of literary texts both on stage and on screen, i.e., theatrical dramatization and filmic adaptation of French novels (cf. Robert Bresson / Diderot, Renoir / Zola, Maupassant, Mérimée, Flaubert). The filmic adaptation of French plays will also be presented through specific examples (see Labiche / René Clair, theatrical and cinematic Jean Cocteau), tracing the ideological expansion of these two arts. Through the analysis of specific examples, "texts" - adaptations will be studied as cultural metaphors and as aesthetic objects of conversation and interaction between genres, and the notions of literariness and theatricality will be redefined.
Issues related to the relationship between language and society, mainly in its historical dimension, are addressed. Indicatively:
1. The history of the formation of French and Greek as national languages.
2. The history of language regulation and standardization in France: the French Academy, grammars, Remarqueurs, “bon usage.”
3. Centrifugal forces: Canada, “francophonie.”
4. Ideas of language in the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Their influence on ideas about the Greek language.
5. Perceptions and attitudes toward language, temporal and inter-linguistic approach: linguistic purification, linguistic insecurity.
The course focuses on phenomena related to the themes of migration, exile, and diaspora in their historical and literary dimensions. The aim is to trace the various manifestations of these phenomena from the late 18th century, when a Greek community was gradually formed in Paris, until the period of the Doctorate in Greece, when ties with France culminated at institutional, intellectual, artistic, and political levels.
The course examines how the initiatives of the expatriates contributed decisively to the final shaping of the ideological framework within which the Greek liberation struggle was prepared and how, after the creation of the independent Greek state, the Greek community in France retained part of its earlier political role, which, in fact, was upgraded during periods of national crises in Hellenism. The course also explores how the experience of emigration and exile permeates the work of many writers.
The problematic of cultural identity in the context of Francophone regions is an area of research that is increasingly found in the humanities and social sciences. In recent years, this problematic has been approached through many theoretical perspectives, while always being situated in a postcolonial context, since Francophonie is "a (post)colonial discovery" (Dominique Combe). The course will approach historical and social contexts as building blocks of identity, transnational cultures, migratory and diasporic cultures, and notions of cosmopolitanism and borderland, focusing on the geographical contexts of the Maghreb, the Antilles, and sub-Saharan Africa.
The course covers issues relating to:
- translation in specialized fields, such as:
translation of children's/juvenile literature, detective literature, comics, translation of specialized texts (medical, legal, technical, scientific, economic, tourism), subtitling, audiovisual translation, celebrity translation, machine translation and post-editing, collaborative translation, digital text editing, etc.
- translation-related issues such as:
translation and cultural elements, translation of urban space, terminology and translation, translation of toponyms and anthroponyms, translation ethics, translation and ideology, sociology of translation, the profession of the translator, publishing policies, etc.
