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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Negotiating identity, connecting through culture: Hellenism and Neohellenism in Greek America

Anagnostu, Georgios
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1371560740

Abstract Details

1999, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Greek and Latin.
This dissertation addresses the construction of racial and cultural identities among Greek Americans within the theoretical context of "white studies." I argue that early in the 20th century, Greek immigrants capitalized on the discourse of Hellenism to present themselves as legitimate members of the "white" American community. The claim of a biological continuity between ancient and modern Greeks served as a rhetorical strategy to differentiate Greek immigrants from their southeastern European counterparts and consequently to contest their representation as a degenerate race. The argument that Greek immigrants were Hellenes, and therefore the cultural predecessors of American ideals, enabled the immigrants to transcend their ethnic identification by making available to them a legitimate claim to what was perceived as the universal ideals of Hellenism. The second part of this dissertation addresses issues of contemporary Greek-American culture and identity. Through an in-depth analysis of ethnographic narratives I show that Hellenism and Neohellenism offer themselves as meaningful cultural resources from which individuals draw to attach meaning to their lives. Therefore I caution against any view that homogenizes the cultural space of "whiteness" and relegates "white ethnicity" as role playing and a set of easily disposable social practices. My findings suggest that rather than being determined by a particular culture, cultural identities are constructed in the intersection of complex connections from diverse cultural traditions. Therefore, I develop the notion of "cultural connectivity" which enables us to understand the creative fusion, juxtaposition or negotiations individuals could undertake with available and diverse cultural resources. The notion of "cultural connectivity" intervenes in our conceptualization of the category normally described as "white Americans." Here I show that "ethnic cultures" offer themselves as a meaning-making resource for the "non-Greek" individuals I interviewed. This finding points to a process of ethnicization in American culture where ethnic cultures become the primary sources of self-identification. I suggest that ethnic descent is not necessarily a factor determining an individual's cultural affiliation. The notion of "cultural connectivity" can be fruitfully employed in this respect to underline the notion that individuals can develop multiple links with cultures irrespective of ethnic descent.
Vassilios Lambropoulos (Advisor)
Sabra Webber (Advisor)
Cultural Anthropology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Anagnostu, G. (1999). Negotiating identity, connecting through culture: Hellenism and Neohellenism in Greek America [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1371560740

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Anagnostu, Georgios. Negotiating identity, connecting through culture: Hellenism and Neohellenism in Greek America. 1999. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1371560740.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Anagnostu, Georgios. "Negotiating identity, connecting through culture: Hellenism and Neohellenism in Greek America." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 1999. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1371560740

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 1999, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.