[MGSA-L] Greek referendum

Loring Danforth ldanfort at bates.edu
Thu Jul 2 13:24:11 PDT 2015


     With all due respect to Neni Panourgia, Prof. Kevin
Featherstone's recent post was in my opinion most welcome and fully
appropriate for the MGSA list. The line between the political and the
academic is difficult, if not impossible, to  draw. While Prof.
Featherstone's essay in Ethnos was more overtly political than his
essay in Kathimerini, the latter was completely appropriate for this
list.
     The recognition of the Republic of Macedonia and the existence of
the Macedonian minority in Greece are perfect examples of other issues
where the line between the political and the scholarly cannot be
drawn. Is the view that a Macedonian nation or a Macedonian minority
in Greece exists a political opinion or a scholarly one? I suggest the
difference depends more on how the opinion is expressed rather than
what the topic actually is. It is the difference between the slogan
"Macedonia is, was, and always will be Greek," on the one hand, and a
book on the subject published by a well respected academic press.
     Edward Said questions both "the possibility of non-political
scholarship, but also the advisability of too close a relationship
between the scholar and the state." I think Prof. Featherstone's post,
like many other posts on this list, was appropriately somewhere in
between.
Loring Danforth

On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 4:11 PM, Neni Panourgia <np255 at columbia.edu> wrote:
> Dear Danny,
>
> I did not, most emphatically, use any descriptions, epithets, or
> characterizations. So, please withdraw immediately any talk about "sewers"
> that you have attached to your response to my message.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Neni
>
> On 7/2/2015 4:08 PM, Loring Danforth wrote:
>>
>>       With all due respect to Neni Panourgia, Prof. Kevin
>> Featherstone's recent post was in my opinion most welcome and fully
>> appropriate for the MGSA list. The line between the political and the
>> academic is difficult, if not impossible, to  draw. While Prof.
>> Featherstone's essay in Ethnos was more overtly political than his
>> essay in Kathimerini, the latter was completely appropriate for this
>> list.
>>       The recognition of the Republic of Macedonia and the existence of
>> the Macedonian minority in Greece are perfect examples of other issues
>> where the line between the political and the scholarly cannot be
>> drawn. Is the view that a Macedonian nation or a Macedonian minority
>> in Greece exists a political opinion or a scholarly one? I suggest the
>> difference depends more on how the opinion is expressed rather than
>> what the topic actually is. It is the difference between the slogan
>> "Macedonia is, was, and always will be Greek," on the one hand, and a
>> book on the subject published by a well respected academic press.
>>       Edward Said questions both "the possibility of non-political
>> scholarship, but also the advisability of too close a relationship
>> between the scholar and the state." Clifford Greertz makes a similar
>> point, comparing a scholar to a surgeon. Just because "a perfectly
>> aseptic environment is impossible," he writes does not mean we "might
>> as well conduct surgery in a sewer." I certainly don't think Prof.
>> Featherstone is guilty of operating in a sewer.
>> Loring Danforth
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 2, 2015 at 3:05 PM, Neni Panourgia <np255 at columbia.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Kevin,
>>>
>>> I appreciate your concern for what is happening in Greece, politically,
>>> right at this moment. But a few years back, during the December 2008
>>> Events,
>>> we decided to enforce an already existing rule not to engage in political
>>> debate. As you have noticed, I hope, there has been no discussion on the
>>> current events, and we certainly have neither invited nor hosted relevant
>>> position papers. It is obvious that you have ample access to the Greek
>>> daily
>>> press, so please use that as your platform, as many other colleagues have
>>> done. There are also a few lists that have circulated with the signatures
>>> of
>>> colleagues supporting the two different positions, if anyone needs to
>>> know
>>> where our colleagues stand on the matter.
>>>
>>> The MGSA-List was (perhaps) needed as a space for political debate  prior
>>> to
>>> the advent of social media. Right now it needs to be preserved for
>>> academic
>>> matters.
>>>
>>> Many thanks for your understanding, Kevin.
>>>
>>> All best wishes,
>>>
>>> Neni
>>>
>>> On 7/2/2015 7:24 AM, Featherstone,K wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Colleagues,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Some of you may be interested to read two recent newspaper articles on
>>> the
>>> current situation in Greece.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In Kathimerini:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.kathimerini.gr/821259/opinion/epikairothta/politikh/otan-o-laikismos-apotygxanei
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In Ethnos:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?catid=22788&subid=2&pubid=64210228
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I appreciate there are deeply divided views, but surely all will agree
>>> that
>>> Sunday’s vote is one with major consequence and, therefore, debate is
>>> needed.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Yours,
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Kevin Featherstone
>>>
>>> LSE
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> __________________________________
>>>
>>> Professor Neni Panourgiá
>>> For reasons that Melina Merkouri explained, I Never work On Sunday
>>>
>>> 2013-2016
>>> Visiting Associate Professor
>>> Anthropology Department
>>> The New School for Social Research
>>> 6 East 16th Street, Office 921
>>> Tel. 212-229-5757
>>> New York, NY 10011
>>>
>>> ICLS
>>> Heyman Center for the Humanities,
>>> Columbia University,
>>> New York, NY 10027
>>>
>>>
>>> Social Sciences Editor
>>> Journal of Modern Greek Studies
>>>
>>> http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_modern_greek_studies/toc/mgs.29.1.html
>>>
>>> Dangerous Citizens. The Greek Left and the Terror of the State
>>> www.dangerouscitizens.columbia.edu
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> List-Info: https://maillists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/mgsa-l
>>>
>>
>>
>
> --
> __________________________________
>
> Professor Neni Panourgiá
> For reasons that Melina Merkouri explained, I Never work On Sunday
>
> 2013-2016
> Visiting Associate Professor
> Anthropology Department
> The New School for Social Research
> 6 East 16th Street, Office 921
> Tel. 212-229-5757
> New York, NY 10011
>
> ICLS
> Heyman Center for the Humanities,
> Columbia University,
> New York, NY 10027
>
>
> Social Sciences Editor
> Journal of Modern Greek Studies
> http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_modern_greek_studies/toc/mgs.29.1.html
>
> Dangerous Citizens. The Greek Left and the Terror of the State
> www.dangerouscitizens.columbia.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>



-- 
Loring M. Danforth
Telephone: 207-786-6081
Fax: 207-786-8333
4 Andrews Rd.
Bates College
Lewiston, ME 04240


More information about the MGSA-L mailing list