Supervisors info:
Καραμανωλάκης Βαγγέλης, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής Νεότερης Ελληνικής Ιστορίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας. ΕΚΠΑ
Λαμπροπούλου Δήμητρα, Λέκτορας Νεότερης Ελληνικής Ιστορίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Γαζή Έφη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Ιστορίας, Τμήμα Κοινωνικής και Εκπαιδευτικής Πολιτικής, Πανεπιστήμιο Πελοποννήσου
Summary:
The present Master’s thesis discusses the issue of Nikos G. Svoronos activity in terms of his dual status as a historian and as an intellectual during the period of Greece’s transition to democracy, known as Metapolitefsi. As a historical moment, the latter marks a sharp caesura in modern Greek history and historiography, being accompanied by strengthening of democratic institutions in Greek society and economic growth, on one hand; on the other, by the repatriation of a large number of (self)exiled –mainly due to political reasons– scientists, by the integration of Marxist tools into academia and its dominance within research methodology, and by the attempt of the Greek society to come to terms with traumas bequeathed by the Civil War (1946-1949) and the following political division until 1974.
Nikos G. Svoronos is one of the most emblematic figures among Greek historians, recognized as one of the “founding fathers” of modern Greek history studies, alongside K. Th. Dimaras. Following the fall of the Greek military junta (1967-1974), he returned to Greece after thirty years of exile in France, carrying with him a rich and diverse historiographical oeuvre, as well as a special myth due to his relations to the Greek Left and the deprivation of his nationality by the Greek state on the grounds of “acting against the interests of the nation”, following the publication of Histoire de la Grèce moderne (1953). During this time he was bestowed a vast array of honorary titles by Greek academia, as well as positions in newly constituted scientific institutions. Furthermore, he displayed intense engagement within various sectors of the public sphere, and was often asked to express his views on public issues concerning inquiries of the Greek society. At the time of his publicly-funded funeral, parts of the political stage hailed the course of his intellectual life as a metonymy for Greece’s political adventures and cultural achievements during the 20th century.
This kind of recognizability serves as basis for the problematization of Svoronos’ dual status as a historian-intellectual. Since the establishment of history as a scientific discipline, historians have constituted political agents with active presence in
the public sphere as intellectuals; yet this symbiotic relationship has often been met with reluctance. Addressing both their historiographical production and their public engagement, however, within the context of a single endeavor may bring new light upon aspects of the relationship between the two statuses and lead toward a more complete understanding of the interaction between historiography and public perceptions of history.
In the first chapter is thus drawn a sketch of Svoronos’ course of intellectual life from his birth (1911) to his repatriation (1976). Within this period basic stages in his political activity and left-wing engagement are studied, as well as in his evolution to a social and economic historian. In the second chapter, aspects of his presence within academia (intra muros) are covered, such as the bestowment of honorary titles, his participation in historical conferences, and his historiographical oeuvre during the Metapolitefsi. The third chapter concerns forms of his wider public engagement, such as public lectures, opinion articles on journals, petition signing, and participation on TV documentaries. The reliability of the schematic distinction between academic and public practices of history during the period examined is put to the test of its control by the sources available on Svoronos’ activity at the same time, thus leading to the demonstration, in the conclusion, of certain basic prerequisites for the formation of history studies, while retracing Svoronos’ own personal ideological transpositions as an engaged historian / intellectual of capital importance for the Greek national and historical community during the Metapolitefsi.
Keywords:
Nikos Svoronos, Metapolitefsi, Left, Byzantium, historiography, modern Greek studies, intellectuals
