Dissertation committee:
1. Αλεξιάδης Μηνάς Αλ., ομότιμος καθηγητής Τμήματος Φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
2. Μερακλής Μ.Γ., ομότιμος καθηγητής Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
3. Καπλάνογλου Μαριάνθη, αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια Τμήματος Φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
4. Χρυσανθοπούλου Βασιλική, επίκουρη καθηγήτρια Τμήματος Φιλολογίας ΕΚΠΑ
5. Κακάμπουρα Ρέα, αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης ΕΚΠΑ
6. Βαρβούνης Μ.Γ., καθηγητής Τμήματος Ιστορίας Εθνολογίας Δημοκριτείου Πανεπιστημίου Θράκης
7. Κατσαδώρος Γεώργιος, αναπληρωτής καθηγητής Παιδαγωγικού Τμήματος Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης Πανεπιστημίου Αιγαίου
Summary:
The English Hellenist Richard MacGillivray Dawkins (1871-1955) was a prominent archaeologist (1902-1914) -worthy of his compatriot Arthur Evans-, linguist of Modern Greek dialects and idioms, professor of Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature in Oxford (1920-1939), recognized researcher and scholar of Modern Greek popular culture. During the last period of his life (1939-1955), he dedicated his scientific and writing activity to the Greek folktale. His late involvement with folk narratives itself came as a result of many years lasting (nearly 40 years, 1900-1940) field research in every corner of Greek territory and Hellenism (dominant Dodecanese, Cappadocia, Pontus and Cyprus, greek-speaking Magna Greacia) and the Mediterranean basin (Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Asia Minor).The dissertation, a product of archival research in the Dawkins Residues in Oxford (Taylor Institution) but also a thorough consideration of the existing bibliography around his life and work, attempts an overall evaluation of his contribution to Greek paramythology (studies for the Greek folktale). This assessment is made in detail and systematically: a) Dawkins's intellectual path is evidenced by the gradual transition of his research pursuits and interests from Archeology to Linguistics and finally to Folklore. Here the examination of his writings starts from the general orientation (Hellenism) of his intellectual production and ends up, through language and literature, in his preference for Greek popular culture and its stories, b) crowns of Dawkins's folktale contribution Forty-five Stories from Dodekanese (1950) and More Greek Folktales (1953), textbooks representative of a geographical region and a people respectively, examined by genre, historically-comparatively, morphologically in terms of content, linguistically. Their inclusion, together with the early Modern Greek in Asia Minor (1916) and the supplementary more Greek Folktales (1955), plus some collectible records (1914) from Pontos, in the International Folktale Catalog (ATU) highlighted the Greek folktale internationally and displayed its quality features. The Greek example was the field from which a thorough folktale theory emerged (origin, spread, adaptation, genres, national character, kinship with other peoples, survivals, influences, oikotypes, narrative art and value of stories), c) in the dissertation are examined all folktales published by Dawkins, so far (total 301), while they are classified, according to the historical-geographical method, in their folktale type, distributed geographically. For each folktale, the rankings are given both in the Greek Catalog of G.A. Megas as well as the International (ATU), its summary, other variations and comments by Dawkins. A special place is occupied by his works with Greek folktales that either belong to wider international thematic circles or reflect the Greek views on nature and the destination of man. The stories from his four (4) books -each one separately- are cataloged in a special Appendix, with their occasionally suggested classifications.
