Scroll below to read recaps, view photos, and watch videos from some of our events.

How to Think about the Past

Lecture by Katherine Elizabeth Fleming

March 2, 2024

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Invoking George Seferis’ poem “O Γυρισμός του Ξενιτημένου” (“The Return of the Exile”) that speaks about the protagonist’s nostalgia for Greece creating a “non-existent country,” Katherine Elizabeth Fleming spoke about how memory, nostalgia, and history carry with them various ways of accessing the past, none of them totally reliable. Drawing on examples from contemporary oral history and from Greek-Jewish memoirs, she considered the ways in which the past is always with us—and always changing. 

Katherine Elizabeth Fleming is President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust and the Alexander S. Onassis Professor of Hellenic Culture and Civilization in the Department of History at New York University (NYU), where she served as Provost from 2016 to 2022. A historian of Modern Greece and the Mediterranean, her interests range from religious identity to historical memory to oral history.

In Greece she is the co-director of the large-scale public history project ISTORIMA.ORG, which she co-founded with the journalist Sofia Papaioannou with a significant grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. From 2012-2016 she was President of the Board of the University of Piraeus in Greece. She currently serves as a political appointee to the administrative board of the University of Paris system in France.

The event was co-sponsored by the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture and the LMU Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies. It was held under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles. The program was made possible thanks to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).

 

Celebrating 3,000 Years of Greek

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies 

February 11, 2024

In celebration of International Greek Language Day,  Professor Maria Pantelia (UC Irvine) gave a presentation about the diachronic development of the language and how digital resources can help us understand it.

Professor Pantelia spoke about the history of the Greek language that spans 3,400 years of writing characterized by enormous lexical and structural continuity. A history that begins with Mycenean Greek recorded on clay tablets and continues with the language of the Homeric poems, ancient philosophy, drama, and history. In later times, Greek became the lingua franca of the Eastern Mediterranean or “the common dialect” used to record the Bible and Eastern theological writings. Byzantine Greek followed the same tradition, which became the foundation of Modern Greek with its amazing dialectical variation.

Professor Pantelia also spoke about the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae® research program at UC Irvine that identifies, collects, and digitizes all surviving texts written in Greek from antiquity to the present era.

Professor Pantelia is Professor of Classics at the University of California, Irvine and Director of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae® (TLG). As Director of the TLG, she conceived and has overseen the transformation of the project and its online dissemination and has expanded its scope to include Byzantine and Modern Greek. To this day, the TLG has identified and digitized the entire extant corpus of Greek from Homer to the 20th century CE, a collection consisting of more than 4,700 authors and 19,000 works.  The TLG is the premier digital resource for the study of Greek literature used by millions of readers in 78 countries worldwide. 

The event was organized under the auspices of the Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles and the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus.The Honorable Consul General of Greece, Christina Valassopoulou, gave opening remarks and introduced a recorded greeting from the Honorable Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Kotsiras, and the Secretary General for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy, Professor John Chrysoulakis.

You may watch the recorded greeting here.

Welcoming the Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles, the Honorable Christina Valassopoulou

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

February 4, 2024

The Hellenic American Women Council (HAWC/Pacific) and the Caloyeras Center co-hosted a welcoming reception for our new Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles. The Honorable Christina Valassopoulou among her many appointments has recently served as the Acting Head of D3 Directorate for the Council of Europe and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic (2023), Migration/Humanitarian Affairs Officer in the United Nations in Geneva (2021-2022), Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Greece in Ottawa (2021-2022), EU-Turkey Relations Officer, Directorate for European Union External Relations (2014-2016), and Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Greece in Nairobi.

She holds a Bachelor degree in Law from the Athens National and Kapodistrian University in Greece and a Master of Science degree in Social Science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium.

Strategies, Methodology and Activities to Develop Effective Greek Heritage Language Programs

Professional Development Workshop

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies 

January 11 & 29, 2024

A 2-part online professional development workshop aimed at Greek heritage language school educators led by Dr. Eva Prionas (Stanford University), President of the American Association of Teachers of Modern Greek (AATMG)

The seminars aimed at proposing best strategies and methodologies to strengthen learners’ language proficiency, build better language and culture programs, suggest ways to share resources among instructors, and engage community members of the Diaspora.

The seminar was organized in honor and celebration of International Greek Language Day under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, the Greek Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles and the Greek Consulate General of Greece in San Frascisco.

His Eminence Metropolitan Gerasimos, the Honorable Consuls Generals Christina Valassopolou and Socrates Sourvinos offered opening remarks.

The Caloyeras Center is grateful to Dr. George Gavalas and Mrs. Cleola Gavalas for generously supporting the workshop.

American Hellenic Council of California Annual Awards Gala

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

January 27, 2024

The American Hellenic Council (AHC) honored Dr. Christina Bogdanou, the Director of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center, with the Aristeion Award in Academic Leadership. Theodore Polychronis, founding member of the Save Cyprus Council (later AHC), and Eleftheria Polychronis, Vice President of the AHC Board of Directors, were also honored with the Aristeion Award in Community Leadership.

 

Dr. Bogdanou earned her PhD in Comparative Literature and Critical Theory Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where she also taught as a lecturer, with an emphasis in 19th-20th century European literature, critical theory, and gender studies.

A native of Athens, Greece, she completed her BA in English Literature and Linguistics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Following her graduation, she received the prestigious Greek National Scholar Award (IKY) to pursue an MA in Comparative Critical Theory in the UK and a doctorate degree in the U.S.

Dr. Bogdanou joined LMU in 2001 where she has been teaching classes in language, literature, cultural history, and critical theory. She has held the position of the Director of the Caloyeras Center and the Odyssey Summer Study Abroad Program in Greece since 2015. During her tenure as director, she has worked towards redesigning the program’s academic curriculum to include not only core classes in Greek language and culture, literature, history, and the Greek Orthodox tradition but courses that explore a broader area of study that examines Greece on a global stage with classes on contemporary issues such as current economic and political developments, immigration movements, issues of public health, urban and environmental studies. Under her guidance, the Caloyeras Center has become instrumental in the internationalization of LMU’s curriculum and its mission to engage students in global citizenship and community-based learning, both locally and abroad.

Dr. Bogdanou is actively involved in several Greek-American community organizations. She is a board member of the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California (GHS), an organization that preserves the rich history of the local Greek-American community. She is a member of the Programming Committee at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) and the scholarship advisor at the St. Katherine Foundation in Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach, California.

In her speech accepting the Aristeion Award, Dr. Bogdanou expressed her gratitude to Dr. Robbin Crabtree, Dean of the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at LMU, for the university’s unwavering support of the Center’s academic program. She acknowledged her mentor and former academic director of the Center, the late Demetrios Liappas, as well as fellow faculty members Fr. John S. Bakas (retired), Fr. Michael Courey, Dr. Kalliopi Kefalas, and Dr. Eleni Tsaggouri for their dedicated service. Dr. Bogdanou also extended her gratitude for the Caloyeras family and the Center’s many supporters who have embraced the Center over its 50-year history.

In closing, she expressed appreciation to the AHC Board, the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles, the Honorary Consulate General of the Republic of Cyprus, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, the St. Sophia and St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Churches, the Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, the Hellenic Library, the LAGFF, the Hellenic American Women’s Council, and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture for their collaboration towards the shared mission of promoting Hellenic culture, values, and causes.

Expect the Unexpected: a discussion with Professor Menas Kafatos

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

November 19, 2023

The Center hosted Professor Menas Kafatos and the Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles, Hon. Ioannis Stamatekos for a conversation about how science views the universe.

Professor Kafatos, Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics at Chapman University (CU) and Director of the CU Institute for Earth, Computing, Human and Observing (ECHO) holds degrees in Physics from Cornell and M.I.T. He is a quantum physicist, cosmologist, climate-change researcher, and philosopher who works extensively on consciousness. He works in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary areas, including quantum mechanics, cosmology, the environment, remote sensing, agroecosystems, and natural hazards, as well as on philosophical issues of consciousness, connecting science to metaphysical traditions.

Some of his publications are: The Conscious UniverseLooking In, Seeing OutScience Reality & Everyday Life. He is also co-author with Deepak Chopra of the New York Times bestseller You Are the Universe, which has now been translated into 18 different languages. Professor Kafatos is often interviewed for international television networks, newspapers, and radio. 

Professor Kafatos discussed how science views unexpected events. In his presentation, he detailed numerous scientific theories regarding the nature of the unexpected and elaborated on his personal work in the field. Following his presentation Professor Kafatos and the Consul General discussed how expecting the unexpected applies to the our everyday lives.

 

The Annual Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

November 12, 2023

The Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at Loyola Marymount University honored philanthropist Rosalind Farmans Halikis with the 2023 Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award.

The Center’s Director Dr. Christina Bogdanou and Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts Dean Robbin Crabtree welcomed the honoree to LMU on behalf of the University. The award was presented by Dr. Nasreen Babu-Khan, the founder of the Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award Fund in honor of her grandmother Zoe Caloyera, the matriarch of the Caloyeras family who immigrated with her husband Basil P. Caloyeras to the U.S. in the 1960s.

Tributes by Dr. Babu-Khan, Fr. Michael Courey, LMU faculty and Rosalind’s long time parish priest at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach, California, her son Dr. Nick Halikis, her son-in-law George Mitsanas, and her grandson Michael Mitsanas, all spoke about her warmth and empathy, her curiosity and love for life-long learning, her resilience and resolve.

Rosalind Farmans Halikis was born to Greek immigrant parents who came to the US from Kastellorizo. From humble beginnings in Weirton, West Virginia, Rosalind went on to obtain a bachelor's degree with honors in Medical Technology at the University of West Virginia and worked in the department of bacteriology and parasitology before starting her family. In addition to helping with the PTA and receiving the PTA Continued Service Award, Rosalind dedicated her energy and talents to the St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach as the Chair of the Scholarship and Stewardship Committees and a contributing member of the Capital Campaign Committee. She had a second career at USC for several years as Assistant Director of Academic Relations in the School of Letters, Arts & Sciences. She was the co-president of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute Southern California Women’s Board and received the Archdiocesan Medal of St. Paul in 2013 for her long-time service. A dedicated philanthropist, Rosalind became the Anchor Donor to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center for the Women and Children’s Health Campaign in 2015. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute at Berkeley. Her endowed gift to the Caloyeras Center in 2014 has established the Rosalind Farmans Halikis Scholarship that provides tuition support to students minoring in Modern Greek Studies.

In accepting the award, Rosalind Halikis traced the roots of her generosity back to her family: “our childhood was filled with love, hard work, and our church. We grew up with love for community; always with open hearts for those in need. It is a privilege to be able to give back in ways that support our Greek heritage.”

This annual event brings to the LMU campus outstanding individuals in the fields of art, culture, science, and public life relevant to the ongoing work of the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies. It is made possible through the generous support and commitment of Dr. Nasreen Babu-Khan and Dr. Howard Lehrhoff to Hellenic Studies and the Southern California Greek-American community.

View the photo gallery here

The Eulogy By Iakovos Kambanellis

Theatrical Performance
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Sunday December 10, 2023

The Center was delighted to co-host with the Hellenic Library of Southern California a performance of Iakovos Kambanellis’ dark comedy, The Eulogy, by Michael Dukakis.

A prolific playwright, screenwriter, poet, lyricist and actor, Kambanellis left an indelible imprint on Modern Greek culture with his work and social engagement until his death in 2011. 2022 was declared as Literary Year of Iakovos Kambanellis by the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports in honor of his contributions to Hellenic culture.

Michael Dukakis is a Greek actor and writer who works in Greece, Los Angeles, and London. His screenplays “To the Moon,” “Punish Me,” and “Ithaca” have been on the film festival circuit and have received international awards and recognition. Michael graduated from the Greek Art Theater Karolos Koun and the National Youth Theater of Great Britain. He holds a BFA from the University of Ioannina and a screenwriting certificate from UCLA.

The performance was directed by Tatiana Skanatovits, a graduate of the Costas Kazakos Drama School in Athens with musical (piano and lyrical singing at the National and Contemporary Conservatory) and literary studies (French literature at Sorbonne Paris IV). She has over 20 years of theatrical work experience in acting and directing.

The performance was presented in Greek with English supertitles under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

The Last Treaty: Lausanne and the End of the First World War in the Middle East 

Book Presentation
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies
Sunday, October 17, 2023  

The Caloyeras Center was delighted to welcome back to LMU historian Michelle Tusan for a presentation of her new book, The Last Treaty: Lausanne and the End of the First World War in the Middle East (Cambridge UP, 2023) supported by the National Endowment of the Arts.

Professor Tusan’s talk “How the Great War Ended: Making Peace on the Middle Eastern Front, 1918-1923” discussed the lasting legacy of the destruction of Smyrna and explored the peace process between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War. It revealed the plight of Greek, Armenian, Assyrian, and other minority populations who survived nearly ten years of uninterrupted war when peace finally came in 1923.

Professor Tusan is a professor of history at University of Nevada in Las Vegas. She received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Fellow in the Humanities at Stanford. A British historian by training, her teaching and scholarship broadly engage the relationship between geopolitics, culture, and human rights. She is the author of The British Empire and the Armenian Genocide: Humanitarianism and Imperial Politics from Gladstone to Churchill (2017/2019); Smyrna’s Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide and the Birth of the Middle East (2012); Women Making News: Gender and Journalism in Modern Britain (2005), and of numerous articles in the American Historical ReviewThe Journal of Modern History and Past and Present. She is the Vice President/President Elect of the North American Conference on British Studies.

The event was co-hosted with the LMU History Department and the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles. The Consul General, the Hon. Ioannis Stamatekos, offered opening remarks on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and in observance of National Remembrance day for the Genocide of Asia Minor Greeks (September 14, 1922).

Holy Emy

Film Screening
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Thursday, April 20, 2023
Two sisters sitting

In collaboration with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) for their inaugural GGFI Faith & Tradition Screenings Week, the Center hosted a special screening of HOLY EMY / ΑΓΙΑ ΕΜΥ (2022) directed by Araceli Lemos and written by Giulia Caruso and Araceli Lemos. The screening was followed by a Q&A with Araceli Lemos who joined us to discuss her award winning film.

A coming of age story, the film centers on at a young immigrant woman who grows up in Athens with her sister in the Catholic Filipino community and must come to terms with the mysterious healing powers she has inherited from her mother. The film is an exploration of the limits of faith and religion as much as a look at racial relations in contemporary Greek society.

The screening was co-hosted by the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, the Department of Theological Studies, and the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at LMU.

 

Women of Zalongo An original play by Maria Cominis

Theatrical Performance
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Saturday, March 18 & Sunday, March 19, 2023 

In honor of Women's History Month and Greek Independence Day, the Caloyeras Center was delighted to support the development and special presentation of Maria Cominis' original play, Women of Zalongo, directed by Kari Hayter and choreographed by Dr. Elleni Koulos. 

A grant recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the play is inspired by the playwright's Greek grandmother and her fragmented childhood memories prior to her immigration to the U.S. in 1915. 

Family secrets, intergenerational trauma, and historical memory are woven into the lives of four generations of women whose strength reaches back to the heroic women of Zalongo. The play is a moving testament to women's resilience, both in the past and present, and highlights the importance of speaking up to violence instead of staying silent. 

The production was presented under the auspices of the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and Public Diplomacy of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affaris, the Embassy of Greece in Washington, D.C., and the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles. 

Maria Cominis is a first-generation Greek American actor, author, professor, and playwright, who lives and creates in Los Angeles, California. She spent a decade in New York City as a working actor and taught at the renowned HB Studio. Accomplished in both theatre and television, her recent credits include Hacks, New Girl, and Desperate Housewives. Maria has published for Routledge and Kendall Hunt Publishing and is a professor of acting at CSUF. 

Women of Zalongo has been recognized as a semi-finalist in the Eugene O'Neil Playwrights Festival ('22), in the Bay Area Playwrights Festival ('20), and it has received several development grants. A development workshop in August 2021 was supported by the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at LMU, Dr. Michele Patzakis, and intramural grants for California State University Fullerton Office for Research and Special Projects and the College of the Arts. 

Read more about Maria Cominis and her work here. 

For press, see here. 

For cast photos, see here.

View a photo gallery from the Santa Monica Playhouse performance here, and reception here. 

Life Between the Lines: Translating Modern Greek Literature

A talk by Patricia Felisa Barbeito
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

 

In celebration of International Greek Language Day, professor and translator Patricia Felisa Barbeito talked about the main issues that have shaped her work as translator over the past 17 years: experimental writing, the many registers of Greek language, and the complications of translating idioms and spoken language across cultures. 

Professor Barbeito has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University and teaches American Literatures at the Rhode Island School of Design. She is an awarded translator of Greek fiction and poetry. 

Her full-length translations include Menis Koumandareas’s Their Smell Makes Me Want to Cry (Birmingham Modern Greek Translations, 2004); Elias Maglinis’s The Interrogation (Birmingham Modern Greek Translations, 2013), which was short-listed for the 2014 Greek National Translation Award and granted the 2013 Modern Greek Studies Association’s Constantinides Memorial Translation Prize; Tatiana Averoff’s Portrait of the Politician as a Young Man (Peter Lang, Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies, 2018); M. Karagatsis’s The Great Chimera (Aiora, 2019); Amanda Michalopoulou’s God’s Wife (Dalkey Archive, 2019), which was short-listed for that year’s National Translation Award in the US.   

She is the recipient of a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship to translate M. Karagatsis’s Junkermann. Her translation of Christos Chomenidis’s Niki is forthcoming from the Other Press.  

The Greek Consul General in Los Angeles, the Honorable Ioannis Stamatekos offered opening remarks.  

The event was co-hosted with the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

 

A Celebration of Greek Heritage Society’s 37th Anniversary and Photography Exhibition

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Sunday, January 8, 2023

The Caloyeras Center was delighted to host the 37th anniversary of Greek Heritage Society of

Southern California (GHS). A close partner with the Center since their early founding years, GHS is
a vital organization that preserves our community’s history and rich heritage.

A rare photography exhibition titled “The Journey of the Greeks of Southern California” was
presented, portraying the activities of the Greek community of the Los Angeles area since the early
1900s. The event also offered an additional exhibit of a collection of photos of the more than 24
Greek Orthodox churches in Southern California, and a digital photo exhibit.

Opening remarks to the historic photo exhibit were made by Consul General of Greece in Los
Angeles Ioannis Stamatekos, honorary Consul General of Cyprus Andreas Kyprianidis, GHS
founder Zoye Fidler, and current GHS President Bessie Karras-Lazaris.

Read more about the event on The National Herald and Greek News.

Lethal Nationalism: Genocide of the Greeks 1913-1923

Film Screening
Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Saturday, December 3, 2023 Film Screening

A film screening and Q&A with filmmakers Peter and Spiro Lambrinatos, and George Mavropoulos, President of The Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center. The film chronicles the genocide of the Greeks and other indigenous Christians at the hands of the Ottoman and Nationalist Turks. Nearly a million Greeks were killed, while millions more were uprooted from their ancestral homelands in Asia Minor, Pontos, and Eastern Thrace as part of the Turks’ campaign of ethnic cleansing of Christian populations. The genocide also annihilated Armenian and Assyrian Christians.

The Greek Consul General in Los Angeles, Ioannis Stamatekos, and the St. Sophia Parish Council President, Dr. Anna Yalourakis offered opening remarks.  

 The event was co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles, the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, Greek Heritage Society of Southern California, the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival, and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture. It was hosted by St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral

You may find out more about the important work of The Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center and watch the film online. 

The Annual Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

November 12, 2022

The Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at Loyola Marymount University was honored to welcome her Excellency, the Ambassador of Greece to the US Alexandra Papadopoulou for the 2022 Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award.


The Center presented the Ambassador with a Recognition Award for her life-long commitment and contributions to public life and service in Greece and abroad, values essential to the university’s educational mission for engaged global citizenship.

The Center’s Director Dr. Christina Bogdanou and Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts Dean Robbin Crabtree welcomed the honoree to Loyola Marymount University on behalf of the University President Tim Law Snyder and Vice-Provost for Global-Local Affairs Roberta Espinoza.

The Ambassador talked about her early family life as a great contributor to her dedication to public service. Greek family values about the importance of education and the pursuit of personal excellence in one’s chosen field of activity were emphasized by the Ambassador. She talked about the invaluable contribution of women in society both in Greece and globally as well as the importance for equal rights and opportunities. She praised the Greek state for upholding gender equality in Greece at a time that we see erosions in hard-won women’s rights around the globe. The Ambassador also talked about the relationship between the US and Greece as one of mutual respect and close collaboration. She praised the Greek-American diaspora for their close ties to Greece and maintaining Greek identity and core values and ideals for the next generations.

Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou was appointed as Ambassador of Greece to the US in February 2020. Prior to that, she served as Head of the Diplomatic Cabinet of the Greek Prime Minister, Permanent Representative of Greece to the EU, Director General for European Affairs in charge of the Greek Presidency of the EU in 2014, Head of the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje, and Deputy Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations. She also served as Head of the European Union Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo. Ambassador Papadopoulou holds a Law Degree from the University of Athens and a Master’s Degree in International Relations & International Law from the University of Pennsylvania where she studies as a Fulbright Scholar.

The award was presented by Dr. Nasreen Babu-Khan, the founder of the Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Recognition Award Fund in honor of her grandmother Zoe Caloyera, the matriarch of the Caloyeras family who immigrated with her husband Basil P. Caloyeras in the US in the 1960s.

This annual event brings to the LMU campus outstanding individuals in the fields of art, culture, science, and public life relevant to the ongoing work of the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies. It is made possible through the generous support and commitment of Drs. Nasreen Babu-Khan and Howard Lehrhoff to Hellenic Studies and the Southern California Greek-American community.

Read more about the event on The National Herald.

View the photo gallery here. 

Hellenic American Women Pacific Region/Los Angeles- Fall Social

Hosted by the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

October 16, 2022

HAWC/Los Angeles’ Coffee Social brought out some of the brightest Greek American women in the arts, education, business, entertainment, medicine and engineering. Plans are underway for the HAWC Pacific Region/Los Angeles members to advance HAWC’s objective to promote and support Greek American women within their professional fields of endeavor with career networking events and mentoring programs.

Remembering Smyrna 1922

Lecture by Michelle Tusan

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies 

October 28, 2022

Professor Michelle Tusan’s talk commemorates the 100th anniversary and explores the lasting legacy of the destruction of Smyrna in September 1922. The burning of the city by Turkish nationalist forces marked a final devastating chapter of World War I. Eyewitness testimony from diaries, press reports, naval dispatches and rare archival film footage about the events in Smyrna offer a new perspective on the end of WWI in the Middle East.

Professor Tusan received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Fellow in the Humanities at Stanford University. A British historian by training, her teaching and scholarship broadly engage the relationship between geopolitics, culture, and human rights. She is currently teaching at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Her current book project, The Last Treaty: The Middle Eastern Front and the End of the First World War, is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Among her many publications, Pr. Tusan is the author of The British Empire and the Armenian Genocide: Humanitarianism and Imperial Politics from Gladstone to Churchill (2017/2019); Smyrna’s Ashes: Humanitarianism, Genocide and the Birth of the Middle East (2012)

Her articles have been published in the American Historical Review, The Journal of Modern History and Past and Present.

She is the Vice President/President Elect of the North American Conference on British Studies.

The Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles, Ioannis Stamatekos, offered opening remarks.

The event was presented under the auspices of the Consulate General of Los Angeles and co-hosted with the Hellenic Library of Southern California.

The Greek Bar Jacket

Film Screening and Photo Exhibition

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies & the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF)

April 30, 2022

A DIOR jacket.

A special preview of acclaimed director Marianna Economou’s The Greek Bar Jacket was hosted by the center in partnership with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF), kicking off the return of the LAGFF in-person.

Economou’s new documentary traces the making of the DIOR Cruise 2022 collection designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri. The film offers an intimate view into the conceptualization and realization of the Greece-inspired collection. Economou traveled across the country to visit the Greek artisans who collaborated with Chiuri. The result is an intimately personal exploration of the creative forces and influences that contributed to the collection, as well as a celebration of the specialized savoir-faire of both the local Greek artisans and the French fashion house’s own ateliers.

Marianna Economou is the writer and director of the award-winning documentary When Tomatoes Met Wagner (2019), Longest Run (2015), and Food for Love (2013).

This special event also exhibited Myrto Papadopoulos’ spectacular photography that gives us a behind-the-scenes look at The Greek Bar Jacket and the Greek artisans who worked with the Dior house.

Co-hosted by the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) and the Caloyeras Center, under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

Many thanks to the LAGFF for donating all proceeds to the Demetrios Liappas Legacy Fund.

Adoption, Memory and Cold War Greece

A book presentation by Gonda Van Steen

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

April 9, 2022

A book of the Greek experience.

Professor Gonda Van Steen, Koraes Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, and Director of the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King’s College London discussed her latest work:

Adoption, Memory, and Cold War: Kid pro quo?

Professor Van Steen has researched the silenced stories of the 3,200 Greek adoptees who were sent to the USA between 1949 and 1962, in what was the first large-scale "business" of adoption to meet increased demand from the USA.

Van Steen spoke at length about the impact of these Greek postwar and Cold War adoptions— whose procedures ranged from legal to highly irregular— to the hundreds of adoptees and their descendants whose lives are still affected today.

The presentation was co-hosted by the Caloyeras Center and Greek Heritage Society.

Exploring Your Greek Heritage: A Geneaology Workshop

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


March 12, 2022

Greek men looking at a camera.

Growing interest in Greek genealogy the last past years gained momentum in 2020 with the launch of two websites with Greek records online: GreekAncestry, the first genealogy website to host name-indexed records from Greece, and the Greek Records collection available at MyHeritage.

The workshop presented information about accessing such records both on-line and on-site in Greece. Participants had the opportunity to learn how to use these records to reconstruct their ancestors' family histories and ways to share those histories with their families.

The workshop was presented by Carol Kostakis Petranek and Gregory Kontos.

Active in the Greek genealogy community, Carol Kostakis Petranek shares her knowledge with Greek online associations in local and national conferences. With ancestry from Sparta, she writes at SpartanRoots and volunteers to preserve at-risk and historic records in Greece digitizing marriage records at the Metropolis of Sparta. She serves as Assistant Director of the Washington, D.C. Family History Center and at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

The founder of GreekAncestry, Gregory Kontos contributes to record preservation and accessibility through digitization and indexing projects. His work focuses primarily on educational initiatives. He has led all Greek projects for MyHeritage and has collaborated with companies such as Trace.com, LegacyTree, and AncestryProGenealogists. He has consulted for PBS’ Finding your Roots and BBC’s A House Through Time. Gregory holds a BA in History, a ResMA in Migration History and is a doctoral student at the University of Athens.

The presentation was organized by Greek Heritage Society of Southern California and was co-hosted with the Caloyeras Center.

A Computer of Heavens and Earth: Greek Science and Civilization in the Antikythera Mechanism

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


January 26, 2022

This is the Antikythera mechanism of my people.
Image by Evi Sarantea

 Dr. Evaggelos Vallianatos is a science historian and the author of The Antikythera Mechanism: The Story Behind the Genius of the Greek Computer and its Demise (2021).

The Antikythera Mechanism was a bronze-geared astronomical computer of scientific technology and nearly perfect engineering. Nothing like this appeared before the 18th century. It was likely built in Rhodes in the second century BCE. It predicted the eclipses of the Sun and the Moon and the phases of the Moon. It also tracked the position and movements of the planets, great stars, and constellations and united these natural phenomena to the Olympics and other Panhellenic athletic and cultural events. It is considered one of the greatest achievements of Hellenic science and civilization.

The presentation was co-hosted with the Hellenic Library of Southern California and is available on C-SPAN/BOOK TV.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

By the Light of Thine Eyes, 2021

Film screening 

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies
Wednesday, October 27 - Sunday, October 31

these are the best pirates.

The commemoration of the 200th year anniversary of the Greek Revolution of 1821 came to a close with the screening of By the Light of Thine Eyes, 200 years of Greece (“Σε γνωρίζω από την όψη” - 200 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ), produced by the GREECE 2021 Committee

The film imaginatively narrates the two centuries of modern Greece. Based on archival material and evidence, it approaches the subject by highlighting not only Greece’s military and political history but providing a look at the fields of science, arts, and everyday life. 

The screening was co-hosted by the Caloyeras Center and the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF) under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

You may view the film here.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

Y1: Silence of the Deep

Film screening and discussion with producer Stelios Efstathopoulos and journalist Bilio Tsoukala

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

Wednesday, October 27 - Sunday, October 31

A submarine in the water.

In collaboration with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF), and under the auspices of the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles, the Caloyeras Center screened Y1 - Silence of the Deep in remembrance of the heroes who fell during WWII.

The documentary tells the story of the unexplored shipwreck of the legendary submarine Y1: Lambros Katsonis and its heroic crew. After a series of successful attacks against German ships, Y1 was sunk by a German submarine chaser near the island of Skiathos on September 14, 1943.

During the attack 32 men were killed and 17 were captured; only 3 managed to escape by swimming for 9 hours in order to get to the shore. They would later rejoin the Greek Naval forces in Beirut in order to keep fighting for the Allied cause.

Among them, Second-in-Command Officer Elias Tsoukalas. His award-winning book Submarine Y1 - Lambros Katsonis, together with archival material, personal diaries and letters, and family members’ interviews, was used to tell audiences the untold stories of these WWII heroes.

The location of the submarine wreck remained a mystery for 75 years until May 2018, when Team FAOS, an independent film production company, with the help of the Hellenic Navy, managed to locate it and record it for the first time northwest of Skiathos, at a depth of 253 meters.

The screening was followed by a discussion with producer and cinematographer Stelios Efstathopoulos and Bilio Tsoukala, journalist and daughter of Officer Elias Tsoukalas who shared the behind-the-scenes challenges of locating the wreck, coordinating the search, and funding both the expedition and the filming of the operation.

Dimitra Kasdagli, Festival and Programming Manager, and Eleni Kafetzi, Jury and Outreach Coordinator, participated in the discussion on behalf of LAGFF.

View the recording here.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

Venizelos, The Making of a Greek Statesman, 1864-1914

A book presentation by Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith, former British ambassador and historian

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies
October 3, 2021

Smith.

 As we continue the commemoration of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and 200 years of Modern Greece in the making, the Caloyeras Center was honored to welcome to LMU Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith for a presentation of the first volume of his biography of Eleftherios Venizelos.

Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith is a former British ambassador and historian of Greece who has published extensively on Greek history and culture. He completed his doctorate in Modern Greek history at St. Antony’s College, Oxford.

He served in the British Diplomatic Service for 30 years and has been awarded the highest British honors. He is an Honorary Fellow of St. Antony's College Oxford, a Vice President and member of the Council of the British School at Athens, member of the Council of the Anglo-Hellenic League, Honorary Fellow of the Eleftherios K. Venizelos National Research Foundation in Chania, and Patron of the Friends of Mount Athos.

He has been a visiting Fellow of the British School at Athens, Princeton University, the Onassis Foundation, and holder of the Venizelos chair of modern Greek studies at the American College of Greece (2009-2010). He is currently a visiting Professor at King's College London.

His books have covered a variety of topics ranging from Greece’s ill-fated venture into Asia Minor that ended with the destruction of Smyrna; the history, culture, and folklore of Crete; the Modern Olympic games of 1896; a cultural history of Athens that presents the life and history of the city across the centuries; as well as a history of the British embassy in Athens, which was Eleftherios Venizelos’ house before it became the British embassy in 1936.

The life and politics of Venizelos has been a lifelong interest of his. His book Venizelos: The Making of a Greek Statesman, 1864 – 1914 is the first volume of a biographical study of Venizelos that covers his formative years, his political apprenticeship in Crete, and his energetic role in the island’s emancipation both from Ottoman rule and the arbitrary rule of Prince George of Greece

The Caloyeras Center was honored to co-host this presentation with the Embassy of Greece in the US and welcome back to LMU her Excellency the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the US, Alexandra Papadopoulou, for the opening remarks to Sir Michael Llewellyn-Smith’s talk.

View the recording here.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

The Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Leadership Award

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

June 9, 2021

Zoe Caloyeras delivering a speech.

In celebration of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and 200 years of Modern Greece and the people who have made a mark along the way, the Caloyeras Center was honored to welcome for this year’s Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture and Leadership Award, Mrs. Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, ambassador-at-large of the Hellenic State and the president of the GREECE 2021 committee charged by the Greek government to organize the bicentennial celebrations.

The Center presented Mrs. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki with a Leadership Award for her life-long commitment and contributions to public life, education, and philanthropy; as well as her tireless promotion of Hellenic values and ideals, in Greece and abroad. 

The Center’s Director, Dr. Christina Bogdanou, and BCLA Dean Robbin Crabtree welcomed the honoree to LMU on behalf of the University President, Tim Law Snyder. Her Excellency, the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the US, Alexandra Papadopoulou congratulated Mrs. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

The award was presented by Dr. Nasreen Babu-Khan, the founder of the Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture Fund in honor of her grandmother, Zoe Caloyera.

Ambassador Angelopoulos was elected to the Athens Municipal Council in 1987. In 1989, she was elected to the Greek Parliament and won re-election the following year. Following her marriage to Theodore Angelopoulos, she resigned her seat in the Parliament to focus on family and business.

In 1996, Costas Simitis, the Prime Minister of Greece at the time, appointed her to lead the country’s successful campaign to host the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2000, when slow progress and gridlocked bureaucracy put Athens in danger of losing the Games, she was asked to assume the Presidency of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee and save the project.

Her memoir, My Greek Drama, was published by Greenleaf Book Group in May 2013, and became a top ten New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Mrs. Angelopoulos has served as Vice-Chairman of the Dean’s Council of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (HKS) since 1994 and now also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Business and Government.

In 2011, she established the Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Program at the HKS to bring distinguished leaders to Harvard in order to interact with students, share lessons learned and reflect upon the next phase of their public service.

Mrs. Angelopoulos is the founder and sponsor of the Angelopoulos Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) Fellowship Program (100 young Greek entrepreneurs have benefitted), and a leading philanthropist for projects in Greece and around the globe.

The Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture Fund is a signature series that brings to the LMU campus outstanding individuals in the fields of art, culture, science, and public life relevant to the ongoing work of the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies. It is made possible through the generous support and commitment of Nasreen Babu-Khan and Howard Lehrhoff to Hellenic Studies and the Southern California Greek-American community.

Read more about this event on The Hellenic Journal.

View the recording here.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

A lecture by Roderick Beaton, Emeritus Koraes Professor of Modern Greek & Byzantine History, Language, and Literature at King's College, UK.

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

March 20, 2021

In celebration of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and 200 years of Modern Greece and its people, the Caloyeras Center was honored to welcome to LMU Professor Roderick Beaton, renowned scholar of Hellenic Studies. Professor Beaton is a Fellow of the British Academy and Commander of the Order of Honor of the Hellenic Republic. He is a member of the Committee “GREECE 2021” which has been charged by the Greek government with overseeing events commemorating the 200th anniversary. 

Professor Beaton is the author of many books and articles about aspects of the Greek-speaking world from the twelfth century to the present day, including An Introduction to Modern Greek Literature (1994); George Seferis: Waiting for the Angel. A Biography (2003); Byron’s War: Romantic Rebellion, Greek Revolution (2013), all three of which won the prestigious Runciman Award for best book on the Hellenic world, and Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation (2019, now a Penguin paperback). His latest book, an overview of Greek history from the Bronze Age to 2021, is due to be published in autumn 2021 with the title The Greeks: A Global History.

The Caloyeras Center was honored to welcome her Excellency the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the US, Alexandra Papadopoulou, for the opening remarks to Professor Beaton's talk.

View the recording here.

1821-2021: Celebrating 200 years of Modern Greece

The Forgotten Heroes of the Balkan Wars: Greek-Americans and Philhellenes, 1912-1913

A book presentation by Peter G. Giakoumis, author and military historian and researcher.

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

February 3, 2021

The Forgotten Heroes of the Balkan Wars: Greek-Americans and Philhellenes, 1912-1913

2021 marks the landmark 200-year anniversary of the Greek War of Independence of 1821 and 200 years of Greece as a modern nation. The Caloyeras Center, in collaboration with other Greek-American community organizations, will celebrate this monumental anniversary throughout 2021 with a series of events celebrating the significance of these 200 years of history for Greece and the world, as well as the people who have contributed to it, in Greece and in the diaspora.

Peter S. Giakoumis talked about the Greek-American regiment of soldiers volunteering from all over the US who travelled to the front lines of the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. Diving into official military reports, contemporary newspaper articles, rare photographs, letters from the front and private archives, Giakoumis offered an in-depth account into the heroism of Greek immigrants and the decisive role they played in the war.

The event was co-hosted by the Caloyeras Center and the Hellenic Library of Southern California.

View the recording here.

COVID-19 VACCINES: Efficacy and Safety 

An informational session led by Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, Dean of the USC School of Pharmacy & John Stauffer Dean's Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dr. Richard H. Dang, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy & Residency Program Director, USC and Chair of the California Pharmacists Association COVID-19 Taskforce.

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

January 7, 2021

Guest speakers Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos and Dr. Richard H. Dang.

Dean Vassilios Papadopoulos and Pr. Richard H. Dang presented information on the science behind the mRNA vaccines receiving emergency approval by the FDA, the vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, their efficacy and safety, as well as details about the process of release and distribution.

The presentation was co-hosted by the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies and the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

View the recording here.

The Greek Orthodox Church in America: A Modern History

A Book Presentation

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


November 18, 2020

 

Professor Alexander Kitroeff

Professor Alexander Kitroeff (Haverford College) spoke about his book The Greek Orthodox Church in America: A Modern History. 

A social history of the relationship between the Greek Orthodox Church in America and the Greek-American community, the presentation touched upon topics ranging from the early years of the Greek Orthodoxy’s arrival to the US, its Americanization and liturgical language crisis, efforts to influence US foreign policy towards Greece, Cyprus and Turkey, to more contemporary challenges such as the Church’s identity for the 21st c. and the responses to COVID-19.

The event was co-hosted by The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, the Saint Sophia Cathedral, and the Hellenic Library of Southern California.

View the recording here.

The Conversion of Hagia Sophia: Sacred Spaces, Cultural Heritage, and the Islamist Nation Building

A panel discussion

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

September 30, 2020

Drawing courtesy of George Chialtas

The conversion of Hagia Sophia into a working mosque on July 24, 2020, after almost 90 years of its status as a museum, has met by a chorus of dismay from both religious and political leaders around the world, as well as from Turkish secular democratic groups that oppose Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.

Declared a museum in 1934, Hagia Sophia has stood as a symbol of Ottoman secularism, multiculturalism, tolerance, and reconciliation with the West and Christianity.

The panel discussion explored the broader implications of the conversion of Hagia Sophia, one of the most significant world heritage monuments and Christianity, and what this means for future interfaith dialogue.

Panelists:  Archimandrite Cyril HovorunFr. Dorian Llywelyn (Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, USC) Maria Mavroudi (History, Berkeley), Bissera Pentcheva (Art History, Stanford), Ali Yaycıoğlu (History, Stanford)

Moderator: Fr. Thomas Rausch, Acting Director Huffington Ecumenical Institute, LMU

The event was co-hosted by The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, the Theological Studies Department, and the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at LMU 

View the recording here.

An Iliad: A concert reading with Apollo Dukakis and Endre Balogh on the violin

Written by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare.

Based on Homer's The Iliad, translated by Robert Fagles. 

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

March 8, 2020

Apollo Dukakis

Apollo Dukakis, beloved community member and longtime resident artist at A Noise Within, gave a heartrending performance of the world-weary Poet who brings himself onto the stage with shuffling steps to talk about a war that has never stopped since the time of Homer. 

In a symbiosis of text and music, An Iliad is about both the past and present, about all wars and the human cost we all have to live with. The Poet invokes his Muse (violinist Endre Balogh) to help him tell a harrowing story, far too familiar: the story of heroes fallen whose names, ironically, have been forgotten. The names of wars change but War does not.

The event was cohosted by the Hellenic Library of Southern California.

View the photo gallery here

The Greeks and the Making of Modern Egypt

Book Presentation 

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies

February 22, 2020 

The Greeks and the Making of Modern Egypt

The Caloyeras Center was honored to host historian Alexander Kitroef (Haverford College) in the Los Angeles Saint Sophia Cathedral for a presentation of his book about the Greeks of Egypt. Pr. Kitroeff’s book is the first account of the modern Greek presence in Egypt from its beginnings during the era of Muhammad Ali to its final days under Nasser.

The book casts a critical eye on the reality and myths surrounding the complex and ubiquitous Greek community in Egypt by examining the Greeks’ legal status, their relations with the country’s rulers, their interactions with both elite and ordinary Egyptians, their economic activities, their contacts with foreign communities, their ties to their Greek homeland, and their community life, which included a rich and celebrated literary culture.

The Greek Consulate General and the Consulate General of the Arab Republic of Egypt offered opening remarks that stressed the historical ties between the two countries and the hope for closer future collaboration. 

View the photo gallery from the event here

"My Mother's Sin": Inaugural Event for the Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture Fund

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


October 19, 2019

Click the image above to watch "My Mother's Sin"

On Friday, October 19, 2019, Yiorgios Vizyenos’ “My Mother’s Sin” was performed to a packed room of LMU students and community members. The story was interpreted by Rena Kyprioti, an alumna of the Art Theatre of Karolos Koun, in a solo performance directed by Danae Roussou, who has collaborated with the Athens Concert Hall and the Epidaurus Athens Festival.

The costume, a special polymorphic artistic design that allowed the performance of several characters by Rena Kyprioti, was designed by Vana Giannoula (London College of Fashion), an established member of Disney Studios’ costume department (recent film credits include Justice League (2017), Beauty & the Beast (2016), Tarzan (2016), Cinderella (2015), Testament of Youth (2015) & Jupiter Ascending (2015).

The music was composed by the internationally renowned and award-winning composer Nikos Kypourgos (Conservatoire de Paris), a close collaborator of Manos Hatzidakis.

Eirini Vourlakou (New York Acting Studio) was the assistant director and production manager.

The performance was presented under the auspices of the President of Greece, Prokopios Pavlopoulos and was supported by the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad and the Consulate General of Greece in Los Angeles.

The Director of the Caloyeras Center, Dr. Christina Bogdanou thanked the cast and director for their moving performance: “The work of Vizyenos seems simple but is deeply layered and esoteric. It is an extraordinary achievement for a single performer, switching from character to character without pause, to convey such emotion about a mother’s enormous guilt and pain as well as her children’s eventual understanding and forgiveness. The brilliant costume, embodying all characters, the mesmerizing music and use of light, they all made this an almost mystical experience.”

The event was the inaugural event of the Zoe Caloyera Distinguished Lecture Fund. This signature series brings to the LMU campus outstanding individuals in the fields of art, culture, and science, relevant to the ongoing work of the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies. It is made possible through the generous support and commitment of Nasreen Babu-Khan and Howard Lehrhoff to Hellenic Studies and the Southern California Greek-American community.

Read more about this event on Greek Reporter USA.

View the photo gallery from "My Mother's Sin" here

Take the Reins A Conversation with Michael Dukakis

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


March 28, 2019

Click the image above to watch the event video

On March 28, 2019, former Governor and Democratic Party Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis spoke to a packed room, full of college students and young professionals stressing the importance of civic engagement.

Since his early steps in public service during the 1960s, Dukakis has been committed to government reform, cleansing the political system from corruption, and encouraging young professionals to serve. As one the founders of the Commonwealth Organization of Democrats (COD), Dukakis dedicated several evenings each week, actively recruiting idealistic, honorable and able professionals to run for office in an effort to reinvigorate local and state government with a new generation, committed to the ideal of a genuine Democracy with respect for human and civil rights.

At the talk organized by the Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies, the former Massachusetts Governor, Northeastern University Distinguished Professor, and visiting professor at UCLA’s School of Public Affairs, contemplated the current state of U.S. politics and our country’s future.

Evgenia Beniatoglou, the Consul General of Greece in Los Angeles, introduced the Governor to a standing ovation.

The event was dedicated to Aris Anagnos, the Los Angeles Greek-American community leader and Dukakis’ friend, who passed away last year. Anagnos, co-founded, chaired and financed countless cultural, philanthropic and political organizations and initiatives, including The Caloyeras Center at LMU. Daughter Thalia, his son Demos, and daughter-in-law Carol Anagnos attended the event and received an honorary plaque. “Our family is honored to be a small part of Governor Dukakis’ journey to inspire Hellenism in American civic life today” stated Demos and Thalia Anagnos. “Our father strongly encouraged young people to effect change and get involved in politics. He was very proud of Governor Michael Dukakis’ success. Together they frequently fought for social justice and a better America for everyone.”

The Caloyeras Center was honored to host Governor Dukakis while honoring Aris Anagnos, as the life and mission of both men exemplifies LMU’s mission to educate our students in their civic duties and responsibilities, and in the protection of human rights.

Governor Dukakis spoke about the founders of the The Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at LMU. “Peter Caloyeras and Aris Anagnos were two extraordinary Greek-Americans, who I’d like to think are representative of a lot of us, who either immigrated to this country, or are the children of immigrants and who did great things, in many, many ways. As a Greek-American, I am proud about what we’ve done, and what other immigrants like us, have done.

Dukakis expressed his hope that, like Pericles, “this university and other schools around the country will encourage young people to get deeply, and actively, involved in the political life of their communities.”

The event was co-hosted by the LMU Peace and Justice Studies, the History Department, the American-Hellenic Council, the Greek Heritage Society, the Hellenic Library, the LA Greek Film Festival, and the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture. It was filmed in connection with Nikolette Orlandou’s documentary, entitled Greek Diaspora.

Read more about this event on The National Herald.

View the photo gallery for the event here

Professor Demetrios Liappas's Retirement Reception

Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies


May 19, 2018

 

Demetrios Liappas
Professor Demetrios Liappas

On Saturday, May 19, 2018, Professor Demetrios Liappas celebrated his retirement from the directorship of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies at Loyola Marymount University. At an elegant reception at the William H. Cannon library with a breath-taking view of the Pacific Ocean and the Los Angeles basin, a gathering of former students, friends, supporters, and colleagues exchanged memories as Lambros Howard played traditional Greek music. Many of the Center’s strongest, most loyal supporters attended, among them: Peter and Vivi Demopoulos, Cleo Andrews, Hope Berk, Dalia and Kip Miller, George and Tina Kolovos, Eleftheria and Ted Polychronis, Rosalind Halikis, and Peter and Caroline Caloyeras. Several of the leading organizations for the Greek community of Southern California were represented by their leadership including the Hellenic University Club by the current President, Dr. Zafiris Gourgouliatos, the Federation of Greek Organizations of Southern California by Dr. Philip Trevezas, President, and the Greek Heritage Society by the current President, Shelly Papadopoulos, former President Zoyë Fidler, and board member Anna Gianniotis. After more than forty years of teaching and administration, Professor Liappas was passing the torch to Professor Christina Bogdanou, the current Director of the Center.

The gathering was blessed by Fr. John Bakas, Dean of St. Sophia Cathedral, who is also an Adjunct Professor of Theology at LMU, teaching courses in Greek Orthodoxy and Greek Orthodox Spirituality for the Center and the Department of Theology. Fr. Bakas and Presbytera Bakas were joined at the reception by Fr. and Presbytera Michael Courey of St. Katherine’s in Redondo Beach. Another long-time supporter of the Center, the Honorable Andreas Kyprianides, Honorary Consul General of Cyprus, served as Master of Ceremonies. Demetrios Liappas, with Andreas Kyprianides and Aris Anagnos, Dr. Jim Dimitriou, and Ted Polychronis—all present at the reception—were among the original founders of the Save Cyprus Council which has evolved into the dynamic political action group, the American Hellenic Council.

Also in attendance were some of Professor Liappas’ family members who had flown in from the east coast and from Australia. They were his sister Katy Christodouleas, her sons Drs. James and John Chrisodouleas, her daughter Dr. Tina Christodouleas Tabakovic, and their nephew, Apostolos Pinakidis. Dr. James Christodouleas of Price Waterhouse Cooper, Australia, spoke of the family’s love for their brother and uncle. Basil P. Caloyeras, whose father, Peter, first endowed the Center, added his words of appreciation for Professor Liappas’ achievements and renewed his pledge to support the work of the Center. The Associate Dean of Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at LMU, Dr. Molly Youngkin, talked about the importance of the instructional program of the Center in the academic mission of the university. Three former students of the Center, Antigoni Vasilopoulou ’15, Gabriel Courey ’09, and Fotis Davlantis ’04 gave moving tributes to the life-changing opportunities that Professor Liappas and the Center had provided them in their education. Donna Gray, Director of Development at Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, thanked the many donors who were present and reminded us all that philanthropy is a Greek virtue. The program ended with Professor Liappas telling us of the history of the Basil P. Caloyeras Center for Modern Greek Studies and expressing his gratitude for all the years of support that so many in the Greek community have given the Center. He was especially touched by the presence of Vasso Fischer, former President of the Hellenic University Club, Zoyë Fidler, founding President of the Greek Heritage Society and Aris Anagnos, founder of the Save Cyprus Council and long-time supporter of social justice and generous supporter of the Center.

Read more about this event on The National Herald.

View the photo gallery here