Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GRIDAMUS (Greek Identity in Art Music since the Early Nineteenth Century: Towards an Interdisciplinary Methodology)

Teaser

GRIDAMUS has focused on the ways in which Greek art (so-called ‘classical’) music has engaged with processes of construction, expression and negotiation of Greek national identity since the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830. The main objectives of this...

Summary

GRIDAMUS has focused on the ways in which Greek art (so-called ‘classical’) music has engaged with processes of construction, expression and negotiation of Greek national identity since the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830. The main objectives of this project have been two: First, to deepen our understanding of Greek art music, a musical tradition that has been largely ignored beyond the Greek borders, whose history and nature, as well as international relevance, have been insufficiently studied and understood. Thus, GRIDAMUS has provided the first comprehensive and systematic examination of Greek art music. Specifically, it has highlighted the context-dependent ways in which Greek identity has been conceptualised, and the performative nature of its expressions through art music since the nineteenth century was analysed. Secondly, GRIDAMUS has drawn on historical musicology, Modern Greek Studies, and ethnomusicology in developing a novel, interdisciplinary methodological framework for studying expressions of Greek national identity through art music. To this end, it has combined methods of historical-cultural contextualisation, critical discourses for understanding the concept of ‘Greekness’ developed within Modern Greek Studies, and ethnographical methods. Therefore, GRIDAMUS has contributed to the advancement of a dialogue among various disciplines, as well as to discussions about the reconfiguration of sub-disciplinary boundaries within Music Studies. Moreover, it has offered a better understanding of the ways in which Greek art music relates to other spheres of Greek culture and Greek history.

Work performed

The activities Katerina Levidou carried out during the reporting period in the context of the GRIDAMUS project fall under the following three categories: a) independent research; b) dissemination of research results; and c) training, knowledge transfer, and career development.

Levidou has compiled a comprehensive bibliography in consultation with the project’s mentors and colleagues beyond the host institution (King’s College London). Under the guidance of specialists from King’s College, she also developed a methodological framework that draws on historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and Modern Greek Studies. Data collection was carried out through analysis of textual sources, archival research, and ethnographical fieldwork. Thus, the project has resulted into a vast corpus of data that has fed into outputs for dissemination, but that will also continue to support further research and publications beyond the end of the fellowship.

Dissemination activities included: a) the organisation of an international interdisciplinary workshop at King’s College London on 9 May 2019; b) a series of five public lectures delivered in Greece (Athens, Thessaloniki, and Kardamyli); c) paper presentations at two international conferences; and c) publication of the research results in the form of: i) one chapter in a forthcoming volume of essays coming out of a conference; ii) one chapter in a forthcoming collection of essays; iii) a forthcoming monograph (in English) to be published with a prestigious international publishing house; and iv) a monograph (in Greek) to be published by a Greek publishing house. One of the public lectures that Levidou delivered in Greece was broadcast live, while two more were filmed and can be watched by anyone interested (one online, and the other one in the Lilian Voudouri Music Library in Athens). Levidou will also deliver a lecture at a Greek university after the end of the fellowship. Additionally, on 26 October 2018 she contributed an ‘Introduction to Modern Greek History’ (which has been informed by the literature review produced in the context of the GRIDAMUS project) to the ‘United Arab Emirates – Greece Cultural Week’, which was organised by Zayed University and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, attended by representatives (staff members and students) of Zayed University. Thus, overall, Levidou has reached a vast international audience including specialists, students, and lay people.

Levidou has also undertaken a number of activities relating to training, knowledge transfer, and career development. These have included training on handling ethical issues in research that involves human subjects, received through King’s College London, as well as numerous career development seminars taken at the host institution and through an online career-development platform to which King’s College London subscribes. Knowledge transfer has been achieved primarily through mentoring received from the project’s supervisors, Prof. Roderick Beaton and Prof. Gonda Van Steen, as well as Prof. Martin Stokes. Additionally, knowledge was transmitted to King’s College through Levidou’s presence and, particularly, the organisation of the international, interdisciplinary workshop, which triggered lively discussions and follow up. The fellowship has also considerably improved Levidou’s networking skills and networking opportunities both within and outside King’s College London (in the UK as well as in Greece, significantly both within and beyond academia) resulting in her recognition as one of the leading experts in the study of Greek art music. This achievement has been confirmed by the invitations that Levidou has received to contribute chapters in forthcoming publications, as well as by the invitation to act as an external examiner of a doctoral candidate at a prestigious UK university. Levidou’s research has also generated two job applications for research grants on two dis

Final results

GRIDAMUS has allowed Levidou to gather a large number of new sources both through archival and ethnographical research, which has fed into the project publications, but will also inform future publications, grant applications, and collaborations. This work has led the researcher to the conclusion that, while it is necessary to ensure critical use of theory and contemporary methods in the study for Greek art music and of musical expressions of national identity, it is equally important to ground this research in source material and empirical information – by immersing oneself in the local culture through participant observation and interaction with various agents – in order to avoid all too generalising conclusions.

GRIDAMUS is an important contribution to scientific enquiries that have challenged the understanding of national identity and, more generally, Greek identity as a monolithic and atemporal entity. In the context of the upsurge of nationalism that Europe – including Greece – has seen in recent years, analysing cultural (including musical) mediations of national identity, with a focus on ‘relativizing’ national identity, can help to counter such nationalist expressions. Hence, although recent epistemological perspectives have been encouraging a move away from studies of the ‘national’ towards trans-cultural approaches, we can claim that focusing on cultural/musical expressions of the ‘national’ is still relevant and useful.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/centre-for-hellenic-studies.