Resurrecting the Past, Constructing the Future: a Historical Investigation on the Formation of a Greek National Identity in Schools, 1834-1913 Theodore G
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2010 Resurrecting the Past, Constructing the Future: A Historical Investigation on the Formation of a Greek National Identity in Schools, 1834-1913 Theodore G. Zervas Loyola University Chicago Recommended Citation Zervas, Theodore G., "Resurrecting the Past, Constructing the Future: A Historical Investigation on the Formation of a Greek National Identity in Schools, 1834-1913" (2010). Dissertations. Paper 156. http://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/156 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2010 Theodore G. Zervas LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO RESURRECTING THE PAST, CONSTRUCTING THE FUTURE: A HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION ON THE FORMATION OF A GREEK NATIONAL IDENTITY IN SCHOOLS, 1834-1913 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL POLICY STUDIES BY THEODORE GEORGE ZERVAS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS DECEMBER 2010 Copyright by Theodore George Zervas, 2010 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the support, guidance and encouragement of many individuals. I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Noah W. Sobe, Dr. Robert E. Roemer, and Alex G. Papadopoulos who were all actively involved in this projects completion and encouraged my intellectual growth. I especially would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Sobe for supporting my topic from the get-go—three years ago and his continuous involvement and guidance throughout the research and writing process. He is a true scholar and teacher and I am truly proud to have worked under him. Special attention is given to several individuals for their assistance along the way. Dr. Andreas M. Kazamias of the University of Wisconsin and Dr. Andrew Baruch Wachtel of Northwestern University who took the time from their busy schedules to sit down with me over coffee and offer a wealth of information related to my topic. Dimitra Triga who took me by the hand in Athens and introduced me to a wealth of primary literature related to my research. Ioannis Roubos and Panayiotis Sotiriou for their help in tracking down for me several early Greek textbooks. Marc Antoine Papadogiannis for his gracious help in translating several sources written in the French language, and Dr. Andronikos Falangas of Columbia College Chicago for his help in introducing me to several Romanian sources related to my topic and the time he spent in working with me in translating those sources. iii Family and friends were also actively involved throughout this process. I am deeply grateful to Kara Matjoulis, for her patience and understanding, especially when research and writing became the main priority in our lives. My paternal grandmother, Eleni Zervas, who at 99 years of age was still able to vividly recount her personal experience in the Greek school and offer her wisdom, hospitality, and guidance along the way. Finally, I express my gratitude to my parents, George and Dimitra Zervas for whom this project is dedicated. I thank them for their love and for providing me with the support in all my educational and professional endeavors throughout my life. iv To my parents, who have a Greek education TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ x ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: OUR PAST, OUR FUTURE ................................................................. 1 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem ....................................................................................................... 2 Imagining the Nation ....................................................................................................... 5 Further Roles for the State and the School .................................................................... 12 Defining Resurrection .................................................................................................... 14 Research Questions ........................................................................................................ 15 Organization and Methodology ..................................................................................... 16 Notes on Translation and Transliteration ....................................................................... 26 CHAPTER TWO: HISTORICAL AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ................. 27 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 27 Defining the Nation and National Identity ..................................................................... 28 Beginnings of a Modern Greek Identity: Historical Overview ...................................... 39 Remembering and Understanding the Past .................................................................... 48 National Identity in Modern Greece. ............................................................................. 50 Identity From the Outside In: Philhellenic Perceptions ................................................. 57 Constructing a Greek Identity ........................................................................................ 70 CHAPTER THREE: THE ROLES OF SCHOOLS IN CONSTRUCTING A GREEK IDENTITY ..................................................................................................................... 72 Overview ........................................................................................................................ 72 A Short History of Greek Education .............................................................................. 72 Teacher-Priests ............................................................................................................... 73 School Regulation and Funding: The Problems of Rural Schools ................................ 75 Schools and Hellenization.............................................................................................. 77 Contesting Identities: The Case of Prosymni................................................................. 81 Velestinlis and Koreaes: Two Visions of Greek Education ........................................... 84 Educational Challenges in the Century Following Independence ................................. 95 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 99 CHAPTER FOUR: HISTORIOGRAPHY, IDENTITY, AND THE GREEK TEXTBOOK ................................................................................................................ 100 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 100 Organization of Greek Schools .................................................................................... 101 vi When the Past Meets the Present: The Creation of a Greek National History ............ 103 Constantine Paparrigopoulos and the Development of One Continuous Greek History....................................................................................................................... 106 General Characteristics of the Greek History Curriculum ........................................... 112 General Characteristics of the Greek Language Curriculum ....................................... 121 General Characteristics of the Geography Curriculum ................................................ 132 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 138 CHAPTER FIVE: CLIO IN THE HISTORY TEXTBOOK .......................................... 140 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 140 Historical Change and Political Intent: The Case of American History Textbooks .... 141 Comparing Textbooks of the Past and Present: The Case of European Textbooks..... 145 Textbooks and Traditional Enemies: How Neighboring Nations Portray One Another ..................................................................................................................... 149 Distorting the Past: Common Historical Themes in the Greek Textbook ................... 156 The Greek History Textbook: 1834-1880 .................................................................... 161 A Borrowed Past: Ancient Greek History in Four Translated Texts ........................... 167 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 174 CHAPTER