Stratis Papaioannou
William A. Dyer, Jr. Assistant Professor in the Humanities and Dumbarton Oaks Assistant Professor of Byzantine Studies:
Wilbour Hall 102
Phone: 401-863-2173
Phone 2: 401-863-1267
Eustratios_Papaioannou@brown.edu
Stratis Papaioannou studies post-classical Greek literary and cultural history, especially late antique and Byzantine writing in its social context. His wider interests are in premodern book and letter-writing cultures, literary aesthetics, and concepts of gender, self, and desire. Papaioannou has published on Gregory of Nazianzus and, especially, Michael Psellos, while his work is divided in interpretative study, critical edition, and translation.
Biography
A native of Trikala Greece, Stratis Papaioannou studied Greek literature at the University of Athens, Greece (B.A. 1995) and Byzantine literature and culture at the University of Vienna (D.Phil. 2000). Before joining Brown's Department of Classics in January 2006, Papaioannou taught post-classical Greek at The Catholic University of America (2000-2005). He has received research fellowships from Harvard University (1998-1999), Dumbarton Oaks (1999-2000), Centre for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo (2002-2003), and the Humboldt Foundation, Freie Universität in Berlin (2005). He has also taught at the Centre d'études Byzantines, néo-helléniques et sud-est européennes at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris (June 2009). During the summer, Papaioannou teaches Medieval Greek and Palaeography at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (2005, 2007, 2009) and at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C. (2008, 2010).
Interests
Three closely related projects are currently in preparation: (1) A study on Michael Psellos' literary theory and practice (11th-century CE, Constantinople) placed in the history of Roman, late antique and medieval Greek aesthetics of mimesis and self-representational writing. (2) A critical edition of Psellos' letter-collection for the Teubner Series. And (3) English translation of several Psellian texts pertaining to literary criticism and visual aesthetics (co-edited with Charles Barber for the University of Notre Dame Press).
Forthcoming and recently published work includes the following:
"Byzantine Mirrors: Self-Reflection in Medieval Greek Writing." In Dumbarton Oaks Papers 64 (2010) (forthcoming).
"Michael Psellos on Friendship and Love: Erotic Discourse in Eleventh-Century Constantinople." In: Early Medieval Europe 18 (2010) (forthcoming).
"The Byzantine Late Antiquity." In: P. Rousseau and J. Raithel (eds.), A Companion to Late Antiquity (Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Ancient history; Chichester and Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) 17-28.
"On the Stage of Eros: Two Rhetorical Exercises by Nikephoros Basilakes." In: M. Grünbart (ed.), Theatron. Rhetorische Kultur in Spätantike und Mittelalter = Theatron. Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Millennium Studien 13; Berlin and New York: De Gruyter, 2007) 355-374.
"Animate Statues: Aesthetics and Movement." In: C. Barber and D. Jenkins (eds.), Reading Michael Psellos (The Medieval Mediterranean 61; Leiden: Brill, 2006) 95-116.
"Gregory and the Constraint of Sameness." In: J. Børtnes and T. Hägg (eds.), Gregory of Nazianzus: Images and Reflections (Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006) 59-81.
Degrees
B.A., Philology, University of Athens, Greece, 1995; Ph.D., Byzantine Literature and Culture, University of Vienna, Austria, 2000.
Awards
- Humboldt Fellowship, Freie Universität, Berlin (Fall 2005)
- Nominated Fellowship (for the research group, Aesthetics and Cognition), Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo (Fall 2002, Summer 2003)
- Junior Fellowship in Byzantine Studies, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Harvard University (1999-2000)
- Greek Scholarship Award, Harvard University (1998-1999)
- University of Vienna Fellowship (1998-1999)
- State Scholarships Foundation, Athens (1997-2000)
- Award for Academic Excellence in Philology, University of Athens (1991-1992, 1993-1994)
Affiliations
American Philological Association
U.S. National Committee for Byzantine Studies
Member of the Governing Board of the Byzantine Studies Association of North America (2006-2010)
Teaching
Undergraduate courses on Byzantine culture as well as ancient and medieval literary aesthetics. Graduate seminars on Greek Palaeography and premodern book cultures, post-classical Greek language and literature, the history of Greek autobiography and concepts of desire.
Funded Research
2008 Salomon Award
Humboldt Fellowship, Freie Universität, Berlin (Fall 2005)
Research Grant-in-Aid for the edition of Michael Psellos's letters, The Catholic University of America (Spring 2004, 2001)