Moving On
In the stacks with BJV
It is with with some sadness that he leaves the project, but the Papers are in good hands with Department Head, Sheila O ‘Neill.
Thanks to Mrs. Vlavianos Hosmer, Dr. Speros Vryonis, Dr. Katerina Lagos, Dr. Chris Castaneda and Sheila. This was a significant and fascinating education for an archivist!
~~Aaron
From the SCUA Department Head
Head of Special Collections, Sheila O'Neill and Hellenic Studies Research Fellow, Aaron Richardson
Thanks to special funding provided through the Hellenic Studies Center at Sacramento State, Aaron Richardson continues with the Vlavianos project this summer and fall as a Research Fellow. Aaron will continue to serve as lead archivist in the arrangement and description of this large and complex collection.
Over the course of the summer and fall semesters, he will describe documentation related to Vlavianos’ role as publisher of the National Herald, as well as his varied activities related to the Greek War Relief effort in the U.S. and internationally.
Aaron will also carry out research for an upcoming exhibit on the topic of Greece during WWII. We are all very pleased to still have Aaron among the Vlavianos troops who work in the trenches each semester to arrange and describe this valuable research collection.
Music of the Greco-Italian War (1940-41)
On October 28, 1940, Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, made an offer he thought could not be refused to the Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas. Italian troops were to enter Greece and occupy the country. Metaxas’s answer? A resounding NO. In the battle that ensued, Greece not only defended its border, but pushed the Italian troops up into Albania.
In an October 29, 1940 article, Basil J. Vlavianos, now editor of the National Herald, quoted Constantine Cavafy, “Honor to those who in the life they lead define and guard a Thermopylae” in praise of the actions of both the government and people of Greece.
In Greece, songs of victory were heard throughout the streets. And artists like Sofia Vembo and Nikos Gounaris couldn’t help but mock Mussolini’s humiliating defeat in songs like “Mussolini the Fool,” “Il Duce Puts on His Uniform,” and “Tsk, Tsk, What Did Mussolini Suffer?”
vlavianos archives display
Selections from the Vlavianos archives are on display in the Special Collections reading room at the CSUS University Library. Some photos are below.
biographical materials
political materials
ahepa artifacts
greek war relief association poster
dimitri mitropoulos' bluthner grand piano
athanassakis lecture
Professor Apostolos Athanassakis Lecture at CSU, Sacramento
Friday 3-20-09
Professor Apostolos Athanassakis, who will deliver this Friday, March 20, the Opening Night Lecture for the Mehri Yazdani exhibit in the University Library Gallery(exhibit: “Hellenism & the Elements”; lecture: “Hellenic Poetry as the Art of Speaking through the Elements”) has offered to preside at an informal discussion of various topics relating to his scholarship and teaching.
The discussion will take place this Friday from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. on the CSUS campus in Amador 354. Feel free to drop in or to leave anytime during the session.
Professor Athanassakis is an expert on Homeric poetry and on Hesiod, among various other subjects in classical studies. Depending on the interests of attendees, topics of discussion likely will include:
· Homeric geography
· Arrangement of the books of the Odyssey
· Translating the works of Hesiod, the Homeric poems, the Orphic hymns, the Apocolocyntosis, et al.
(Some have probably read his translations published by Johns Hopkins University press, and included in classical mythology anthologies, etc.) For information on Professor Apostolos: http://www.classics.ucsb.edu/athanassakis.php
The schedule for the evening lecture:
· Reception (Library breezeway), 6:00-7:00; the exhibit will be open
· Lecture, 7:30 (inside the Library, next to the Gallery)
greece: between east and west lecture
Mar 12, 2009
DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR PRESENTATION
“Greece: Between East and West”
The Hellenic Studies Program at California State University, Sacramento, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Foundation, American Hellenic Professional Society, and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) invite you to join us for the upcoming lecture by Dr. Sotiris Mousouris, former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and former President of the Organization of the Construction of the New Acropolis Museum.
Thursday, March 12, 2009 Senator Nicholas Petris Room, Library 3023 (3rd floor) Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection, University Library
Schedule of Events:
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.: presentation and discussion
8:30 – 9:30 p.m. : refreshments
The presentation and reception are free and open to the public. This event has been made possible by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA).
For further information, contact Dr. Katerina Lagos at (916) 278-7103.
hellenism and the elements exhibit opening night
Mar 15, 2009
Hellenism and the Elements Exhibit Opening Night
The Hellenic Studies Program at California State University, Sacramento, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Foundation, American Hellenic Professional Society, and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) invite you to join us for the opening night of the Hellenism and the Elements exhibit and presentation by the artist, Ms. Mehri Yazdani.
Ms. Yazdani will give a presentation entitled: “The Seed: The Creation of the Elements”
Sunday, March 15, 2009 University Library Gallery (1st floor)
Schedule of Events:
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. exhibit viewing and reception
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. presentation and discussion.
The presentation and reception are free and open to the public.This event has been made possible by generous grants from the Tsakopoulos Hellenic Foundation.
For further information, contact Dr. Katerina Lagos at (916) 278-7103.
progress
The BJV Project is progressing nicely. We’ve a whole workshop of labor now working on the collection, with three new interns added this spring. Jennifer Crouch will also be re-joining the team to continue work on the photograph collection. So the shop is buzzing with activity. We will shortly begin work on the National Herald newspaper materials which are some of the most important in the collection. When this is completed we will have the majority of the Business series organized.
We have also recently heard from our colleague Kostis Karpozilos who, while in Athens, continues to work away on his PhD dissertation on the history Greek-American labor radicalism. We send him our greetings!
Finally, Special Collections/Tsakopoulos Hellenic is in the process of acquiring a another small collection of very interesting Greek-American papers. More news as it comes available.
~~Aaron
sonya lovine, intern
Sonya Lovine, graduate student intern
Hello! My name is Sonya Lovine. I started my internship with the CSUS Special Collections department at the beginning of this spring semester. I’ll be doing a research project on digitization for preservation and access grants, learning what grants are out there and what digital projects have been funded, studying the Basil J. Vlavianos collection, and finally, making recommendations of grant possibilities for this collection with intentions of helping the department submit future grant proposals. In addition, I’ll also be learning the basics of using digital technologies to preserve and provide better access to digital collections. I’ll have my work cut out for me!
A little bit about me ~ I’m a part-time grad student at Sacramento State University in the Public History program. This is my third semester in grad school. I also work as a Sponsored Research Officer in the Research Administration office here at Sacramento State and have worked for the University now for just over 20 years.
what is digital history?
From George Mason’s Center for History and New Media:
What is Digital History?
Digital history is an approach to examining and representing the past that takes advantage of new communication technologies such as computers and the Web. It draws on essential features of the digital realm, such as databases, hypertextualization, and networks, to create and share historical knowledge.
Digital history complements other forms of history—indeed, it draws its strength and methodological rigor from this age-old form of human understanding while using the latest technology.
We have added a feed for Center for History and New Media’s Digital Campus podcast
on the right side————————————————————–>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Check out these very witty and interesting discussions.
~Aaron
michelle wallen: archival intern
archival intern, Michelle Wallen with correspondence sorting project
My name is Michelle Wallen and I started working on the Basil J. Vlavianos Project about 3 weeks ago. I am a graduate student in my second semester in the California State University, Sacramento Public History program. I am studying to become an archivist in the future.
My work on the Vlavianos collection involves arranging the correspondence series. The correspondence spans his entire life and covers many different topics. Some of it is personal, between Vlavianos and his family members or close friends. Some of it is business related. Much of it is both. Vlavianos had many friends and often his incoming and outgoing letters include both business talk and personal information.
One of the most prominent figures to send Vlavianos a letter was FDR. Roosevelt wrote to him during his presidency to let Vlavianos know how much the American people cared for Greece, the birthplace of democracy.
However, I find the personal correspondence between close friends and family members to be the most interesting. Drawings from his grandchild or a letter from a destitute woman living in Greece begging for monetary assistance for her starving family can be quite touching.
The correspondence was arranged by Vlavianos into decades, years, alphabetical by sender (or recipient), subject, and even months within years. Although much of this has been straightforward and easy to categorize, but there are also several folders of completely miscellaneous correspondence. That will be more of a challenge!
hellenic studies specialist, despina kreatsoulas, joins BJV project
My name is Despina M. Kreatsoulas and I am a graduate student in the California State University, Sacramento Public History program. I am also a first generation Greek-American, my father was born and raised in Chios, Greece. I received my bachelor’s degree this past spring (2008) in Hellenic Studies. My main areas of interest and focus are World War II and Civil War era in Greece, as well as the history and folklore of the island of Chios.
I am very excited to be working on the Basil J. Vlavianos Project this semester and am looking forward to learning more about Basil J. Vlavianos. Though I am particularly excited to see the boxes regarding the Greek American War Relief Association, I must say that each box I have worked with so far in the academic and legal series, have been a treasure trove. Correspondence from prominent Americans and Europeans, bits of paper with reflections or poetry, academia and law code. It gives just a bit more of an insight into the life of this incredibly intellectual, diverse, and influential man.
spring term begins!
Spring Term has begun at SCUA and the BJV Project presses on! Our blog has a new look, revisions to the website are in the works, and we have recently added a new Greek-speaking graduate intern who will introduce herself shortly. We continue to process the collection, working now on Vlavianos’ Academic and Legal papers. Very interesting materials on international law from the 1920s and 1930s! Finally, we continue to research grants and possible sources for funding our work. Til next time!
~~Aaron
real estate
Ah, the good old days. With the recent sub-prime market meltdown and Wall Street bailout fiasco, I thought I would share an artifact from another era – one of wealth and prosperity, when white people moved away from the cities and into the newly formed suburbs. An era when the homes were modular not the loans.
Just one of many interesting finds from the Business Series.
karpozilos lecture
Basil Vlavianos at his desk in The National Herald office.
Presents a free public lecture:
“Labor Unions, Radicalism, and New Deal Politics in Greek-American Communities (1930-1945)” by:
Kostis KarpozilosVisiting scholar, Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection
Doctoral Candidate in History, University of Crete
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Special Collections and University Archives
University Library
Preview of Vlavianos Collection exhibit: 6:00 p.m.
Lecture: 6:30 p.m.
FREE!
The Tsakopoulos Hellenic Collection Library Research Grant has been made possible by the University Library and the Friends of the CSUS Library.
Individuals needing accommodations for disability access should contact (916) 278-5679 or libadmin@csus.edu at least five days before the event.
david lushbaugh: archival intern
Golden Griffin logo. Designed by Czech graphic designer, Ladislav Sutnar
My name is David Lushbaugh and I am an archival intern working as part of the Basil J. Vlavianos Papers processing team. Currently I am surveying and analyzing the Business Series (approximately 25 linear feet) with an eye toward an arrangement scheme involving 5 to 6 subseries detailing the various companies with whom Vlavianos was affiliated. Although the bulk of the series deals, in one form or another, with international trade (air and sea freight, exporting and importing), a large portion of it reflects Vlavianos’s interest in and involvement with real estate, banking and the film industry. Despite its rather unromantic sounding title, the Business Series provides valuable insight into the early expansion of international industrial trade, and the subsequent economic boom of Europe and the United States post WWII. With each dusty box lid removed something unexpected and exciting is revealed, so stay tuned.
sheila o’neill
Sheila O' Neill
Hi, I’m Sheila O’Neill and I’m Head of the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at the University Library, California State University Sacramento. Over the past year and a half, I have had the great pleasure of working with a wonderful team of students who have been processing the Basil Vlavianos papers at California State University, Sacramento. The processing project began in 2007 when a then shy and extremely reclusive graduate student in the Public History Program requested work as an intern in the department. I thought to myself, this young man needs some excitement in his life and nothing would be finer than to send this shy lad on a trip across time and space, into the world of mid-20th century Europe hurling at a break neck speed toward World War II. To become engulfed in the chaos of the past and yet to push beyond the darkness and into the light – one series at a time – that is the stuff of archival joy. Bravo AR!
dimitri mitropoulos
Basil Vlavianos befriended and supported Greek-American musician, Dimitri Mitropoulos (1890-1960). Vlavianos’ papers include correspondence and photographs of the composer, conductor, and pianist. The CSUS Special Collections Reading Room also holds the piano which Vlavianos bought from Mitropoulos in order that his daughter Zita could learn to play. Here is an interesting audio program About Dimitri Mitropoulos. See also the very interesting archival exhibit featuring his papers at University of Pennsylvania, here: http://www.library.upenn.edu/exhibits/rbm/music/mitropoulos.html.
greece in world war ii
Interesting videos about Greece during World War II: And about the Greek Resistance:
jennifer crouch: student assistant
Hi,
I’m Jennifer Crouch, an undergraduate student at CSUS and a student assistant helping with the Basil J. Vlavianos Papers Project. During the summer I worked on processing and indexing the photographs, and during the spring semester I did data entry and editing on the finding aid, and labeled record cartons. Currently, I’m working on assisting the lead archivist, Aaron Richardson, on processing the Arts, Inc. records in the Businesses series of the papers. During the processing of over 1,500 photographs in the Basil J. Vlavianos Papers, I particularly enjoyed the images Vlavianos in Hollywood. There are photographs of Vlavianos, with his wife Kati, and Ronald Regan on a movie set.
