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Message to the delegates at the Opening of the Conference, 21.07.2022

 Vassiliki Chryssanthopoulou, Conference Co-Chair

Professor Achilleas Chaldaiakis, Dean of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,

Organizers of the Conference, Tamsyn Gilbert and Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, 

Μembers of the Common Ground Interdisciplinary Social Sciences Research Network,

Delegates, colleagues, students and emerging scholars from various universities, friends,

I am delighted to welcome you to the 17th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, held in the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens. Two years ago, at the peak of the covid-19 pandemic, the 15thInternational Conference was due to be held here. We managed to hold the conference, but had to do it digitally, which was then a great challenge for the entire academic world, as we were not yet used to expansive and intensive virtual communication. Common Ground, however, has kept its promise, so here we are all, ready to enjoy a conference in situ. Moreover, academics, among other sectors of society, are now quite used to virtual and blended events. Thus, although I feel unhappy about not being able to be with you, due to health issues, as we open the conference, I am very pleased about being able to communicate with the help of technology and to welcome you all to this very rich Common Ground Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. I would also like to welcome the delegates of the 15th Global Studies Conference, which is taking place in the School of Philosophy during the same period. I apologize for not being with you physically and for my rather rough voice. 

It is wonderful to have so many experts and emerging scholars from different parts of the world presenting their research on the general thematics and the special focus of this year’s conference. We have amongst us scholars from Poland, Spain, the U.S.A., Latvia, Canada, South Africa, Thailand, Romania, Turkey, Malaysia, Mexico, the U.K., Taiwan, Brazil, Israel, Australia and Greece – my apologies if I have forgotten any country of academic origin. A large number of papers, to be delivered in situ or online, address the themes of our conference, namely: Social and Community studies, Civic and Political studies, Cultural studies, Global studies, Environmental studies, Organizational studies, Educational studies, and Communication. A rich panorama of topics examined from different disciplinary angles, in dialogue with other disciplines, spreads before us during the three days of the conference. These include important issues concerning our societies, such as migration, refugees, environmental catastrophes and climate crisis, education, family and youth, public health, the pandemic, among other topics. Other aspects, equally important in making us think about the world, such as trauma and memory, the production of knowledge, the supernatural, orality and narratives, are also included in this conference’s repertoire. We look forward to learning from each other, from creative exchanges between our sciences and, of course, to forging relations and even friendships amongst us that will lead to future academic cooperation. 

This conference’s focus on heterodoxy in the social sciences will be explored thoroughly through several plenary lectures, various papers and in the special events of this conference and in the special panel on “Interdisciplinary Exchanges and New Paradigms in the Social Sciences with a focus on Greece”, on the third day of the conference. We will be attending lectures and participating in events that illustrate different approaches, old and new, heterodoxic ones, often not conforming to the prevailing view and ethos and seen as “different from the normal”, that have emerged in the social sciences over recent times, in response to environmental and to academic challenges. Please hold this thought, as you visit the Welcommon Hostel in central Athens with Eugenia Arvanitis, as part of the case study evening tomorrow. There, you will have the opportunity to talk to people working with refugee and migrant families on matters of education and public awareness, sustainable development, human rights, and homelessness, among other issues. Also, think of heterodoxy when you hear our three professional storytellers narrate folktales from Greece, Ireland, Turkey, the U.K. and America, in which a heterodox perspective prevails in the heroes’ thoughts and actions. This will be another special event before the conference ends.

I would like to stress two distinctive aspects of this Conference for which I am grateful: The first is the fact that it is being held in the School of Philosophy, which emphasizes and facilitates the interdisciplinary nature of this conference. As our Dean will also tell you, this School is the academic home of some 13 departments: Philology, History and Archaeology, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Slavic languages and literatures, Psychology, Music studies, Theatre studies, Philosophy and Education. Many of these departments serve the Humanities but their professors increasingly use methods and ideas drawn from the social sciences – and vice versa. The small Folklore studies sector, part of the Department of Philology, where I work is such a case, in that it stands at the interstices between the humanities and the social sciences, a fact which I regard as a challenge and an advantage.

The second aspect of this conference for which I am grateful, is its emphasis on young and emerging scholars, who will be presenting their research. Thus they become apprentices to the world of academic conferences by learning on the spot and by being involved in their organization. Some of my postgraduate and doctoral students may be anxious about appearing here, but I am sure they will do well and they will be grateful for the initiation.

It is only fitting to end this message with sincere and warm thanks to all the people who have contributed to its successful organization so far and who will contribute to its running. First, I would like to thank warmly our host, the Dean of the School of Philosophy, Professor Achilleas Chaldaiakis, without whose help and support we would not have been able to prepare the auditorium, the rooms and some other important infrastructure for the conference in time for it to take place. The staff of the School, administrators, technicians, guards, caretakers and cleaners, have all helped to make things work – and will continue doing so. The organizers of the Conference, Phillip and Tamsyn of Common Ground and the members of the Research Network of the Social Sciences, who have assisted in the preparation of the program. The conference secretary, Tatiana Portnova, whose administrative efficiency has ensured the smooth running of things. My colleagues and co-chairs in the conference, Associate Professor Eugenia Arvanitis, who has organized a very rich and insightful case study event, in which social inclusion, empowerment and intercultural mediation will be discussed. Assistant Professor Georgios Kouzas, who has helped in many practical matters, by being the supervisor of this enormous building, but who is also contributing to the Special Panel discussion. A big thank you, too, to our plenary speakers and to the members of the Special Panel on Interdisciplinary Exchanges and New Paradigms in the Social Sciences, with a focus on Greece. With their lectures and contributions they will provide food for thought and illustrate different aspects of this conference. I am grateful to the three professional storytellers, Maria Constanti, Georgia Haikali, and Taxiarchis Beligiannis, for their eagerness to prepare the special event on ‘Heterodox folk narratives’ for the conference. I must also thank warmly the team of the emerging scholars and especially doctoral candidate Ioakeim Karepidis, who has been and will be extremely valuable with practical and technical issues in this conference, both during its preparation and now, during its running. Last but not least, I would like to thank you all for being part of this conference and for your interesting contributions to it. I hope that you will enjoy a healthy, happy and creative stay in Greece and I hope to see you again in the Common Ground conferences in different parts of the world.