Greek Folk Poetry and Queer History
During a recent visit to the Institut de France, Reid Hall Faculty Visitor Nikolas Kakkoufa explored the archives of Claude Fauriel, who collected Greek folk songs and poetry—including what is considered the first Greek homosexual poem. In this episode, he shares insights on the emotional connections to archival research, teaching Modern Greek to undergraduates, and his upcoming book, A Queer History of Modern Greek Writing.
Atelier is produced by the Columbia Global Paris Center, a Columbia University initiative housed at Reid Hall.
Nikolas P. Kakkoufa joined the Columbia Department of Classics in 2017. Before his appointment at Columbia, he taught at Princeton University and the University of Cyprus. He received a BA in Classical Studies and Philosophy and an MA in Modern Greek Philology from the University of Cyprus and a PhD in Modern Greek Studies from King’s College London (2015). During 2020-2021, he was a Marilena Laskiridis Research Fellow in Modern Greek Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He is the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Program in Hellenic Studies where he also directs the Modern Greek Language Program and teaches language classes (Elementary to Advanced) and classes on Modern Greek and Comparative Literature, Reception, and Sexuality. He is also an affiliated faculty member of the Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender and the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society. He has served on the Lecturers Advisory Committee (2020-2023) and on the Columbia University Senate (2021-2023). In 2021, he was awarded a Provost Large-Scale Teaching & Learning Grant for the project Learning Greece from the Streets: An Urban E-Archaeology of the City.
