Αντικείμενα/Objects presents a collection of cultural artifacts—from artworks, manuscripts, and photo albums to a map, a coin, and a social media feed—and explores how these objects contribute to the ongoing project of Greek nation making. By considering nation making through the perspective of these objects, Αντικείμενα/Objects seeks to expand understanding of what nation making entails. Each analysis of an object is driven by an initial question and develops an argument revealing something about the role of that object in Greek nation making as well as offering a takeaway about the dynamics of nation making more broadly.
The project originated as a collaborative endeavor among students in Unmaking Nation Making, a fall 2023 course at Princeton. The course uses Greece as a case study to examine the cultural and ideological resources—including the use of the past, the construction of ethnicity, the development of a cuisine, and the place of dissent—that go into making a nation. A fundamental aim of this project is to make materials and insights from the course accessible to a broad public audience.
A list of sources used in this project is available here.
The object analyses were created with Exhibit.
Creators: Ricky Chen, Adriana Clark, Connor Evans, Isabella Garces, Nick Manetas, Arman Nemati, Oliver Nolan, Joseph Olatunji, Karolina Rokka, D'Schon Simmons, Philip Tziamtzis, Leo Yu, Jaden Yun, Yanning Zhang, and Maksim Zvolyak
Project conceptualization and direction: Soo-Young Kim
Website development: Ben Johnston
This project would not exist without the support of the following people and programs at Princeton University: Ben Johnston and the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, David Jenkins and Princeton University Libraries, the Freshman Seminars Program, and the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies