The latest seminar in the the Greek Community of Melbourne’s history lecture series will be presented by UNSW lecturer and author Nick Doumanis.
Exploring the experience of the first generation of post-war Greek Australians, Doumanis will examine how migrants in the years after WWII “reconstituted themselves as men, women, families, and ethnic subjects”.
Coming typically from village communities, Doumanis’ research details how the first generation experienced a series of social transformations, first within the working class of Melbourne and Sydney, but soon after elevating themselves in Australia’s social structures.
Conditioned by Australian ways such as learning western working practices, paying bills, dealing with services, institutional life and everyday social engagement, the lecture will give an insight into how these experiences shaped the lives of these pioneers of our community who laid the foundation for our own lives.
Described by Doumanis as a neglected but fascinating story, the academic’s work on the subject reveals the experiences of the generation at the heart of the modern Greek Australian story, and the success of Australia’s remarkable post-war immigration experiment, where successive governments orchestrated a brave and remarkable program to rapidly expand the nation’s population and productive capacity.
Nick Doumanis will deliver his lecture ‘The post-war generation: Becoming Australian, staying Greek’ at the Greek Centre, Melbourne on Thursday 6 August at 7.00 pm.
