The Australian Academy of the Humanities has announced the election of 41 new Fellows. These are distinguished individuals who “who have left an indelible mark on their field, and a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of societies and cultures” as the Academy notes.
Among these distinguished individuals is Mr. Vrasidas Karalis, Professor at the University of Sydney and the Saint Andrew’s Theological College of the Holy Archdiocese of Australia, as well as Archon of the Great Church of Christ, member of the “Order of Christ the Saviour”, tonsured by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew himself, during the recent visit of His All-Holiness to Australia.
Election to the Academy is the highest honour in the humanities in Australia. Professor Karalis was awarded the honour in recognition of being a “leading international scholar of Greek cinema”. As the Academy emphasises: “The original and comprehensive work of data collection, analysis and interpretation represents a ground-breaking justification of the importance of the Greek cinema to the history of European cinema.”
President of the Academy Professor Stephen Garton AM FAHA FRAHS FASSA FRSN said, ‘Each of our Fellows are working at the forefront of issues of national and international importance and exemplify why ethical, historical, creative and cultural knowledge and expertise is critical to better decision making for a resilient society.’
‘Australia is facing a multitude of complex and vexed issues. Hard issues do not have black and white answers, and the humanities are critical for understanding how individuals shape and are shaped by broader social, cultural and scientific contexts. Solutions to contemporary problems require a deep understanding of these perspectives and knowledges.’
‘Fellows elected today are exemplary leaders working in critical spaces where Australia needs to be”, emphasised Mr. Garton, adding that they are “building our understanding of Asia and the Pacific, truth-telling and shedding light on a shared history and shaping our national artistic and cultural identity.”
It is also noted that The Australian Academy of the Humanities is one of Australia’s five Learned Academies — independent organisations established to encourage excellence in their respective fields and to provide expertise and advice at public, institutional and government levels.
Who is Mr. Vrasidas Karalis?
Professor Vrasidas Karalis was born in the town of Krestena, Ilia prefecture, in 1960, while he grew up in Piraeus and graduated from the University of Athens in 1983.
Since 1990 he has been teaching at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he holds the Sir Nicholas Laurantos Chair in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies.
He is editor of the Journal of Modern Greek Studies (Australia and New Zealand).
He has published translations of works of Byzantine historiography and studies on the work of Zisimos Lorentzatos, Nikos Kazantzakis and Dionysios Solomos. He has published a large number of articles on works and authors of modern Greek literature, while he has translated into Greek the novels of the Australian Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick White.
In English, he has published many works, among others, Realism in Greek Cinema (2017), The Cinematic Language of Theo Angelopoulos (2022), Theo Angelopoulos: Filmmaker and Philosopher (2023) and has edited collective volumes on Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt and Cornelius Castoriadis.
His work ‘A History of Greek Cinema’ (2012) was released in 2023 and also in Greek, translated by Achilleas Dellis, under the title «Μια ιστορία του Ελληνικού Κινηματογράφου» “A History of Greek Cinema”.
