We are delighted to welcome Dr. Manuela Pellegrino to the Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies as a Lewis-Gibson Visiting Fellow.
Dr. Pellegrino is an accomplished anthropologist with training in social anthropology and sociolinguistics, having studied at University College London and the Centre for Hellenic Studies at King’s College London. Over the past 15 years, she has conducted pioneering research on Griko, a variety of Greek spoken in Southern Italy, and more recently, the closely related language Greko in Reggio Calabria. Her work has provided valuable insights into minority languages, cultural heritage, and language revitalization, exemplified in her monograph Greek Language, Italian Landscape (2021), which examines language ideologies and policies affecting Griko.
During her fellowship, Dr. Pellegrino will focus on the comparative study of linguistic and cultural activism among Pontian-speaking communities in Northern Greece and Greek-speaking communities in Southern Italy. She will explore how these groups, despite political and geographical differences, navigate their relationships with Greek national identity, examining how they project their Hellenistic roots and negotiate ideas of sameness and otherness.
Her fieldwork in Thessaloniki and Kavala will involve interviews, participant observation, and the analysis of cultural representations, such as poetry and theatre. The outcome of this work will contribute to the understanding of language politics and national identity in both Greece and Italy and will be shared in international academic journals.
Dr. Pellegrino believes the Lewis-Gibson Fellowship offers an ideal environment to focus on her research. "The stimulating cross-disciplinary context of the Centre would allow me to engage with the various activities organised and to interact with researchers from diverse backgrounds, which would prove highly beneficial to my research." We are excited to support Dr. Pellegrino’s research and look forward to the insights she will bring.