Dimitris Kentrotis - Zinelis is a PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

More information about Dimitris Kentrotis Zinelis

Fields of interest

• Classical Reception (20^th /21^st Century)
• Greek Tragedy
• Irish Literature, History and Politics
• Modern/Contemporary literatures in English

Research

"My PhD project with the working title ‘When Dionysus Lands on Erin: Greek Tragedy on Irish Grounds' examines the ongoing emergence of Irish theatrical plays inspired by Greek tragedy and its notorious protagonists. Specifically, I investigate how the reception of stories derived from the Greek tragedy body enables contemporary Irish writers such as Seamus Heaney, Marina Carr and Tom Paulin to address an array of deep-rooted Irish historico-political realities. The Troubles, Ireland’s colonial past and its intricate relationship with England, the border dividing Ireland into the (mainly Protestant) North and the (mainly Catholic) South, the amalgamation of womanhood and motherhood prevalent in Irish society, abortion rights and alcohol abuse, are some of the major themes addressed by the Irish playwrights. The format of these new plays ranges from a straight interlingual translation of the ancient Greek text to English to way looser attempts transferring the action of the play to a modern setting.

The overall aim of my research is to showcase the mechanics of this process of classical reception between Greek source-text and Irish re-envision, but also to pinpoint the existence of certain undeniable endemic traits in the Irish texts enabling these plays to take up a life of their own and eventually be considered at the epicenter of the Irish literary tradition.

Since I am a trained classicist and additionally became familiar with literary studies, in my research I follow a methodology involving a hands-on philologist approach for the ancient Greek text paired with an equal consideration to literary theory apropos the modern Irish adaptation."

Curriculum Vitae

• 2018 – Present: PhD candidate at Leiden University Centre for Arts in Society, Modern English Literature & Classics.
• 2013 – 2016: ResMA (cum laude) Literary Studies at Leiden University. Master’s Thesis on the theatrical reception of Antigone and Medea in Ireland during the second part of the 20^th century. 
• 2009 – 2012: BA (honours) Classics at Durham University, United Kingdom. Bachelor’s Thesis on the overall significance of the Myth of Er in Plato’s Republic.

Supervisors
Prof. Peter Liebregts
Prof. Antje Wessels

Ancillary Activities
Part of the organizing committee of LUCAS Conference ‘Bodies Matter’, 2021.

Grants and awards
LUF Grant for the organization of Bodies Matter Conference, 2020. 

Publications

Activities