Modern Greek Studies Association
The Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant in Greek American Studies
Grant Description
The Modern Greek Studies Association (MGSA) is pleased to announce the Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant. This biennial grant is designed to facilitate research projects within the broad scope of Greek American Studies. We encourage proposals that contribute to, challenge, or reframe our understanding of existing and emerging topics within the field of Greek American Studies.
The successful applicant will receive an individual grant of up to $2,000. Moreover, if the successful grantee subsequently submits an abstract for presentation at the next MGSA symposium, and that abstract is accepted, then they will be eligible for an additional travel grant of $500.
Details of funded projects will be featured on the MGSA website, social media platforms, and announced during the MGSA Symposium.
The grant is named in honor of Dr. Harry J. Psomiades (1928-2011), who served as a Professor of Political Science from 1970-2002 and was the founder and director of the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Queens College, The City University of New York. In 1984, Dr. Psomiades, alongside Nomikos Vaporis, established the Journal of Modern Hellenism. Renowned as an accomplished academic and beloved professor, Dr. Psomiades was deeply committed to serving the wider Greek American community.
2025 Grant Recipient
2025-26: The recipient of the grant is Jerry Christodoulatos (History, University of California San Diego). He is a graduate student in the Department of History studying modern European history. His research focuses on twentieth century Greek history, particularly in the post-war period and the era of the Dictatorship of the Colonels, more specifically (1967-1974). He is interested in the resistance movements that formed in response to the military junta in Greece and the United States, and in diaspora-homeland political engagement more broadly.
The recipient will travel to the New York Public Library and conduct a comprehensive study of the political commentary and reportage in New York City’s most established Greek language newspapers, Atlantis and Ethnikos Keryx, during the period of the Colonels’ Dictatorship (1967-1974). This research will support two key objectives: 1) to fill a significant gap in the scholarship on Greek American media during this period and 2) to provide critical evidence for the recipient's dissertation on Greek American anti-junta activism in New York City.
Eligibility
Eligibility for the Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant is limited to members of the Modern Greek Studies Association. This biennial grant is awarded for a maximum duration of one year, starting from the award date through the completion of the research project. A final report is expected two months after the project's conclusion.
Anyone who fulfills the eligibility criteria is invited to apply, including part-time and full-time faculty in adjunct, tenure track, and tenured positions. Graduate students in the final stages of their dissertation, early career researchers, as well as librarians, staff, and other people who work in education-related institutions, are especially encouraged to apply.
Individuals are limited to one MGSA Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant within a six-year period.
Application Process
A call for applications for the MGSA Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant will be made on November 1 during the same year as the MGSA Symposium. Applications are due by February 1 and awardees will be announced by the 1st of March.
Compile the following documents as a single PDF and email it to [email protected]
- One-page cover sheet that includes your contact information: Name, institutional affiliation (if any), preferred mailing address, phone number, email address, the title of your work.
- CV (up to 5 pages).
- Two-page maximum (single-spaced) project narrative, which addresses the following components:
- Significance: Discuss the significance of your topic and your contribution to Greek American Studies. What sources will you be using? What will the grant help you accomplish? Comment on the secondary scholarship that informs this study. Should the research involve human research participation, applicants must provide documentation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval.
- Budget: Include a budget that outlines projected direct expenses, up to the $2,000 maximum allowable amount. This amount may be utilized for various purposes, including travel to libraries or archives, acquisition of microfilms, photographs, or photocopying, etc.
- Final Product and Dissemination: What is the grant supporting (e.g., conference paper, article, book, digital humanities project, etc.)? What is your timeline?
- Bibliography (1 page, single-spaced) of the most recent, relevant secondary literature on the topic.
- Letters of recommendation are NOT required.
Selection Process
A selection committee reviews applications in the winter following each MGSA Symposium. Applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by email by March 1.
Requirements
The successful applicant will be expected to submit a final project report that addresses the substance of the research, progress to date, and plans for dissemination. Failure to provide a report will disqualify applicants for future consideration.
Awardees are strongly encouraged to submit their work to the Journal of Modern Greek Studies for consideration. They are also encouraged to present their research at the MGSA Symposium in the year following the award. Awardees whose proposals are accepted for presentation at the MGSA Symposium will receive an additional travel grant of $500 to facilitate their participation in the symposium.
Awardees should acknowledge financial support from the MGSA Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant in presentations or publications resulting from this research support.
Credit: Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies Records, Queens College Special Collections and Archives
About Harry J. Psomiades
Harry J. Psomiades (1928-2011) was a distinguished American political scientist, researcher, and author, known for his long tenure at Queens College and The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he taught from 1965 to 2003. He founded and directed the Center for Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Queens College from 1974 until 2003 and co-founded and co-edited the Journal of Modern Hellenism. He contributed to numerous books and essays on a wide range of topics, including Greece, Cyprus, Greek America, Asia Minor, and the Pontos.
Born on September 8, 1928, in Boston, MA to Pontian Greek parents, Dr. Psomiades was educated at the Boston Latin School and Boston University before earning his PhD in Public Law and Government from Columbia University in 1962. In recognition of his efforts to promote Greek culture, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Hellenic College/Holy Cross Orthodox Seminary in 1985, and in 1996 he was named Commander of the Order of Honor by the Greek Republic. Dr. Psomiades passed away on August 13, 2011, at the age of 82.
Selection Committee for the Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant in Greek American Studies
The committee is composed of three eligible members. Their selection is based on the need for disciplinary representation and diversity in gender and academic rank, with two members of the Selection Committee (including the Chair) drawn from the members of the Transnational Studies Committee, and a third member drawn from outside the Transnational Studies Committee. For each competition, a new committee is comprised and no committee member shall serve two consecutive terms. The committee will be formed after the autumn MGSA Executive Board meeting of the Symposium year. Once a committee has been convened, members of the committee must review its procedures and establish an appropriate timetable for its work.
The committee's service begins on Feb 1 of each competition year and, while the work of the committee is generally completed by the time the grant award is announced at the next MGSA Symposium, the committee remains operative until a subsequent committee is appointed during or after the Symposium. The chairperson of the committee is a voting member of the committee. Committee members are not permitted to submit their own grant applications while serving on the Selection Committee.
Selection Process
Each committee member independently reads and rates the applications entered in the competition and communicates the results of his/her evaluation to the chairperson of the committee via email. Criteria to be used in making this evaluation include:
- scholarly rigor
- innovation
- impact and importance of the application in terms of breadth of topic and appeal
- the contribution made to the scholarly understanding of Greek American Studies
- the clarity of writing.
The evaluation results of each committee member should reflect a rank-ordering of the submissions. A discussion of these rankings will lead to the final decision.
Once a decision has been made, the chair announces the winner of the grant competition to the MGSA Executive Director and to the members of the Harry J. Psomiades Research Grant in Greek American Studies. The winner as well as the other applicants are notified in writing by the chair of the committee. The award is publicly announced and the MGSA Executive Director mails the $2,000 award to the winner. An additional $500 is awarded to the winner if they have been accepted to present their work at the next MGSA Symposium.