Lecture by Athanasios Gekas, Christopher Grafos & Kali Petropoulos (York University: Co-Founders/Directors of the Greek Canadian History Project (GCHP) & Public Relations Coordinator of the GCHP), “Memory and Migration: A Glimpse of Greek Immigrant Life in Toronto, 1864 - Present”

The construction of ethnic communities in North America is a process of negotiation. What remnants of a migrant’s past are palatable to the host society and what aspects of the homeland survive the transatlantic voyage? This presentation examines these questions through a historical lens and chronicles the evolution of Greek identity in Toronto, Canada.

The lecture will be preceded by a brief presentation of the Greek Canadian History Project / Πρόγραμμα Έρευνας Ελληνο-Καναδικής Ιστορίας (http://archives.library.yorku.ca/gchp/), which aims to illuminate the history and events that have shaped the experiences of Greek immigrants in Canada and their descendants.

Canadian Film: “Our Man in Tehran” (85 minutes; English; 2013)

"Our Man in Tehran" is a Canadian documentary directed by Drew Taylor and Larry Weinstein that chronicles the true story of Canada's former ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, who was responsible for the high-risk rescue of six U.S. diplomats trapped in Iran. The film is Canada's response to the Hollywood feature "Argo" uncovering new information on the 1979 hostage crisis and adding ample valuable content.

The world watched with fear in November 1979, when Iranian students infiltrated and occupied the American embassy in Tehran. The Americans were caught entirely by surprise, and what began as a swift and seemingly short-lived takeover evolved into a crisis that would see fifty four embassy personnel held hostage, most for 444 days. As Tehran exploded in a fury of revolution, six American diplomats secretly escaped. For three months, Ken Taylor, the Canadian ambassador to Iran—along with his wife and embassy staffers—concealed the Americans in their homes, always with the prospect that the revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini would exact deadly consequences. The United States found itself handcuffed by a fractured, fundamentalist government it could not understand and had completely underestimated. With limited intelligence resources available on the ground and anti-American sentiment growing, President Carter turned to Taylor to work with the CIA in developing their exfiltration plans. Until now, the true story behind Taylor’s involvement in the escape of the six diplomats and the Eagle Claw commando raid has remained classified.

Lecture by James Horncastle, (PhD Candidate, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies, Simon Fraser University), “Temperature Falling: The Greek Civil War and the Origins of the Cold War”

Traditional examinations of the Cold War usually encompass any political development in the immediate post-Second World War period until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the linkages between the Greek Civil War and the Cold War have often been obscured, or portrayed in binary terms, which detracts from the analytical process. Upon critical examination of the available source material, however, it becomes clear that the Greek Civil War was not only the first proxy war during the Cold War, but also the arena where what would become the two opposing blocs defined their own identities. In so doing, the Greek Civil War helped to shape many of the major dynamics of what would become the Cold War.

The Institute will remain closed today for the Pentecost holiday.