Marianna Smaragdi

My main research interest lies in the use of metaphor in Greek song texts. In my dissertation from 2012, Fire, Poison and Black Tears. Metaphors of Emotion in Rebétiko,I treated metaphors of emotion in the Greek music genre rebétiko. I have also worked with metaphors of emotion in the poetry of Cavafy, as well as metaphorical expressions referring to antiquity in Greek rebétiko songs.

Another field of interest is the translation of Swedish literature into Greek and, at present, I work on preparing a project on literary transmission between Sweden, Greece and Spain in cooperation with a colleague from Spanish Studies, Ingela Johansson. In this project, we investigate which Swedish literature is translated into Greek and Spanish, as well as differences in reception between recipient countries.

A further ongoing collaborative project aims at investigating protest songs from two languages, Greek and Spanish, and the reception of them, especially in Sweden but also in respective country, i.e. the reception of Greek protest songs in Spain and Latin America, and that of Spanish protest songs in Greece and Cyprus. We wish to investigate the lyrics of the protest songs with a focus on metaphoricity.

I teach at all levels of Modern Greek, from beginners’ to master’s level, where courses in Greek language proficiency, literature and history are included. From beginners’ to continuation level, we also have distance courses, where I teach mainly at the beginners’ level and give lectures through interactive e-meetings. In my teaching, I pay particular attention to the contrastive elements between Greek and Swedish, as well as on language proficiency and pronunciation training. I also supervise degree essays at the bachelor and master's courses. I also teach at a course Regions of Europe -The Mediterranean Countries in Focus within European Studies.