Patricia Barbeito, a professor of English at the Rhode Island School of Design, spoke to a handful of Yale community members Tuesday about the global re-emergence of the “crime noir” literary genre and its implications as a tool for understanding globalization.
Entitled “Crisis Noir: Petros Markaris’ Detective Novels and the Greek Financial Crisis,” Barbeito’s talk discussed Greek author Petros Markaris’ trilogy of detective novels about Greece’s financial crisis, arguing that Markaris’ use of the crime noir genre challenges societal conventions and provides insight on Greek culture beyond recent headlines, which tend to focus on “traumatic” economic and political events. In her talk, Barbeito emphasized how artistic culture reflects an important aspect of Greek society often overlooked by the media — a view echoed by Hellenic Studies lecturer George Syrimis, who coordinated the event.
“Strangely, but also somewhat conventionally, the arts thrive in crisis,” Syrimis said. “There’s a big gap in the coverage of what’s going on in Greece artistically; it’s a little secret that there’s been a renaissance in Greece the last five years.”
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