Fellows Profile

Received Sylff fellowship in 2018
Academic supervisor: Dimitris N. Lamprellis
Current affiliation: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences

Short Bio
I was born in Athens in 1994. In 2016 I received my Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and in 2021 my MA degree from the M.A. Program “Philosophy.” For my MA studies I have been awarded a scholarship of excellence from the M.A. Program “Philosophy” and a Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship (SYLFF). Currently I am PhD candidate of the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences and I have been awarded a Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship from the University of Chicago Library to conduct my research on Leo Strauss and classical antiquity, and a Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies pre-doctoral fellowship. I am the Managing Editor of Conatus – Journal of Philosophy, the international biannual peer-reviewed open-access journal of the NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory. I have published a monograph on the platonic studies of Leo Strauss, among other publications.

Education and Degrees
• 2021-present: PhD Candidate. Department of Sociology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences. PhD Dissertation: “Leo Strauss: The Return to the Classical Tradition and the Theory-Praxis Problem. The Critique of Modern Political Thought and Social Science, and the Socratic Treatment of Liberalism.” Supervisor: Professor Dimitris N. Lamprellis.
• 2021: MA Degree. MA Program “Philosophy,” Course: “History of Philosophy,” Department of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. MA Dissertation: “Leo Strauss’s Plato.” Grade: 10 (Excellent).
• 2016: Bachelor’s Degree. Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Specialization: Philosophy. Grade: 8,70 (Excellent).
Additional/Other Education

• 2003-2012: Piano Performance and Advanced Music Theory. Greek Conservatory.

Honors & Scholarships
• 2023-2024: Pre-doctoral Fellowship in Hellenic Studies, Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University.
• 2023: Sylff Research Grant for FY2023
• 2023: Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship, The University of Chicago Library.
• 2019: The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff).
• 2017: Scholarship of Excellence. Master Program “Philosophy.” Department of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Academic & Research Experience
• 2017-present: Managing Editor. NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab Press. Book Series: [1] Hellenic-Serbian Philosophical Dialogue Series, [2] UNESCO Chair in Bioethics Casebook Series.
• 2016-present: Managing Editor. Conatus – Journal of Philosophy, international biannual open-access peer-reviewed academic journal, published by the NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory and the National Documentation Center.
• 2016-present: Research Fellow. NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory.

Participation in Research and Educational Academic Projects and Programs
• 2023: Participation in the Erasmus+ Project (Action Type: KA220-SCH - Cooperation partnerships in school education – Project No. 19464) “Philosophy With Children for Wider Social Inclusion (SOPHIE).” Partners: Philosophical Society of North Macedonia; Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje; Slovenian Philosophical Society; The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory. Duties: Intellectual Outputs: Curriculum and Lesson Plans.
• 2021: Participation in the research project “Philosophical Management of Stress” (Project No. 17295), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Region of Attica. Duties: Scientific and technical support.
• 2021: Participation in the scientific program “Mental Health Advancement in Vulnerable Populations in the Region of Attica” (Project No. 16092), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Region of Attica. Duties: Scientific and organizational support, academic material authorship.
• 2017-present: Tutor. Supplementary Distance Education Program (E-Learning) “The art of persuasion.” Center of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
• 2017-present: Tutor. Supplementary Distance Education Program (E-Learning) “Politics: Rhetoric, Techniques and Tools.” Center of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Work Experience
• 2020-present: Sales Administration. Lamda Star S.A.- Authorized Mercedes-Benz and Smart Sales & Service
• 2019-2020: General Data Protection Officer (GDO of GDPR). Lamda Central S.Ε.- Authorized Toyota Sales & Service.
• 2018-2020: Fleet Sales Administration. Lamda Central S.Ε.- Authorized Toyota Sales & Service.

Monographs
• Vertzagia, Despina. The City and The Philosopher: Leo Strauss revisits Plato [Original Title: Η Πόλη και ο Φιλόσοφος: Ο Leo Strauss ξαναδιαβάζει τον Πλάτωνα]. Athens: Papazissi, 2022.

Publications
• Vertzagia, Despina. “Anthony A. Long. Selfhood and Rationality in Ancient Greek Philosophy: From Heraclitus to Plotinus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.” Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 8, no. 1 (2023): 339-353. https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.34784.
• Vassilikou Katerina, and Despina Vertzagia. “COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impact on the Mental Health and Living Conditions of Refugees and Migrants in Greece: A First Assessment” [Original Title: «Πανδημία COVID-19 και Επιπτώσεις στην Ψυχική Υγεία και τις Συνθήκες Ζωής των Προσφύγων και Μεταναστών στην Ελλάδα: Μια Πρώτη Αποτύπωση»]. Ελληνική Κοινωνία: Επετηρίς του Κέντρου Ερεύνης της Ελληνικής Κοινωνίας της Ακαδημίας Αθηνών [Greek Society: Yearbook of the Centre for the Study of Greek Society. Academy of Athens] 12 (2022): 407-429.
• Vertzagia, Despina, and Anthony A. Long. “Antiquity Revisited: A Discussion with Anthony Arthur Long.” Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 5, no. 1 (2020): 111-122. https://doi.org/10.12681/cjp.23324.
• Vertzagia, Despina, and Alexander Nehamas. “A Good Life: Friendship, Art and Truth.” Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 2, no. 2 (2017): 115-121. https://doi.org/10.12681/conatus.15992.
• Vertzagia, Despina. “Human, Subject and Dasein in the Work of Martin Heidegger” [Original Title: «Άνθρωπος, Υποκείμενο και Dasein κατά τον Martin Heidegger»]. Ηθική [Ethics] 11 (2017): 11-20. https://doi.org/10.12681/ethiki.22757.
• Vertzagia, Despina, and Peter Singer. “Peter Singer: Ethics Today” [Original Title: «Peter Singer: Η Ηθική Σήμερα»]. Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 1, no. 1 (2016): 79-84. https://doi.org/10.12681/conatus.11848.

Translations
• Chelouche, Tessa, and Geoffrey Brahmer. Casebook on Bioethics and the Holocaust [Greek title: Βιοηθική και Ολοκαύτωμα]. UNESCO Chair in Bioethics Casebook Series. Translated into Greek by Despina Vertzagia. Athens: The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Lab Press, 2022. [Original: Chelouche, Tessa, and Geoffrey Brahmer. Casebook on Bioethics and the Holocaust. UNESCO Chair in Bioethics Casebook Series. Haifa: UNESCO Chair of Bioethics, 2013].
• Strauss, Leo. “The Three Waves of Modernity” [Greek Title: «Τα Τρία Κύματα της Νεωτερικότητας»]. Translated into Greek by Despina Vertzagia. Edited by: Vana Nicolaidou-Kyrianidou. Conatus – Journal of Philosophy 1, no. 1 (2016): 11-27. https://doi.org/10.12681/conatus.11842. [Original: Strauss, Leo. “The Three Waves of Modernity.” An Introduction to Political philosophy: Ten Essays by Leo Strauss, edited by Hilail Gildin, 81-99. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989].

Other Authorships
• 2017: Author of the educational material for the Supplementary Distance Education Program (E-Learning) “The Art of Persuasion.” Center of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
• 2017: Author of the educational material for the Supplementary Distance Education Program (E-Learning) “Politics: Rhetoric, Techniques and Tools.” Center of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
• 2016-2017: Author of the educational material for the Supplementary Distance Education Program (E-Learning) “Philosophical Life Coaching.” Center of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Conferences as a Speaker
• 14/6/2019-16/6/2019: Scientific Conference “Interpretative Approaches of Plato’s Work.” Venue: University of Ioannina, Greece. Organized by: University of Ioannina; Interinstitutional - Interdepartmental Master Program “Greek Philosophy - Philosophy of Science;” Laboratory of Platonic and Aristotelian Studies. Presentation: “Platonic Friendship: An Interpretation of Plato’s Lysis” [Original title: «Η Πλατωνική Φιλία: Μια Ερμηνευτική Προσέγγιση του Πλατωνικού Διαλόγου Λύσις»].
• 19/5/2019-22/5/2019: International Scientific Conference “18th Losinj Days of Bioethics: Integrative Bioethics and New Epoch.” Venue: Mali Losinj, Croatia. Organized by: Croatian Philosophical Society; Croatian Bioethics Society; Town of Mali Losinj; Centre of Excellence for Intergrative Bioethics; University of Zagreb. Presentation: “Lives More Worth-living: From the Trolley Problem to Medical Decision.”
• 29/3/2018: Interdisciplinary Symposium: “Life before Death: Ευ-ζην and Ευ-θνήσκειν.” Venue: Orthodox Academy of Crete, Greece. Organized by the: Orthodox Academy of Crete; University of Crete; University of Ioannina; University of Patras; The National School of Public Health; The Bioethics Laboratory, University of Crete. Presentation: “The Right to Death: An Inherent Inconsistency of Political Liberalism?” [Original Title: «Το Δικαίωμα στον Θάνατο: Μια Εγγενής Ασυνέπεια του Πολιτικού Φιλελευθερισμού;»].
• 3/10/2017: Scientific Conference “The Interactive Relation between University and Society.” Venue: House of Cyprus, Athens, Greece. Organized by: Signum Journal; Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens. Presentation: “University beyond Society” [Original Title: «Το Πανεπιστήμιο πέρα από την Κοινωνία»].
• 28/09/2017: International Scientific Symposium: “Imitation, Masses and Technology: Theorizing after Gabriel Tarde.” Venue: Angelopoulos Auditorium, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Organized by: Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law; School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens; Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens; The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory. Presentation: “Haec est natura multitudinis: Masses and the Rise of Totalitarianism.”
• 30/03/2015: Scientific Symposium “30 years of Scientific Contribution by the Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology.” Venue: School of Philosophy, Athens, Greece. Organized by: Department of Philosophy, Pedagogy and Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Presentation: “Man, Subject and Dasein in the Work of Martin Heidegger” [Original Title: «Άνθρωπος, Υποκείμενο και Dasein κατά τον Martin Heidegger»].

Conferences as a Member of the Organizing Committee
• 28/1/2020: International Scientific Conference “Bioethics and the Holocaust.” Venue: Auditorium I. Dracopoulos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Organized by: Conatus - Journal of Philosophy; The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory.
• 9&10/11/2019: International Scientific Conference “From Callousness to Humanness: The Holocaust and the Awaking of a New Consciousness.” Venue: The Greek-Orthodox Parish in Dortmund, Germany. Organized by: The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory; The Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust (MIMEH); The Holy Metropolis of Germany; Greek Unit of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics (Haifa).
• 26/6/2019: Meeting in honor of Tom L. Beauchamp: “Bioethics - The Ever-expanding Horizons.” Venue: House of Cyprus, Athens, Greece. Organized by: The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory; The Greek Unit of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics (Haifa).
• 7/6/2019: International Scientific Conference “Hellenic-Serbian Philosophical Meeting III - Modernity and Contemporaneity.” Venue: School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Organized by: The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory.
• 19/10/2018: International Scientific Conference “World Bioethics Day 2018: Solidarity and Cooperation.” Venue: The Great Hall, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Greece. Organized by: Greek Unit of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics (Haifa); The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory; The Research Centre of Biopolitics, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences; The NKUA Institutional Discourse Research Laboratory.
• 1/6/2017: International Scientific Conference “Hellenic-Serbian Philosophical Meeting I: Thinking in Action.” Venue: House of Cyprus, Athens, Greece. Organized by: The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory.
• 15/12/2016: Scientific Conference: “The Philosophical Thought of Aristotle: Then and Now.” Venue: Auditorium I. Dracopoulos, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. Organized by: Conatus - Journal of Philosophy; The NKUA Applied Philosophy Research Laboratory.

Summary of Other Fellowships
I have been awarded a Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship from the University of Chicago Library to conduct my archival research on Leo Strauss in The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center of the University of Chicago Library and in particular in Leo Strauss Papers circa 1930-1997 collection. The collection includes Leo Strauss’ unpublished correspondence, manuscripts, research notes, notebooks, and audio recordings

I have been also awarded a Pre-doctoral Fellowship in Hellenic Studies, Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard University, to conduct my research on the Straussian readings of Xenophon.

Academia: https://220.academia.edu/DespinaVertzagia
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Despina-Vertzagia-2
ORCID id: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7894-8657