James Nikopoulos earned a B.A. in English (2002) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Masters (2007) and Ph.D. (2010) in Comparative Literature from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Before coming to Nazarbayev University, he taught at Rutgers and at various colleges within the CUNY system.
James’ research focuses on international modernisms, with a particular emphasis paid to affect and classical reception. Much of this work centers on laughter—on its relationship with joy, and on how literary texts invoke its name to depict social interaction and incite emotional experience.
James loves teaching at Nazarbayev University, whose students humor him with their patience, understanding, and irony. He teaches a variety of courses within the World Literature concentration.
For more information, please see his academia.edu page.
The Stability of Laughter: The Problem of Joy in Modernist LiteratureNikopoulos, J.,
2018Routledge,
Why can't science be more like history: A response to Ruth Leys' The Ascent of Affect. Genealogy and Critique.Nikopoulos, J.,
2018 In : Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A.
Famagusta From AfarNikopoulos, J.,
2018 In : Eidolon.
Dear Highly Successful People: Stop Talking About Your FailuresNikopoulos, J.,
2017 In : The Awl.
On Not Wanting to Know Ancient GreekNikopoulos, J.,
2017 In : Eidolon.
Stop defending the humanitiesNikopoulos, J.,
2017 In : Times Higher Education.
The Stability of Laughter in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, or Quis est in malo humore… ego aut vos?Nikopoulos, J.,
2017 In : James Joyce Quarterly. 52, 1, p. 55-74
The stability of laughterNikopoulos, J.,
2016 In : Humor.
The Wisdom of Myth. Eliot’s ‘Ulysses, Order and Myth’Nikopoulos, J.,
2016 Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Classics in International Modernism and the Avant-Garde. Brill, p. 292-311
Introduction: Modernist Studies at the Crossroads of Classical Reception, Seferis Reads Eliot and Cavafy.Nikopoulos, J., Goldwyn, A.,
2016 Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Classics in International Modernism and the Avant-Garde. Brill, p. 1-18
Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Classics in International Modernism and the Avant-GardeNikopoulos, J., Goldwyn, A.,
2016Brill,
It's Just a Job, Right?: This is why professors who quit academe can't stop talking about it.Nikopoulos, J.,
2016 In : The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Beauty, injustice, and victory in Absentia: Tadeusz Borowski's Auschwitz storiesNikopoulos, J.,
2016 In : Style. 50, 2, p. 121-138
Eleni and her rhapsodistsNikopoulos, J.,
2015 In : Arion - Journal of Humanities and the Classics. 22, 3, p. 89-98
Hamlet in KazakhstanNikopoulos, J.,
2014 In : PlayShakespeare.com.
The stability of laughter in a portrait of the artist as a young man , or quis est in malo humore ... ego aut vos?Nikopoulos, J.,
2014 In : James Joyce Quarterly. 52, 1, p. 55-74
Winnie's Smile (The Joy of Samuel Beckett)Nikopoulos, J.,
2012 In : Global Graffiti Magazine.
Zeno Cosini's Philosophy of HumorNikopoulos, J.,
2012 In : Forum Italicum. p. 361-379
Zeno Cosini's philosophy of humorNikopoulos, J.,
2012 In : Forum Italicum. 46, 2, p. 361-379
The spirit of the chorus in D'Annunzio's La città mortaNikopoulos, J.,
2010 In : Comparative Drama. 44, 2, p. 155-178
Review of C.P. Cavafy, Selected Prose Works, translated and annotated by Peter JeffreysNikopoulos, J.,
2010 In : Classical Journal.
L'avventura, Intimate and ImmenseNikopoulos, J.,
2010 In : Italica. 87, 3, p. 374-390
Cavafy's Greek (in Translation)Nikopoulos, J.,
2009University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, In : C.P. Cavafy: The Typography of Desire. C.P. Cavafy Forum.
Complexities of the Mask, Enrico IV and J. Alfred PrufrockNikopoulos, J.,
2008 In : Pirandello Society of America. 21, p. 77-93