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Description

Designed with the needs in mind of both the non-Greek and the Greek heritage student, this course offers an introduction into Greek culture and society that will prepare the student to better enjoy and appreciate his/her “Greek experience.” More specifically, the course will examine the dynamics of a complex and vibrant culture which creatively fuses myth and history, antiquity and Byzantium, the East and the West with the country’s contemporary European identity. A strong component of the course is the combination of its readings and class work with several organized excursions to archaeological sites and islands, visits to Athens Museums and art galleries the students can visit on their own according to their interest. The Syllabus will be modified accordingly.

Using studying and living facilities provided by the Indianapolis University, Athens Campus -- all located at Plaka, the heart of both the old and the modern City -- the students will have the opportunity to walk to countless restaurants, cafes, and shops and partake of the city’s lifestyle and the cultural activities that take place daily in the shadow of the Acropolis.

Course Requirements:
Required Reading:

Richard Clogg, A Concise History of Greece, Cambridge UP, ISBN 0-521-378303
Greece, Edited by Artemis Leontis, Whereabouts Press 1997, ISBN 1-883513-04-9
Robert Flacelliere: Life in Greece at the Time of Pericles. Transl. by Peter Greene. Phoenix Press, London 1988. 1-84212 5079

(Availability of this book is being investigated; if not still in print, this book may be replaced by an alternate title which will be announced on time).

Various books, texts, and articles on ancient and modern Greece can be found on reserve at the UINDY Library (Cultural Center).

The students are requested to buy their books in the US and start reading ahead of time. One source is www.greeceinprint.com. Tel. 800-267-6672. These books can also be purchased at Barnes and Noble or through Amazon.com.

Exams and Grade Distribution:
Mid-Term Examination 15%
Class presentation 20%
Final Examination 25%
Term paper 25%
Travel contribution 15%

SYLLABUS
Friday Jan. 2 Arrival in Athens
Saturday, Jan, 3 Orientation. Room GRA, Ipitou Bldg.
Sunday, Jan 4 Free day

Monday, Jan. 5 Introductory remarks: Geography, myth and history of Greece. Concepts and definitions of culture and civilization, nation, cultural and national identity; The concept of a city. Assignment: oral presentations on selected islands or towns.
Tuesday, Jan. 6 Life in ancient Athens, citizenship, religion, democracy, the Assembly, language (Chpt. II in Flaceliere). Also Chpt. VIII: Religious Life and the Theatre. New Museum of the Acropolis visit.
Wednesday, Jan. 7 The Modern City of Athens: (Leontis, Preface and pp. 1-29— Benaki Museum visit.
Thursday, Jan. 8 The Greek Islands through the eyes of contemporary Greek writers and poets (Leontis, pp 204-256 and handouts).

Monday , Jan. 12 Midterm EXAM
Tuesday, Jan. 13 Byzantine Greece – from the first Christian church to the fall of Constantinople. Clogg (Introduction and Ch. 2).
Wednesday, Jan. 14 The Greek Revolution (1821); The rise of Philhellenism, the Greek Revolution and the emergence of the modern Greek State- Poems by Byron, Shelley, and Keats (handouts, and Clogg).
Thursday, Jan. 15 Famous sites as seen by the poets: Kazantzakis’ s “Pilgrimage Through Greece,” Venezis’ “Mycenae,” Seferis’ “Delphi,” (in Leontis) . Read also on ancient Olympia and on the Olympic Games in Flaceliere.

Monday, Jan. 19 The Asia Minor Disaster; “Rebetica” music and dances. Read related chapters in Clogg.
Tuesday, Jan. 20 Greece since WWII (Clogg). Film: Mediterraneo.
Wednesday, Jan. 21 Today’s Greece (Clogg). Group projects: Surviving rituals, Customs, music, folk art (to be discussed with instructor. Modern Greek identity. the Greeks of the Diaspora (Clogg). Greece and the European Community (Clogg).
Thursday, 22 Group activity (possibly a Greek show, concert, theatre—according to availability at the time).

SUNDAY, JAN. 25 Departure for New York