News Release from the Center for Western European Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington
The Hellenic Studies Program in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington is proud and delighted to announce that a Minor in Hellenic Studies has recently been approved. In keeping with the Program’s goal to offer courses on all aspects of Greece, both ancient (literature, culture, language, history, philosophy, art and archaeology) and modern (politics, culture, literature, language), undergraduate students can now combine these courses into a 25-credit minor. The 25 credits are made up of: 5 credits from history courses (ancient or modern); 10 credits from courses relating to contemporary Greece; and 10 credits from electives ranging from courses in Greek literature, art, archaeology, philosophy, politics, and culture to courses in the Greek language (ancient and modern). A key course instituted in 2017/2018, Greece: From Ancient to Modern, (JSIS A 239), taught jointly by Alexander Hollmann and Nektaria Klapaki, considers the complex and contested connections between Greece in antiquity and the modern Greek state.
Students of the 2017 UW Hellenic Studies Study Abroad program in front of the Parthenon on the Athenian acropolis (Photo Credit: Kiwa Ashiro).
The Program also runs a popular study abroad program in the spring and summer in which students are based in Athens (at Deree University) and Nafplio (at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies); students study important social and political issues in the region, such as migration, tourism, and the status of the Roma population.
Students of the 2017 UW Hellenic Studies Study Abroad program line up at the starting line of the stadion at Olympia (Photo Credit: Kiwa Ashiro).
Dr. Taso Lagos and students of the UW Hellenic Studies Study Abroad program at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio (Photo Credit: Kiwa Ashiro).
Thanks to the generous donations of community members, the Program offers a number of scholarships to students interested in Hellenic Studies.
Submitted by Alexander Hollmann, Dr. Nick and Nancy Vidalakis Endowed Professor of Culture, Excellence, and Spirituality in Hellenic Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Classics
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Statement to The Hellenic Journal from Dr. Alexander Hollmann, Dr. Nick and Nancy Vidalakis Endowed Professor of Culture, Excellence, and Spirituality in Hellenic Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Classics:
“Although my background is in ancient Greek and Classics, I was fascinated right from the start by the complex and contested connections between ancient and modern Greece. I have made many trips there and during these travels I always feel a direct and physical connection to the landscape. Learning more of the modern language and culture, meeting Greek scholars, and making friends there has opened up even more to me. I feel it is very important that we study the 3000-year spectrum of Greek culture from both ends, without privileging any one part of it over another. How often does it happen that we get to study such a richly and continuously documented span of humanity? I want our students to be able to see this whole sweeping arc of history and culture as well as have the ability to study in detail whatever parts of it interest them. With offerings in all aspects and periods of Greek history, culture, and language, the UW Minor in Hellenic Studies offers students a way to do this, giving them the opportunity to add this enriching experience as a second string to their bow and complement whatever they happen to be studying as a major.”
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