Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University

The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece (CHS GR[1]) is a Harvard research Center based in Nafplio, Greece. A twin institution to its counterpart Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.,[2] CHS GR is housed in the Iatrou building, formerly home to the municipal town hall of Nafplio, at Philhellene and King Othon Street. A joint American and Greek Executive Board supervise the Center in Greece. The Director of the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece is Professor Ioannis Petropoulos of the Democritus University of Thrace.

Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece

History

The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece inaugurated in 2008 by way of a joint decision between the Provost and the Dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. CHS GR utilizes the knowledge and expertise of Harvard's faculty and research centers and is a part of Harvard’s continuing effort to expand its international presence.[3] The Center serves as a nexus for the network of international Centers operated by Harvard in Europe and around the globe, and it was organized and developed by being accessible, and free of charge, to the general public.

From a geographical standpoint Nafplio's role in the shaping of modern Greece and its enduring cultural significance make it an opportune setting for Harvard students as well as for visitors from Greece and across the globe. Nafplio neighbors with many archaeological sites in Greece such as Mycenae, Mystras, Epidaurus, Olympia, Tiryns, etc. Nafplio was the first capital of modern Greece after independence and a port during the Mycenean period.

Digital Library

The Center for Hellenic Studies’s facility in Nafplio has been equipped with a Digital Library which provides access to Harvard Library's electronic resources and a number of additional databases. Access is open to all researchers and visitors of the Center, regardless of affiliation.[4]

Programs

The Center for Hellenic Studies provides training and professional development to students, visitors, and researchers in all fields of study through a wide variety of programs, which include internships, workshops and seminars, research initiatives, and study abroad:

  • The CHS Cultural Internship Program in Greece[4] brings together a group of college students from different institutions throughout Greece and the United States for five weeks each summer in Nafplio to work and gain professional experience. Students develop their talents and skills while contributing to projects that directly support the goals and activities of the internship institutions, which are the Fougaro Cultural Complex, the Municipal Organization of Culture, Environment, Sports, and Tourism (DOPPAT), the Nafplio Archaeological Museum and the National Gallery, Nafplio Annex.
  • The five-week-long Comparative Cultural Studies Seminar[5] (CCS) is the oldest Harvard study-abroad program of Harvard Summer School. Divided between Nafplio and Thessaloniki, and led by Harvard Professor Gregory Nagy[6] and a founding team of Harvard-trained Senior Fellows, the program seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding by combining historical, literary, philosophical, and linguistic approaches to cultural exchange.
  • The CHS GR High School Summer Program (HSSP) is a sixteen-day summer program addressed to high school students from the Argolis. The students attend an intensive daily seminar led by Harvard faculty, and Teaching Fellows studying at Harvard. The Harvard undergraduate students acting as the Teaching Fellows support the daily program by assembling course material as well as preparing every other activity related to the program. The program is directed by Dr. Nicolas Prevelakis, Lecturer in Harvard's Committee on Degrees in Social Studies and Assistant Director of Curricular Development at Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington D.C.
  • CHS offers research opportunities to junior faculty members and individual researchers, aiming to build a network of fellows that will enhance learning and support the academic profile of Greece. The CHS-CCS Fellowships Program, addresses junior faculty—Adjunct Lecturers, Lecturers, Assistant Professors—of 100 Schools of Humanities and Social Sciences from Greek Universities. The fellows participate in the CCS Program in Greece by presenting their research and interacting with colleagues and students from the U.S. and elsewhere. Their year-long appointment includes access to all Harvard electronic resources. CHS also offers in collaboration with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, School of Philology, Department of Classics, the CHS-AUTH joint research fellowships to young PhD holders from AUTH’s Department of Classics.[7] The fellowships include year-long access to Harvard University’s online databases and resources and to AUTH’s library system and also participation in a number of events and activities organized by both institutions.
  • In cooperation with the Harvard Alumni Association, the Center for Hellenic Studies supports the organization of the “Greece Spring Break for Students and Alumni” Trip. Academic head of the program is Professor Gregory Nagy. Starting from Nafplio and Mycenae and proceeding through the Peloponnese, Delphi and Athens, the group supplements its explorations with selected readings in translation from Homer, Pausanias, and some modern texts. The group consists of students, alumni, and participants and alumni from the Harvard MOOC The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours.[8]

Events and Activities

As part of its mission of outreach, the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece offers a regular program of activities that address not only Harvard and other academic institutions but also the local community, including the Argolis region and the Peloponnese. Such is the Events Series, which is organized with the support of Municipalities of the Argolis, Nafplio, Argos-Mycenae, Ermionida, Epidaurus, as well as other institutions such as the Society for the Promotion of Education and Learning (SPEL), the University of Peloponnese, the Harvard Club of Greece, the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, etc. A number of other activities such as educational programs, exhibitions, events and workshops are organized in collaboration with institutions of the city such as the Municipal Organization of Culture, Environment, Sports, and Tourism (DOPPAT), Municipalities of the Argolis as well as the regional government of the Peloponnese, the Athletic Federation of Greece (SEGAS), the Department of Theatre Studies, University of Peloponnese, the Fougaro Cultural Complex, etc.

CHS in Greece has established long collaborations with institutions such as SPEL under the direction of George Babiniotis, the International Olympic Academy, the Fulbright Foundation in Greece, the Michael Marks Charitable Trust, the University of Peloponnese, in order to provide a regular program of events and activities addressed to the local and global educational and research community.

CHS GR also hosts and supports a number of visiting study abroad programs and collaborates with a number of educational institutions. To name a few: the Summer Study Abroad Program of the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Seattle; the Summer Program in Greece of Duke University, Department of Philosophy and Education Office for Undergraduates; the Study Abroad Program in Greece “Food and Culture in Greece” of Louisiana University; the Summer Program in Greece of the College of William and Mary, Department of Classical Studies.

All these activities constitute an offering back to the local community of the Peloponnese and the global community.

References
  1. initials used, for example, on Center's Web site
  2. "Center for Hellenic Studies | Harvard University Press". www.hup.harvard.edu.
  3. "Harvard Worldwide".
  4. "The Center for Hellenic Studies (Greece), Harvard University". www.nafplio.gr.
  5. "Harvard Summer Program in Greece". Harvard Summer School.
  6. "Gregory Nagy". classics.fas.harvard.edu.
  7. "Agreements of Scientific Cooperation | ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI". www.auth.gr.
  8. "The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours". edX.

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