International Summer School | Mythos as MythUs: Confronting and overcoming crises through traditional narrative from antiquity to the present [24.6 – 03.7.2024]

International Summer School in Athens and Antiparos, Greece
With the participation of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
June 24 – July 3, 2024
at the Athens University History Museum (Plaka), the School of Philosophy (Athens) and the island of Antiparos, Cyclades
Academic Supervisor, Eleni Karamalengou, Professor of Latin Literature, University of Athens

The Mythos as MythUs summer school program studies myth and popular narrative, from antiquity to the present, as being humanity’s voice, long-shared, with which to respond to harsh realities; to times of crisis; and to distress that impacts entire communities. In such times of transition and upheaval myth and narrative serve to ameliorate the inimical stereotyping, bigoted notions, and segregation that these challenging circumstances inevitably bring. In its role of healing, narrative has been not just preserved but also transformed, in all its oral, written, digital, and, of late, even contemporary literary forms, not just in terms of its atavistic world of archaic symbolism but in fact most markedly through being called on in confronting, via poetic means, problems, ideas, and emotions that are communal as well as individual – as a result of which transformative therapeutic dimension, narrative continues to update, on an ongoing basis, in altogether dynamic ways.

The Summer School is a blended-learning program consisting of an online preparation class and a ten-day live attendance summer school of face-to-face classes in Athens as well as fieldwork on the island of Antiparos, Cyclades, and five group and/or guided tours in and around Attica and Athens. The program contains 9 modules divided into 3 groups, each with its distinct topic:
Topic 1: Myth in Ancient Greek and other Ancient Cultures
Topic 2: The Role of Myth in Response to Dread, Disruption, and Disaster
Topic 3: Narrating in Modern and Contemporary Society
Each student will select a Topic of study on the basis of the module and syllabi descriptions provided on the website. The series of introductory, in-person lectures will include all students, but each module will have different preparatory work, readings, and seminars/workshops.

The program begins with a remote/preparation phase consisting of two digital meetings of students with each of the individual teachers in their Topic, as well as affording time for students to get started on essential reading and/or project work.

Once on-site for the in-person part of the course, students will all attend introductory lectures, in all modules, over two days, before breaking out into the selected Topic group for the remainder of the program. Each student will follow each of the modules offered within their Topic group, for an overall experience that is focused and in-depth, while being at the same time varied and in breadth.

In-person coursework within each Topic will take the form of seminars, workshops, discussion, and/or training in methodology, over two half-days. Guided touring is interspersed with lectures and coursework during the in-person part of the course on days three through eight. Coursework concludes with individual and group prep for presentation/evaluation.

All participant students will be provided with a diploma supplement including their courses – seminars and credit points.

The Program is open to Bachelor’s, Master and PhD international students, as well as Greek English-speaking students, with an interest in myth and legend and their contemporary research and applications; of value for those with research and learning interests in Humanities and Social Sciences, especially but by no means exclusively, Classics, Folklore Studies, History, and Cultural Studies. All classes will be taught in English

All classes will be taught in English.

For Detailed information, visit: https://mythus-aegean.eu