ČâČâ´«Ă˝ Greece (2021 - 2022)

Greece logo for 2021 - 2022
Since 1984, ČâČâ´«Ă˝ has celebrated a different country or region of the world with award winning programming that includes cultural events, well-known scholars and public officials, study abroad programs, and dedicated classes. Past countries and regions of the world have included the following:  Japan, Morocco, India, Russia, the Portuguese Speaking World, Arabian Peninsula, Ghana.    
 
We were fortunate to celebrate the Year of Greece during Greece’s Bicentennial Anniversary with a full program that drew upon the knowledge and expertise of faculty, staff, and students, as well as the large Greek-American community of Atlanta. Included among the year’s activities are:

  • The Grand Opening, which was hosted by the student commons
  • Scholarly presentations by well-known Harvard Anthropologist Michael Herzfeld
  • The Greek War of Independence and Olympic Movement by the Director of the GSU Center for Hellenic Studies, Louis A. Ruprecht 
  • A discussion of the impact of the Greek-American community on business and politics by a panel that included well-known Greek-American CEOs, Directors of leading Greek-American Organization and Greece’s General Consul to Atlanta
  • A viewing of Greek mythological scenes in Opera
  • A student Speech Olympics
  • A Symposium

Each of these events is open to the public and we invite all (faculty, students, staff, and the KSU Community) to attend. 

year of home

Greece Events

Listed below are the 2021-22 Year of Greece events. Time and location information will be added as that information becomes available.

  • During the 1870s, Greek nationalists eager to assert Greece’s new independence on the world stage planned the first modern Olympic games in Athens.  This revival, which led to the founding of the Modern Olympic Movement, helped establish Greece as a nation and to connect Greece to its past while looking forwards towards its future. Join us as Dr. Louis A. Ruprecht, Director, GSU Center for Hellenic Studies, discusses the role of the Modern Olympic Movement played in formulating a Greek national identify. All are welcome.
  • Come join us in the KSU Commons, located on the ČâČâ´«Ă˝ campus, for the “Year of Greece Grand Opening” with a celebration of food and fun.  The Commons will feature Greek dishes at each of its stations throughout the day. An accompanying description of the food, including a description of its historical connection to Greece. “Year of Greece” T-Shirts and Information for fall events will also be available at a table manned by the “Year of Greece” planning committee in the evening. 

  • Elizabeth Thomas, Education & Outreach Coordinator at the ZMA, presents a unique perspective on Ruth Zuckerman’s artistic work, process, and associated tools Ruth Zuckerman utilized to create her sculptures. Thomas will draw comparisons of Zuckerman’s work and process to that of Ancient Greek statuary which was created to represent idealized human forms of athletes and gods. To celebrate the Year of Greece and Ruth Zuckerman’s birthday, students will have the opportunity to try their hand at chiseling stone and create their own carvings in plaster on-site outside on the Green.

  • Distinguished College of The Arts (COTA) guest scholar and dance instructor, Meg Brooker, will lecture on the Hellenistic influence of early modern dance.  Brooker, an Isadora Duncan Dance Artist, will also include demonstrations of various movements and styles that made their way into modern dance of the early 20th century. In addition, Duncan will be hosting a Master’s Class for COTA Dance students.  All are welcome to attend the lecture and demonstration. 
  • As Greeks and Greek-Americans celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence, noted Harvard anthropologist Michael Herzfeld will discuss the cultural and political tools that a newly emergent people used to create their freedom, which became both the treasured traces of a historic responsibility and a potential threat to authority.  By looking at the revolution through the eyes of today’s Cretan shepherds, Herzfeld will discuss ways that threats to authority sometimes get the upper-hand.  He will also use this material to reflect on some common misunderstandings of what freedom and democracy – the latter a concept vaguely attributed to “the Greeks” without close attention to its significance in the Greece then and now – have evolved in the English-speaking world today. This is a Journey Honors College sponsored event in collaboration with the Georgia State University Center for Hellenistic Studies. All are welcome. 
  • Bagwell College of Education Faculty members David Glassmeyer and Brian R. Lawler will facilitate an interactive math talk highlighting a) Facts & Myths about ancient Greek mathematical discoveries, b) the civilization of ancient Greece/innovations in mathematics & technology.  They will use familiar shapes to Approximate Area/Circle circumference. This virtual talk will be interactive and geared for both students and faculty. 

  • All are encouraged to attend this University-wide event, which will showcase Greek and Greek-American contributions to business.  This discussion is especially timely as the large Greek-American community of the southeastern region of the United States begins to reflect upon the cultural and financial resources that brought many Greeks to this region as well as the post-pandemic road that lies ahead. The panel of five moderated by Dr. Jennifer Hutchins will include four distinguished guests, including Ted Diamantis, president of the largest U.S. wine distributor; Endy Zemenides, the executive director of the Hellenic-American Leadership Council; Mary Waters, Deputy Commissioner of Trade, Georgia Department of Economic Development; Theodoros Dimopolus, Consul of Greece in Atlanta; and Aphroditi Doritis, president and managing director of Bright Color S.A. 

    We encourage all to attend, especially the Greek-American community of Atlanta, the KSU business community, and KSU faculty, staff, and students. 

  • The long-running Greek public debt crisis has been accompanied by an
    information war that has obscured many important aspects of what has occurred.

    The misconceptions, self-deceptions, and myths associated with the crisis have been at least partly responsible for the obviously inadequate response to the crisis that has not only damaged the economy and society of Greece, but has also harmed the euro zone project. 

    Stergios Skaperdas argues against a number of such myths about the
    effects of default: the primary cause of the crisis, the likely effects of an exit from the euro zone, the bargaining power of the Greek government in its negotiations with the EU/ECB/IMF troika, and other related issues. He will also discuss the context of the wider retreat
    of democracy in the European Union and its future prospects.

  • This panel featured a discussion of locally-owned and operated Greek and Greek-American restaurants in the Atlanta area.  An adjacent room featured Greek food from Atlanta area restaurants. 
  • Come be part of the first KSU Indoor Sprint Triathlon from 8am to 11am on February 19, 2022! Whether you are a seasoned triathlete ready to kick start your racing season, an active fitness-goer looking for a new adventure or a supporter of a loved one, this is the family-friendly event for you. Participants will compete in heated timed events: 300-yard swim, 5-mile bike ride, and one-mile run. All participants will receive a swag bag, and awards will go to the top winners for each event and fastest overall times for men and women. Entry fees apply and registration will open November 15; discount registration is available prior to January 1. Check out the Department of Sports and Recreation website for more details. All are welcome.
  • Please stop by Stingers, the dining hall on the Marietta campus, to celebrate the return of the school year and the first Year of Greece spring event.  The dining hall will feature Greek-themed art and trivia along with Greek food.  The event will run throughout the day with special emphasis from 5:00 p.m.  to 7:00 p.m.  This is a University event. All are welcome.

  • *Fifth Annual EQUINOX Symposium: UN SDGs was held virtually on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022.

    The annual EQUINOX Week unfolds a diverse set of multidisciplinary programs across the KSU both campuses focused on the Sustainable Development Goals. To foster cross-pollination, team-formation, and actions on the UN SDGs; the EQUINOX seeks to bring together institutions of higher education, professionals, policymakers, stakeholders, community members, and advocates. Promoting also the KSU R2 Roadmap strategic and shared goals, the EQUINOX Week advances research and collaboration among the KSU community and beyond through various programs -- including the annual EQUINOX Symposium: UN SDGs; EQUINOX_Exhibit; Sustainable Development Awards; EQUINOX FORUM: Sustainability through Multiple Lenses; and Sustainable Development Career Pathways. A multi-sponsored platform with invited international, regional, and local speakers, the initiative was among one of the first in the region dedicated to the UN SDGs. For further info on the upcoming Fifth Annual EQUINOX + Year of Greece, in March 2022.

  • Eileen Moremen, School of Music Director of Opera Theatre; M. Todd Harper, DGA Annual Year of Country Study Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of English

    School of Music Director of Opera Theatre, Eileen Moremen, and DGA Annual Year of Country Study Faculty Fellow and Associate Professor of English, M. Todd Harper, will present a prerecorded recital of opera theatre students performing opera scenes from Greek Mythology, including Orpheus and Euridice, Acis and Galetea, La Calisto, Dido and Aeneas, and Semele. Following the

    performance, Professors Moremen and Harper will host a “talk-back” to discuss Greek Mythology and its role in Opera. All are welcome.

  • Rare Perspectives pays homage to a lesser-known area of Greek history: the establishment of modern Greece. This exhibition uses rare books in the English language to explore the intersection between European Romanticism and the struggle for Greek independence in the nineteenth century.  Works featured in this exhibition are part of the Bentley Rare Book Museum’s seed collection of historical texts on modern Greece that address themes such as freedom, nationalism, and identity. These works demonstrate how the printed word influences and interprets a national revolution. 

  • Jerolyn Morrison is the founder of Minoan Tastes, which is a social enterprise promoting the culinary history of ancient Crete by working together with a network of food experts, historians, potters, and archaeologists. Minoan Tastes was developed out of the desire to present scientific knowledge in a more tangible way for modern people so that they can better understand how ancient people that lived during the Minoan time period (ca. 3000-5000 years ago) performed daily activities.

    Dr. Morrison will lecture on how plant and animals remains from archaeological sites in Greece contribute to our understanding of life in the past.

  • KSU historian Diana Honey will discuss America’s interest in the Greek War of Independence. This is an area of Greek Revolutionary history often either minimized or overlooked, altogether. The war, itself, and the many issues, people, individual battles, and the economics of it, were of keen interest to many in western societies. Some in the west felt a vested interest in the survival of Greece and its heritage. Many offered support based on the legacy of a long past Golden Age. That support took the form of debates in both the British Parliament and the U.S. Congress.

    She will review the official bottom line for the U.S. government which was shaped by America’s own recent independence as well as an ambivalence toward becoming involved in, as Washington framed it, “…foreign entanglements.” However, as she will note, non-involvement seemed not to be the answer for most Americans, in general. American Interest and Perceptions only touches the surface of how Americans did in fact supported the Greek War for Independence materially, financially, and ethically.

  • We will host an evening with Greek comedian Costaki Economopoulos. Costaki will perform a comedy show for faculty, staff, and students during the evening of entertainment. Costaki, who now lives in L.A., grew up in Marietta GA and attended Sprayberry High School and UGA. The comedy show will highlight a variety of Greek Myths & Mythology, while providing clean laughter for all. All are welcome. 

  • Jerolyn Morrison is the founder of Minoan Tastes, which is a social enterprise promoting the culinary history of ancient Crete by working together with a network of food experts, historians, potters, and archaeologists. Minoan Tastes was developed out of the desire to present scientific knowledge in a more tangible way for modern people so that they can better understand how ancient people that lived during the Minoan time period (ca. 3000-5000 years ago) performed daily activities.

    Dr. Morrison prepared food in ceramic Minoan-style cooking pots using food ingredients that were available only during the Minoan times over a hearth-fire to allow visitors to the event to engage all of their senses while investigating ancient life.

  • On Friday, March 25, 2022, the School of Communication along with the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences hosted the "Speech Olympics" as part of KSU's Year of Greece programming. The event was open to all KSU students, and included free food, opportunities to practice public speaking, fun swag, and more!  

    The "Speech Olympics" was a fun-filled event from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. and a great line item on your resume. All participants were emailed a digital certificate upon completion of the event, and prizes were awarded to the top speakers. 

  • The death of one or more infants would have been a nearly universal part of the lives of women in Ancient Greece. Yet until recently, other than a very few burials of women and infants together, there has been almost no evidence for this. Infant remains are rare in cemeteries of nearly all periods. However, the analyses of two wells in the Athenian Agora and Eretria, Euboia provide some of the first evidence for perinatal death and the decisions that were made regarding infant remains. They offer insight into the role of midwives, the interventions that could take place in difficult births, and the causes of infant death. The informal disposal of infant remains in wells also provides some evidence for the process of acquiring a social identity in Greek society. We cannot know how much agency the mothers of these infants had in the decisions made about them, but these infant remains provide unusually detailed evidence for the practice and outcomes of childbirth, a central event in the lives of ancient Greek women.
  • Coastal cities in Greece are studied as they transformed over time from their ancient and Byzantine origins, by adopting Venetian and Ottoman influences to undergoing Napoleonic planning interventions after the independence in 1829. The study of urban morphology in the Ionian and Aegean littoral is focused on street patterns, which have resulted from the dynamic balance between socio-cultural effects and the constraints of coastal terrains. The presentation brings together Dr. Shpuza’s ongoing research on coastal cities with student work developed as part of the Year of Greece initiatives at the Department of Architecture KSU. All are welcome.

College Spotlights

Developed in consultation and coordination with the Year of Greece Planning Committee, these programs formed the basis of the campus-wide series and are highlighted at the college level as co-sponsored featured events for the Year of Greece.

  • College: Museums, Archives and Rare Books
    Faculty Lead: Tamara Livingston

    This program kicked off the Year of Greece by exhibiting new acquisitions of rare books that explore historical perspectives of Greek culture and society through works that are relevant to courses that were being taught in fall 2020 and spring 2021 in order to complement and support teaching and learning activities. The books were displayed and accompanied by exhibit panels that provided context and explored the themes of the works. Students played an active role in all aspects of the project, including assisting with book selection, developing exhibit panel content and label copy, and leading tours for exhibit visitors. The variety of perspectives offered by this engaging approach presented numerous opportunities for connecting students across time and cultures, as they learned to appreciate rare books and documents as physical artifacts as well as carriers of content. The rare books were housed in KSU’s Bentley Rare Book Room and the exhibit was displayed immediately outside of the Archives store front in the Sturgis Library. This accessible location was ideal for serving as a focal point for activities as well as a backdrop for promoting Year of Greece programming. It served to bring awareness to the Year of Greece by engaging students, faculty and community members with historical perspectives on Greek culture, society and history through the lens of rare books and documents.

    photo of old rare books.

  • College: College of the Arts
    Faculty Lead: Caroline Clark, Dance

    This project highlighted the work of Meg Brooker, an internationally-renowned dancer and scholar of the Isadora Duncan legacy. Through both scholarship and movement, Brooker presented how ancient Greek philosophies and aesthetics influenced Duncan and other pioneers of early modern dance. Brooker’s visit promoted greater understanding of the philosophical framework that serves as a foundation for modern dance as a theatrical art in the United States.

    Brooker is both a celebrated dancer of the Duncan repertory and technique as well as a published international scholar. She has performed at The National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian, the Art Monastery (Italy), Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art (St. Petersburg), PROJEKT Fabrika (Moscow), and the ancient Greek ruins at Chersonesos (Crimea). Brooker's visit, lasting two days, consisted of:

    • A scholarly presentation and dance demonstration on Hellenic influences in early 20th-century modern dance for the campus and community.

    • Two lecture/demonstrations for Dance History courses for Dance majors and minors as well as a Master Class in Duncan technique for the audition-based KSU Student Dance Company.

    While Greece has multiple enduring dance legacies, often these are perceived by outsiders in terms of stereotypes in festival or tourist situations. Meanwhile, modern dance history in the United States has often been promoted as a uniquely “American” theatrical art form expressive of American ideals and identity. Brooker bridges these two areas through bringing insights into how Hellenic philosophies have migrated across space and time towards aesthetic creation. Such an approach connected not only U.S. and Greek cultures but illuminated current practices of modern dance for KSU students.

    Meg Brooker.

  • College: Honors College
    Faculty Lead: Todd Harper, Great Books Program

    Greek literature and folklore play an important role in Greek cultural identity. Not surprisingly, modern Greeks, surrounded by the archeology of a classical past, memorials to their War of Independence, and the scars of the Twentieth Century, look to Homer, Sophocles, Aristophanes, etc. as much as they might turn to contemporary Nobel laureates such as Cavafy, Seferis, and Elytis to better understand and interpret the challenges faced in life.

    This project consisted of a series of guest lectures and classroom events exploring how Greek folklore and Classical Greek and modern Greek literature have helped shape Greek identity—both then and now. The first guest speaker was Harvard scholar and anthropologist Dr. Michael Herzfeld, who has written two important works on Greek folklore. The second speaker was KSU faculty member Dr. Mark Kramer who will present on the importance of Homer on Classical Greek Identity. With a background in political philosophy, Dr. Kramer brings a unique angle to Homer with his discussion of the Iliad and Odyssey as instrumental to Classical notions of self. Rounding out the three-lecture series and borrowing on the work he did for his Fulbright, KSU faculty member Dr. M. Todd Harper will discuss the ways that Greece’s three major modern poets, Constantine Cavafy, George Seferis, and Odysseus Elytis, merged the heroic narratives of Homer with Greek folklore to tell the story of Modern Greece.

    The three lectures were a vehicle for wider audiences within the Honors College, the University, and, we hope, the greater Atlanta community for audiences to think about the influence of literature and folklore on Greek cultural and historical identity as well as their own. These topics were explored by students in detail through the Great Books Honors College coursework and socials for its various cohorts and students.

    Greek Painting Mythology.

  • College: Coles College of Business
    Faculty Lead: Mike Serkedakis and Tyra Burton, Marketing

    This project consisted of a series of four events, two each semester, that examined the Greece economy and business context within Greece, with the United States, and through the local contribution of the Greek Diaspora in the local Atlanta economy and community. These events helped business students along with others in the KSU community to understand business connections and relationships as well as exposed them to how the global economy and markets operate. It also educated students on the need to adapt marketing strategies to the appropriate context such as when marketing to immigrants (in this case, from Greece) within the United States.

    Invited guest speakers and panel presenters addressed topics such as “International Markets and the Greek Economy,” “Greece’s Energy and Shipping Industries,” “Greek influences on Atlanta’s Restaurant Business,” and “Agritourism and Sustainable Business Models in Greece.” Representatives from the Atlanta Greek Consulate, local Greek business leaders, and other specialists with knowledge and experience will share their views in order to help KSU students and audience members appreciate specific economic, marketing, and business issues in Greece and in relationship with the US, particularly with Atlanta/Georgia based businesses. These guests not only delivered public presentations, but they also visited select classes to connect the topics in the primary talk with those being taught in the classroom. In this way, these guests also increased interest among our students to engage in their own entrepreneurial and marketing activities. Student organizations (such as the KSU Marketing Association, KSU Sales Club, KSU Entrepreneurship Club, International Business Student Association) were invited to participate in the planning and operation of the events. These events also served to help prepare KSU students for a Coles College Study Abroad program to Greece.

    Gold Greek Coin.

  • College: Bagwell College of Education
    Faculty Lead: Belinda Edwards, Math Education and Melissa Driver, Inclusive Education

    Bagwell College of Education (BCOE), College of Science and Mathematics (CSM), and the KSU Library Systems offered a series of events for the Year of Greece integrating literacy and mathematics education. Making use of resources in the BCOE TRAC center and the KSU Library Systems, teacher education students developed lesson plans that promoted an understanding and engagement in ancient and Modern Greek culture especially in relation to literacy and STEM education.

    This program helped the KSU community, and particularly future educators, consider multiple origins of and approaches to teaching mathematics and literacy concepts. While the emphasis was on the mathematical concept of Pi, this program took an interdisciplinary approach that included history, literature, science, the arts, and technology.

    This project included the following program elements a) a series of workshops on integrating awareness of Greek history and culture especially as it relates to the concept of Pi in the K-12 classroom; b) preparing preservice teachers to lead events related to Greek cultural literacy and mathematic principles with K-12 students and their family members; c) submission of KSU student instructional plans and engagement projects related to Greece for the YoG Conference; and, d) a celebration of Greek culture through dance and comedy during an evening of fellowship which will be open to KSU students, faculty, staff, and the public/greater ČâČâ´«Ă˝ community. This project enhanced curriculum and community engagement efforts, broadened students’ worldview through global education, and prepared future teachers and leaders for a global society. KSU students developed skills to promote Greek cultural history, literacy, and mathematics, as well as an understanding of current innovations in mathematics and technology within the Greek educational systems.

    Pi Symbol.

  • College: College of Humanities and Social Sciences
    Faculty Lead: Meredith Ginn and Kelsey Harr-Lagin, Communication and Media

    This project gave students the opportunity to learn and apply concepts that have long been part of Greek society related to oratory, rhetoric, and public debate. There are five components or Olympic rings to this day-long competition:

    1) Students attended a workshop to learn about how to deliver effective persuasive impromptu speeches.

    2) Students delivered an impromptu sales pitch of an ancient Greek artifact. This event ws similar to the show "Shark Tank" but called "Owl Tank."

    3) Students attended a catered "lunch and learn" that featured Greek fare as they learned about the role of rhetoric in contemporary society.

    4) Students attended a workshop about debate and conducting effective research. A customized LibGuide about Greek culture and society was accessible to students in advance of the program to help them prepare for the event.

    5) Students participated in a parliamentary debate. Both speeches and debates were judged by faculty, peer judges, and community members. At the end of the day, students gathered for a ceremony where the top speakers in each event were presented with awards.

    Through this day-long competition, students learned and applied principles of public speaking and persuasion in a unique, fun, and creative way. This program was offered in conjunction with KSU’s annual Owl Creed Week emphasizing engaged and ethical citizenship aligned with the values highlighted in the Owl Creed.

    Greek Orator.

  • College: College of the Arts
    Faculty Lead: Margaret Pendergrass, Theater and Performance Studies

    This program was a theatrical production of Polaroid Stories, by Naomi Iizuka, produced by the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies as part of our 2020-2021 season of theatrical productions. The production took place in the Onyx Theater on the ČâČâ´«Ă˝ campus of ČâČâ´«Ă˝. Performance dates were February 16-21, 2021.

    Polaroid Stories is a contemporary play written by renowned Asian-American playwright Naomi Iizuka. The play breathes new and urgent life into ancient Greek myths through the lens of street-kids fighting to survive in a chaotic present. Inspired by numerous interviews she collected from street kids in an urban setting, Iizuka has created a brilliant blend of past and present where she evokes the transcendent power of classical myths and renders them accessible and relevant for contemporary audiences. Structured as a series of interlocking encounters between contemporary versions of mythic characters, the play explores love, loss, and the struggle for survival in a cruel and demanding world with poignancy, humor, and suspense. The play’s language blends poetic and lyrical elegance with gritty colloquialisms.

    Imbued with evocative music, sound, and striking visual images, the play offered our student actors, designers, dramaturgs, and audiences the opportunity to explore how ancient myths sustain relevance and offered profound insights about humanity in our contemporary world. Due to the play’s unique blend of Greek myth and contemporary ethnography, the production offered multiple avenues for curricular connections across Colleges and disciplines. Specific learning outcomes included: 1) creating original artistic work, 2) developing oral/written communication skills, and 3) making informed judgments/thinking critically about the art of theatre and performance and the impact of Greek mythology on our worldview.

    Woman sitting in chair holding a princess mirror.

  • College: College of Humanities and Social Sciences
    Faculty Lead: Susan Kirkpatrick Smith, Anthropology

    This project highlighted the applied scholarship of Dr. Jerolyn Morrison and her unique business Minoan Tastes (https://www.minoantastes.com/). She delivered a keynote address for the YoG Conference, provided guest lectures in multiple classes, and meeted with student groups about her efforts to explore the cuisine of ancient Greece by bringing it back to life today. 

    Dr. Morrison worked with art classes (Ceramics ART 3120) to fashion Minoan-style cooking pots. She gave guest lectures in Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH 1102) and Principles of Archaeology (ANTH 3305) classes to discuss anthropological and archaeological techniques used to understand how Minoans produced, gathered, and prepared food. She gave guest lectures to Ancient through Medieval Art (ARH 2750) about the imagery used on Minoan cooking vessels and how it connects to the nature and other imagery carved on seal stones and painted on frescoes. Finally, she gave guest lectures to Introduction to Human Geography (GEOG 1101) and Geography of Europe (GEOG 3312) about human environmental interactions related to food in Crete. Additionally, Dr. Morrison meeted with student clubs (Student Anthropology Club, Mudslingers, Art History Club, ENACTUS) to talk about her path to creating her business.

    She gave a public presentation using traditional Minoan cooking pots to prepare traditional dishes. This culinary experience created a living-type museum that allows an audience to better understand the sensory experience of what it was to cook on the island of Crete 3000-5000 years ago. Students and the public took part in her highly participative presentations and come away with an understanding of how the past informs the present.

    Greek food.

  • College: College of Architecture and Construction Management
    Faculty Lead: Pegah Zamani, EQUINOX and Architecture

    This project brought together KSU’s annual EQUINOX Symposium with the Year of Greece Conference to focus on issues of migration, sustainability, and resiliency as exemplified through both the Greek past and its present. The conference challenged participants to think beyond Greece’s idealized past to confront contemporary challenges to cultural, economic, environmental, political and social resiliency with an eye to strategies that seem sustainable.

    The project invited a keynote speaker as well as attracted leading scholars, government representatives, UN officials and other practitioners with expertise related to the conference themes, thereby strengthening and enhancing participants' understanding of critical issues facing Greece and our global society. Students directly benefited through the exchange of ideas offered at the conference and were guided and mentored to contribute their own research and perspectives as part of the program. The project provided awards to students selected to present research projects at the conference.

Global Fellows

Five Global Fellows were selected to represent their respective colleges on the Year of Greece Planning Committee and provide leadership throughout program implementation. Each Global Fellow has developed an area of focus from the following categories: Research, Creative Activity, and Grant-Writing; Teaching and Virtual Exchange; Conference Organizing; and Education Abroad. Read more about the projects below. 

  • Research & Virtual Exchange – this project explored the educational conditions and support for students with disabilities in Greek public schooling. It included data collection and dissemination, as well as a proposed virtual teaching exchange with a teacher preparation program in Greece. Results of the study were submitted for presentation at the YoG Conference. Travel dates to Greece to support projects were: (9/25/20 – 10/4/20). 
  • Research and YoG Conference Organizing - the proposed project had two foci:  1) contribute to planning and implementation of the YoG conference, which focused on interdisciplinary approaches that engaged the complexities of Greek culture and contributions to the world. 2) research on the preparation of middle grades mathematics teachers’ learning about the influence of Greek culture on mathematics and mathematical proof—ancient to modern.  The research included preservice middle grades mathematics teachers’ dissemination of research during a poster session in spring20 and spring21, as well as a research article highlighting preservice middle grades mathematics teachers’ experiences learning about Greek influence on mathematical proof.
  • Education Abroad, Virtual Exchange and Grant-Writing - as preparation for and in conjunction with a Maymester Education Abroad program to Greece, KSU students will be teamed virtually with Greek students at the University of the Aegean on the island of Chios to work together on a variety of international business topics/projects. These projects may be shared/displayed as a poster session at the YoG conference. The project is applying for grant funding to bring a select number of Greek students to KSU and to help reduce costs for KSU students to travel to Greece. Funding will support/offset costs for travel to Greece as part of the Maymester 2021 education abroad program.
  • Research and Teaching - Research will be on “Urbanism on the Ionian coast of Greece” with a focus on the street network and urban blocks and their transformation over time. The study will address 15 or so towns and cities in the littoral stretching from Kalamata to Corfu. Research findings will be presented on-campus as part of the Year of Greece events and a paper submitted to KSU’s Journal of Global Initiatives special issue on Greece and/or other specialized venue. In Fall, I will align the World Cities Project of the course Urban Design and Planning Theory with the Year of Greece, so that all case studies that students analyze will be cities in Greece and Cyprus. Travel dates not yet determined.
  • Education Abroad and Research – Will offer Bioarcheology education abroad program in conjunction with Human Osteology Field School at Institute for the Study of Aegean Prehistory Study Center for East Crete (INSTAP-SCEC). The education abroad program will connect and overlap with on-going research on how warfare, social status, and cultural change can be read on the human skeleton and burial practices in Greece that I will present during the Year of Greece. Funding will support/offset costs for travel to Greece as part of a May/June 2021 education abroad program.

Faculty-Student Research Teams

Global Education is pleased to announce the Year of Faculty-Student Research Program. The Annual Country Study Program (AYCS) invites applications for faculty-student teams to conduct research for the 2021-2022 Year of Greece. The goal of the program is to encourage faculty and student research collaborations centered around the AYCS, increasing research opportunities for students and campus internationalization.  

The Annual Country Study Program (AYCS) is an award-winning, university-wide educational activity that supports KSU’s strategic initiative towards students’ purposeful journeys and transformational learning, building an inclusive culture, impacting community, and achieving institutional excellence. Annually, it results in new courses and curriculum, research projects, education abroad programs, and global partnerships. 

  • Projects should attempt to understand an aspect of Greece (Greek economy, culture, literature, theatre, history, healthcare, sports, etc.). Faculty may propose projects for existing research, new research, or research that arises from classroom projects. The projects should be focused so that faculty-student teams can complete a majority of the research during the fall semester in order to present their findings at the Year of Greece Symposium during the Spring Semester.

    Research teams will also be encouraged to submit their findings to the Year of Greece Special Edition of the Journal of Global Initiatives. 

  • Each proposal should include a general description of the project, a short methodology, and timeline. Proposals should be no longer than 3 single-spaced pages. 
    • Full-time faculty members who have the time to devote to a research project and are interested in providing mentorship to students.
    • Faculty may designate up to two students in their proposals, or they can choose the students once they have been given the award. Faculty are encouraged work with students who are motivated and express and interest in enhancing their research skills.
    • Undergraduate and graduate students recommended. (Undergraduate students strongly encouraged.)
    • Students with little to moderate research experience preferred.

  • Reviewers will look for three items: 

    1. Project’s relationship to Greece.
    2. Executability of the research. 
    3. Opportunity for a high level of collaboration and mentorship between faculty and student.

    TWO proposals will be selected and awarded for the Year of Greece.

    • Each member of the Faculty-Student teams will receive $1300. 
    • Student Team members will receive $650 in the Fall and $650 in the Spring and are required to work a minimum of 6 hours per week on the project.
    • Faculty Team members funding can be used throughout the year for supplies/materials related to the project, books, professional development, etc.

    For more information or questions about the Year of Faculty-Student Research Team, please contact Vivian Pascual at Vbonill1@kennesaw.edu.