2019-20

The course deals with the evolution of Greek script and manuscripts from the 4th to the 19th c.
Course Aims: The aim of the course is to introduce the student directly to the written sources for Greek history and the cultural heritage of Greece.
Course Outcome: At the end of the course, the student will be acquainted with Greek script and its evolution, writing instruments, scriptoria, writing and reading in Byzantium and in the post-Byzantine period, manuscripts and their archaeology, the elements of chronology, the description of manuscripts and of documents.

The goal of a teacher lies in his or her students cultivating their abilities, in a teaching environment characterized by a spirit of co-operation, to
deal with historical sources of various types, written, visual or oral, drawn from the whole spectrum of history,
to evaluate such sources in terms of their teaching potential,
to use them in teaching and to incorporate them as an organic part of the lesson plan.
The course has a workshop-oriented approach and will involve attending lessons in schools. The number of students admitted will therefore be limited.

The course consists of the following units:
1. Folklore and Fairytale:  Fundamental Scholars of the Fairytale
2.  The Features of Fairytales, Stylistic and Structural Elements.
3.  The First Publications of Fairytales in Greece and Abroad.
4.  The Relationship between Myth and Fairytale (animal myths, myths of men, myths of animals and men).
5. Theories on the Origin of Fairytales I:  Methods of Analysis of Fairytales. Theories regarding Origin, Classification (by categories, by pairs, by subject matter) and the Analytical Methods Employed.

This course looks at Greek texts of the Byzantine and Ottoman period that the course instructor has chosen as appropriate material for didactic use in the teaching of Byzantine history and of the history of modern Greek history and culture.  One of the aims of the course is to cultivate in students the ability to deal with written sources and decide what can be employed for teaching use.  Another is to make use of these texts through working groups to which all students will belong.

The course examines the history of Egypt from the advent of Muhammad Ali in Egypt until the British conquest of the country. The main issues that the course analyzes is the personality of Muhammad Ali, his rise to power and the establishment by him of a personal dynasty, the policies implemented in the country and the new policy of external expansion, along with the major changes that these policies provoked in the Egyptian society.