Program Description

The University of Wisconsin-Madison works with Penn State University to offer students an exciting program in Athens, Greece. The Athens Centre, located near the Acropolis and other major archaeological sites of the city, is the headquarters for the Athens program. Founded in 1969 as the Athens Centre for Creative Arts, this Greek non-profit organization sponsors academic and cultural activities. It schedules programs for Athens residents throughout the year in the fields of Greek Studies, fine arts, and the performing arts; and since 1977 it has offered courses in Modern Greek language to foreigners living and working in Athens. The Athens program is open to students of all majors; however, it is particularly appropriate for students majoring in speech communication, philosophy, classics, or history.

Athens is the cultural, industrial and political center of modern Greece. Ancient Athens is considered by many to be the fountainhead of Western civilization. The heart of the city, both ancient and modern, is the world-famous Acropolis. Nearby is the Agora, the ancient civic center and marketplace with its temple of Hephaistos and other important monuments. Also close to the Acropolis, is the Plaka where one finds the old quarter of the modern city which includes Byzantine churches, early modern historical buildings, and the Library of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian. The many museums, monuments, and scenic viewpoints in present-day Athens evoke memories of the masters of art, architecture, philosophy, and drama who once walked its streets and who have made such important contributions to Western civilization.

Academics

The program is a fifteen-week interdisciplinary program with faculty from both the Athens Centre and Penn State University. All instruction is in English, although a required course in Modern Greek emphasizes the use of this language, and students take courses with other program participants. Courses on the program provide students with insight into Greek culture and civilization from ancient times to the present.

Participants will enroll in a minimum of fifteen credits on this program, including nine credits of required courses and a further six credits (or more) of additional course options. The three required courses totaling nine credits taught by Athens Centre faculty are: Archeology of Ancient Greece; Byzantine Greece; and Modern Greek Language and Culture. The additional course options vary from year to year, depending on the expertise of the accompanying Penn State faculty member. The departments of Art History, Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, English, History, Philosophy, Kinesiology, or Speech Communication provide these faculty members on a rotating basis.

Housing

Housing in Athens is coordinated by the Athens Centre staff. Students live in apartments a few blocks from classroom facilities in the residential neighborhood of Pangrati -- about a mile from the center of the city and from the Acropolis. Students are responsible for providing their own meals. While on field trips, students are housed in hotels near the sites.

Excursions and Activities

The Athens Centre conducts an orientation when students arrive in Athens. The orientation introduces students to the country, its culture, and the academic program. It also provides practical information about living in Athens. The resident director, a faculty member from Penn State, and the staff of the Athens Centre are available throughout the program for both personal and academic support.

In addition to classroom instruction, the program includes visits to several major archaeological sites in Greece such as Crete, Aegina, Olympia, Delphi, Sounion, Corinth, Mycenae, and Epidauros. The sites vary from year to year.