Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies

(previous semesters)

War and Peace in the Medieval World
FRS 106

In this seminar we will begin by looking at modern ideas about the relationship between warfare and violence, on the one hand, and religious belief, on the other. Those ideas will lead us back to an examination of both the practical—organizational and logistical—and the ideological aspects of medieval warfare. We will see how Byzantines between the sixth and 12th centuries dealt with issues of conscience and the question of violence, and compare their approach to those of Islam and the medieval west. At the same time we will look also at how the Byzantine state organized itself for war, and at the technical, tactical, strategic, economic, and logistical structures through which warfare was conducted. We will compare Byzantium with its neighbours to see how they approached the same issues. We will see how different attitudes to warfare and violence could exist side by side and be reflected in social and cultural organization. In the process, we will see how these ideas are understood or misunderstood, used and abused, in modern literature and popular discourse.
John Haldon  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm T

Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Contemporary World Politics
FRS 148

The class will explore ideas and practices on conflict prevention and resolution. We will discuss coercive diplomacy, military intervention, and economic sanctions, but also emphasize the role of innovative ideas aimed at institutional reform, effective non-violent action, and reconciliation (e.g., Truth and Reconciliation Commission). We will examine the kinds of institutional options groups face in deeply divided societies, draw meaningful comparisons across cases, and discuss whether Western models of liberal pluralism can be exported elsewhere.
Neophytos Loizides  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm W

Empires and Diasporas: International Trade in the Premodern World
FRS 158

Today nation-states organize our political world and the market organizes international trade. Throughout much of history, however, people lived in empires, not nation-states, and international trade was the specialty of trading diasporas. These diasporas were usually, but not always, organized along familial and ethnic lines. This course will examine several empires, and the diasporas that they generated, to understand the economics and the politics of international trade in a premodern, imperial world. The focus will be on the great landed empires of Eurasia—Iran, the Mughals in India and the Ottoman Empire—in the early modern era, 16th to 18th centuries. By the end of the course the students should have a firm grasp of the organization of international trade in a political, economic, and cultural setting that is very different from our own world. Having gained an appreciation of historical context, the students can better understand why international trade looks the way it does today.
Molly Greene  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm Th

Elementary Modern Greek II
HLS 102/MOG 102

A continuation of HLS 101, aiming to develop skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing modern Greek in a cultural context. Classroom activities include videos, comprehension and grammar exercises, and discussions.
Staff  Classes: 11:00 - 11:50 a.m. M T W Th

Advanced Modern Greek
HLS 107/MOG 107

Advanced composition and oral practice aimed at developing idiomatic written and spoken style. Discussions entirely in Greek. Introduces students to contemporary Greek culture and literature through the study of works by Cavafy, Sikelianos, Seferis, Elytis, Ritsos, and Anagnostakis, among others. Readings from articles on current Greek topics.
Staff  Class: 12:30 – 1:20 pm M T W Th

The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1800
NES 437/HIS 337/HLS 337

This course surveys the history of the world's most enduring Islamic state, the Ottoman Empire. With its beginnings in the fourteenth century, it lasted into the early years of the last century. At is height it ruled over much of the Mediterranean as well as Central Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and today's Turkey.
Heath Lowry  Class: 1:30 - 2:50 pm T Th

Transformation of the Ancient World: Byzantium 500-1200
HIS 355/HLS 355

This course introduces the history and culture of Byzantium, with some material on the medieval European world to the West and the Islamic states to the East. We will focus on the development of Byzantine society and economy, on how the state worked, and how Byzantium related to its neighbors to both the West and the East. Why did the eastern Roman empire survive the barbarian invasions of the fifth and sixth centuries? How was the state ruled and by whom? How did it deal with the powerful Islamic states to the East? How and why did the Byzantines arouse the hostility and suspicion of the medieval West and the papacy?
John Haldon  Lecture: 10:00 - 10:50 am T Th

Social Movements, Revolutions, and Contentious Politics
POL 357/SOC 357/HLS 357

This seminar examines various forms of political contention such as social movements, riots, and revolutions as well as episodes of democratization, political protest, and ethnopolitical mobilization. Drawing from the work of Charles Tilly, Sidney Tarrow, and Doug McAdam, we will explore the political institutions and processes that shape collective mobilization, the means supporting collective action, and the framing processes around which collective action is conceived and acted out. We will focus on case studies from the Balkan revolutions, contention and democracy in Europe, the civil rights movement, and the collapse of communism.
Neophytos Loizides  Lecture: 12:30 - 1:20 pm T Th

Special Topics in Modern Greek Civilization: Athens: Representations of a
Twentieth Century City
HLS 361/COM 361

We will meet the city of Athens through a broad range of representations: from literature, cinema, and music to pop culture and art, to architecture and urban redesign for the 2004 Olympics. Athens has long nourished the human imagination, usually as a center of the Classical world, or as a place where ancient ideals were revived in the 19th century. In this seminar, we will explore modern and post-modern Athens, an increasingly complex and "global" urban conglomeration. During the spring break registered students will take a required study trip to Athens.
Efthymia Rentzou  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm Th

Topics in Comparative Literature: Islands in Literature
COM 370/HLS 370

The seclusion and autonomy that an island suggests has nourished the literary imagination for centuries. This course examines the creation of a literary "topos" based on a geographical "place," and vice versa, the over-determination of a geographical term by the imaginary of a culture. The changing aspects of the island in literature will be related to specific cultural contexts --Enlightenment, Industrial Revolution, Modernism, and Post-colonialism. In addition we will study the evolution of literary genres in which islands appear, as well as specific themes such as "utopia," "dystopia," and "adventure."
Efthymia Rentzou  Lecture: 1:30 - 2:50 pm M W

State and Ideology in Eastern Europe From Byzantium to the Enlightenment
HLS 423/HIS 423/NES 423

Three historical themes shaped Byzantine Europe: the inheritance of Byzantine political ideology with its complex relations between state and church; the encounter with Western Europe; and the concept of political reform. Dreams of Byzantium, theocracies, and utopias of political modernity crossed a space of shared culture and created a sense of community despite political boundaries until the national idea built up frontiers of territorial identities. The fate of these ideas and their political fertility invites us to reflect on the concept of ideology and its instrumentality in the construction of the State.
Petre Guran

Seminar. Medieval Art
ART 430/HLS 430

The Enchanted Gaze. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the Romanesque gave visual expression to the intimacy of the monastic cloister, the haunting landscapes of the pilgrimage roads, and the magic quests of chivalric romances. Taking a cue from a celebrated author of the period, Chrétien de Troyes, this course is designed as a quest, punctuated by a series of encounters with major monuments of Romanesque Art, monuments that will be rendered unfamiliar and endlessly fascinating by a constant shifting of analytical perspectives. The final reward will be the discovery of a treasure trove of formal and conceptual challenges.
Francisco Prado-Vilar  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm Th

GRADUATE COURSES

Problems in Late Antique and Byzantine Art and Architecture:
Juncture of Heaven and Earth: The Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai

The seminar entitled - "Accessing saints in the Eastern Christian World (ca. 300-ca.-1500)" --will explore the impact of the cult of saints on the development of architecture and art in the world of Byzantium and its sphere of influence. The role of pilgrimage, specifically the accommodation of piligrims in churches and its effects on church planning will be explored. Along with major symbolic changes, this may have been a key factor in the shaping of Byzantine church architecture. Literary, archaeological and other forms of evidence will be scrutinized in hopes of identifying thus far overlooked in scholarship.
Slobodan Ćurčić  Seminar: 7:00 - 9:50 pm Th

The Origins of the Middle Ages
HIS 543/HLS 543

Reading and research on the transition of ancient into medieval society, religion, and culture are the focus of this course. Topic for the spring 2006: Treasures in Heaven: The Use of Wealth in Late Antique Christianity.
Peter R. Brown  Seminar: 9:00 - 11:50 am W

The 17th Century in Europe: The Mediterranean Imaginary: Italy, Spain, and Greece
COM 551/HLS 551

A study of cultural transactions between Italy, Spain, and Greece during the Early Modern period. Heliodorus´ Ancient Greek novel the Ethiopian History , along with Ariosto´s romance-epic hybrid Orlando Furioso, is fundamental both to the Neoaristotelian controversy and to the complexities of empire, which Cervantes inscribes in his Persiles y Sigismunda.. At the same time, texts written during the Renaissance by Greeks under Venetian rule foreground the influences of Italian culture on writing in Greek. Chortatsis´ bloody, Elizabethan-style tragedy, Erofile, e.g., utilizes novella composition, as well as Tasso´s Gerusalemme.
Marina Brownlee  Seminar: 1:30 - 4:20 pm M

Courses of Interest

Spring 2005 course offerings
Fall 2004 course offerings
Spring 2004 course offerings
Fall 2003 course offerings
Spring 2003 course offerings
Fall 2002 course offerings
Spring 2002 course offerings
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Spring 2001 course offerings
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Spring 2000 course offerings
Fall 1999 course offerings