Monastery at Meteroa Greece. Courtesy of the honors college at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
St. Mary’s College of Maryland is offering a 25-day study tour to Greece from June 1-25th. The trip can be taken as a course in Democracy Studies, English (ENGL 380), Environmental Studies (ENST 245), History (HIST 393), Museum Studies (MUST 390), Philosophy (PHIL 380), Religious Studies (RELG 380), or Women, Sexuality and Gender Studies (WGSX 350). Since St. Mary’s is an Honors college, they will work closely with us to provide honors credit. This year they will, also, be spending 5 nights on the islands of Cephalonia and Ithaka.
Some highlights of the trip:
- visiting all 4 Pan-Hellenic game sites (including Olympia)
- visiting the breathtakingly situated Orthodox monasteries of Meteroa
- staying on the island of Ithaka (2 nights), to where Odysseus spent 10 years trying to get home
- staying on the next-door island of Cephalonia (3 nights)
- enjoying authentic, home-cooked Greek cuisine throughout
- walking the very streets walked by Agamemnin, Sisyphus, Socrates, Alexander the Great, St. Paul, etc.
- visiting 5 ancient theaters
- seeing the jail cell in which Socrates drank the hemlock
- folk-dancing lessons
- visiting a winery
- making new friends among ourselves and with shopkeepers, cafe owners, etc.
This year’s theme, “Contest: Athletes, Actors, and Sages in Antiquity,” will cover the ways in which the Greek notion of agon (competition) manifested itself in ancient athletics, in theatrical competitions for prizes, and even in sages vying to present the most persuasive case on a given matter in the Athenian assembly or lawcourts.
Check out their website for a description of the trip, a syllabus, an itinerary, photo galleries from past years, cost information, and applications.
Applications are process on a rolling basis, but will not be considered after February 1st. The first payment of $1700 is dues on February 4th.
For more information, please contact Professor Michael Taber at .