Cities & Citizenry: Negotiating the Spaces of Belonging
Program Dates
May 22 through June 13, 2024
Program Overview
Athens, a diverse and vibrant public art and culture city, but also the place that gave birth to the idea of the polis, the root of the word politics, is the location of this intense 4-week 4-credit Global Pathways Program. The polis (the city), understood by the Greeks as community, that is, the people, not only its buildings, has been the place where ideas of identity and inclusion, social justice and individual responsibilities have been developed through ideas and experiences of the local and global. From ancient Athens, when citizens were only those born there, yet whose most influential thinkers were its then non-citizens (e.g. Aristotle, Herodotus, Homer), to current Greece, the gateway to Europe for refugees from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, this class offers students the opportunity to rethink their idea of community, local and global.
Program Eligibility & Admission
- Open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
- Limited to 15 students.
Course Information
Total of 4 credits. Students will be required to be enrolled by Emerson College in ONE of the following course options:
- LI 311 - Topics in Global Literature - Cities & Citizenry
- IN 323 - Global Cities: Athens
Academic Highlights
- Develop the skills to question your assumptions, and rethink and revise your theories of community.
- Read key texts in philosophy, literature, and political theory on location.
- Explore transnational culture studies texts in a transnational context.
- Engage in live democracy while volunteering at local refugee centers.
- Visit and volunteer work in collaborative art and culture initiatives, engaging in the politics of aesthetics and the aesthetics of politics.
- Visit the Acropolis and its Museum and the Archeological Museum, engaging in the representation of culture as memory and as lived in the present.
Cultural Highlights
- Enjoy an excursion to the famous Oracle at Delphi.
- Explore ancient Greek history at Mycenae and Epidavros.
- Enjoy free time at one of the the many beautiful local beaches near Athens.
- During a free weekend, opt to visit some of the nearby islands, including Hydra, Spetses and Aigina.
- Visit sites of public discourse, including the Agora, the Pnyx, Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lyceum and more.
Cost & Inclusions
Program Fee: $7,117
Included in Program Fee
- Tuition (4 credits)
- Registration Fee
- Housing
- Airport pick-up
- Some meals
Not Included in Program Fee
- Round-trip airfare to/from Athens (Est. $1,500)
- Airport drop-off for return flight
- Local transportation
- Most meals and incidental or personal expenses
- Entrance fees to some museums/historical sites (Est. $50-100)
- Passports (or visas, if required)
- International Health Insurance*
*May be waived by those with alternate comparable insurance.
*Health Insurance Coverage: Participants must have an insurance plan that provides coverage while abroad. If you feel your current insurance is not adequate, please research a plan that is.
For information on Supplemental Health Plans, please visit our Health Insurance Requirements page.