Greek Studies Prospectus Revised Feb 04 08
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THE PROGRAM IN MODERN GREEK STUDIES AT BROWN UNIVERSITY Contact Information David Konstan The John Rowe Workman Distinguished Professor of Classics and Professor of Comparative Literature Brown University Box 1856, Providence RI 02912 USA Tel: (401) 863-3140 Fax: (401) 863-7484 E-mail: [email protected] Ronald D. Margolin Vice President for International Advancement Brown University Box 1980, Providence RI 02912 USA Tel: (401) 863-3564 Fax: (401) 863-3320 E-mail: [email protected] THE PROGRAM IN MODERN GREEK STUDIES AT BROWN UNIVERSITY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................. 2 HISTORY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY ....................................................................................................... 3 THE STUDY OF NATIONS AND CULTURES OF THE WORLD AT BROWN ............................... 4 MODERN GREEK STUDIES........................................................................................................................ 5 Origins of the Program ............................................................................................................................. 5 Current Activities....................................................................................................................................... 5 A LOOK TO THE FUTURE .......................................................................................................................... 6 A TRADITION OF MUTUAL SUPPORT................................................................................................... 7 REQUEST FOR SUPPORT............................................................................................................................ 8 Appendix A Course Offerings ......................................................................................................... 10 Appendix B Public Lectures and Events....................................................................................... 15 Appendix C Colloquia...................................................................................................................... 18 EXECUTIVE S UMMARY Brown University seeks to strengthen and make more permanent its longstanding ties to Greece and to the Greek people by enhancing its teaching and scholarship in the area of Modern Greek Studies. By supporting this effort, donors will help to increase the visibility and importance of the study of modern Greece both at Brown and throughout the academic community. This effort will increase exposure to Greek perspectives on history and on world affairs. Students and scholars of Greek language, history, and culture will benefit from the opportunity to work alongside Brown faculty members renowned for their expertise in such areas as the history of Europe; issues such as regional security, development, health and hunger; the spread and control of nuclear weapons; and the operations of the United Nations. With the recent emergence of Greece and its neighboring countries as major influences on the political, social, and economic landscape of Europe, it is important for students from every nation to have the opportunity to develop an enhanced understanding of modern Greek history and perspectives. Brown University has important ties to Greece, and for much of its 240-year history, the University has recognized the importance of teaching and studying Greek culture. One of the earliest connections between Brown and Greece was Samuel Gridley Howe of the Class of 1821. Mr. Howe was a hero of the Greek revolution and a lifelong supporter of Greek freedom, serving as surgeon-in-chief of the Greek Fleet during the War of Independence and providing aid to Crete during the revolt against Turkey in 1871. At its annual meeting in Providence in 1941, the American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association recognized Howe’s contributions by donating an inscribed base for the University’s flagpole, which to this day remains in a prominent location on Brown's campus. Recently, Howe's memoirs of his participation in the Greek War of Independence were SAMUEL GRIDLEY HOWE translated and published in Greek. The volume has attracted CLASS OF 1821 considerable critical acclaim. In addition, in 1881 Brown professor Albert Harkness joined with four others to found the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Brown faculty members have often served on the board of the School. From 1881 to the mid-1990s, Greek Studies were concentrated in the Department of Classics, which is considered to be among the best such departments in the United States today. As Brown has become more international in recent years, its ties to Greece have been fortified and students have shown increasing interest in Greek studies and in learning modern Greek. Responsibility for the administration and direction of the Program in Modern Greek Studies resides with a faculty committee, chaired by David Konstan (John Rowe Workman Distinguished Professor of Classics and Professor of Comparative Literature), and includes Constantine Dafermos (Alumni-Alumnae University Professor and Professor of Applied Mathematics), Elsa Amanatidou (Lecturer in Modern Greek Language and Literature), Marinos Pourgouris (Assistant Professor of Modern Greek and Comparative Literature), Konstantinos FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 2 Kornetis (Visiting Assistant Professor of History), Keith Brown (Professor at theWatson Institute for International Studies), and Stratis Papaioannou (William A. Dyer, Jr. Assistant Professor in the Humanities and Dumbarton Oaks Assistant Professor of Byzantine Studies, Department of Classics). Brown now calls on its Greek alumni/ae, parents, and friends for their help in securing permanent funding to support a variety of initiatives in Modern Greek Studies, including regular and visiting faculty positions, undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, research funds, and a library acquisitions fund. THE HISTORY OF BROWN UNIVERSITY Founded in 1764, Brown University is the seventh oldest college in the United States. It is private, nonsectarian, and coeducational, with an undergraduate enrollment of 5,674 students, and a faculty of 658. The New York Times and USA Today have published articles placing Brown at or near the top of the short list of the most sought-after college degrees. One of the most selective institutions in the nation, Brown ranks in the top tier among the nation's R-1 universities. The Graduate School, with an enrollment of 1,700 students, offers advanced degrees in thirty-nine disciplines. The Medical School, with an enrollment of 360 students, is known nationally for its innovative program linking college and medical education in an eight- year continuum. Brown's mission is to prepare students to serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating, and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry and "to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation." Brown achieves this by combining the best elements of a premier undergraduate college and a research university through the "university-college" approach to undergraduate education. This approach sets Brown University apart from top-level undergraduate liberal arts colleges, which cannot conduct research at the level of a university with a graduate program, and from many larger universities, which employ a separate cadre of teaching faculty. Undergraduates at Brown have many opportunities to interact with distinguished scholars – both in an out of the classroom – who are working at the forefront of their fields. Brown attracts distinguished faculty members from around the world to teach and conduct research. These faculty members contribute to the richness of undergraduate study by teaching at all levels, serving as student advisors, and collaborating with students in teaching and research. Brown's distinctive curriculum enables this process. Adopted in 1969, the “New Curriculum” replaced requirements with student-centered plans of study. Under the guidance of a committed faculty, students become the architects of their educational experience. This model has led to an extraordinary level of collaboration between faculty and students, opportunities for independent study, and a setting for teaching and learning that encourages students to become distinguished scholars in their chosen fields of study. FEBRUARY 2008 PAGE 3 The Brown curriculum is based on three basic philosophical principles. First, students are seen as active participants in learning rather than as passive objects of teaching; they assume responsibility for their own educational plans and thus develop intellectual independence, self- reliance, and judgment. Second, undergraduate education is understood as a process of individual development and intellectual growth rather than a static means of transmitting information, a belief that requires that students learn methodologies and analytical and critical skills in addition to factual knowledge. Finally, the content of the curriculum provides students the opportunity for individuality, experimentation, and intellectual integration and synthesis. Interdisciplinary studies have joined the established disciplines as a central component of the Brown curriculum, and there are a number of centers for the promotion of interdisciplinary study, research, and instruction. THE STUDY OF NATIONS AND C U LTURES O F THE W O RLD INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Under the leadership