NAFPLIO, THESSALONIKI 
27 JUNE – 2 AUGUST 2020

If you are planning to pursue academic study abroad this summer, we invite you to consider the Harvard Summer Program in Nafplio and Thessaloniki, Greece, 2020, under the title “Migrations and Boundaries: Reconceptualizing Mobility in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond”. 

The program, now in its nineteenth year, is the oldest continuously running and one of the most successful Harvard study-abroad programs. The five-week course (27 June – 2 August 2020) is divided between the seaside town of Nafplio, and the historical city of Thessaloniki. Greece is an ideal place for summer study: traces of ancient history and culture are found everywhere, and the country has been an important meeting point between East and West across the centuries. The beautiful climate and landscape are additional sources of inspiration.

Nine interrelated week-long seminars offer a stimulating approach to cultural exchange, with an emphasis on migration, the legacies of Hellenism and on imperial encounters in the Mediterranean. The program’s richness is due to its interdisciplinary nature and the diversity of its faculty and students. The seminars combine linguistic, literary, and historical methodologies, while several faculty members (classicists, historians, literary and theater critics) attend each class, making it a real laboratory for collaborative thinking. Our discussions continue over dinner under the olive trees. Since 2002, students have come from as far afield as the US, England, France, Bulgaria, Greece, Guatemala, Turkey, China, and the Philippines.

Weekend excursions take us to some of the country’s most important ancient, medieval, and contemporary sites, such as Athens, Olympia, Epidaurus, Mycenae and Vergina. A rich program of guest lectures, and dramatic performances at the ancient theater of Epidaurus, complete the curriculum. Weekly trips to the beautiful and relatively untouched beaches of the Peloponnese and Northern Greece enable us to enjoy the natural landscape and appreciate its fragility. Whether you are a student of the classics or modern literature, a historian or a scientist, this program will offer you unique insight into the history and representations of cultural interaction and mobility in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. 

The course carries 8 credits that in the past have included – but are not restricted to – classics, literature, and history. In the past, participants have been undergraduates, graduate students, or independent scholars. Please note: Students must be at least 18 years old and in good academic standing to apply.

Applications are due January 30, 2020. 
Students will be notified of admission decisions by late February.

Interested candidates are encouraged to write to summergreece@chs.harvard.edu with any questions. To find out more, including detailed course descriptions, faculty bios, comments, and photos, please visit: 
https://greece.chs.harvard.edu/hssgreece
https://www.summer.harvard.edu/study-abroad/greece

We are looking forward to receiving your application!