Modern Greek Studies Association

University of Maryland

Profile

Year Program Established:1989
Approximate Number of Students Enrolled (per semester): 30-50

Level of Program Offered

Minor in Modern greek

Undergraduate level elective courses:

Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced levels in Modern Greek language and culture, History and Literature , Independent Study.
Reception studies, literature, cinema, and theatre: two alternating courses taught in English under CLAS

Faculty

Full time:

Dr. Polyvia Parara Visiting Assistant Professor, Instructor and Coordinator of Modern Greek Language courses

Part time:

Dr. M. Pittas-Herschbach, Lecturer, Instructor

Resources

Sponsoring Departments/Administrative Entities:

Department of Classics

Does the program offer financial support to students? No

Does the institution offer financial support to students? No

Program resources, achievements, and challenges 

For twenty-five years, the Classics Department has offered courses in Modern as well as Ancient Greek. Our Modern Greek offerings have grown from one course per semester in 1989 to a range of seven to eight courses per academic year, covering the full range from beginning to advanced levels. In addition to courses in the Modern Greek language, we offer courses in English translation on the classical tradition in Modern Greek Literature and on classical myth in Modern Greek drama and film. We also offer a four-week study abroad course in Greece, which is entitled “History and Archaeology of Corinth” and is led by Professor Jorge J. Bravo

The department's minor in Greek Language and Culture has been revised (as of December 2013) to include a track in Modern Greek; see the full description of the minor here.

In the frame of the Modern Greek minor and research opportunities for students of Modern Greek Studies, the Modern Greek Program offers the GREK 499 "Independent Study on Greek Language" course. Topics vary every year—examples include: “Cavafy and the Greek World;” “Classical Past and Modern Greek Identity;" and "Greek Thought and Democracy: Past and Present." In academic year 2015-2016, six undergraduate students of the GREK 499 "Independent Study on Greek Language" (Section: Modern Greek) class presented their papers at the one-day conference on the "The International Context of the Greek World in the 19th Century: Κλασική Ἀνθοδέσμη, a 'Classical Bouquet.'" The event was co-organized by the Department of Classics' Modern Greek Program and the Smithsonian Institute.

We are grateful to the government of the Hellenic Republic for an endowment that helps to fund the salary of our instructor of Modern Greek, Dr. Polyvia Parara. We also depend on the generosity of our annual donors to keep our program strong.