Global Discoveries: From Athena to Athens, Myth - Past and Present

Catalog description

Greece has been associated with several quintessential images promoted to entice tourists: olive groves, the Parthenon, and white-washed buildings on sun-drenched islands. Beneath this branding lies a rich and contentious past inscribed in the country's architecture, monuments, art, dance, music, poetry, and cuisine. This course introduces students to Greek history and examines myths as templates for understanding the human experience that echoes across cultural boundaries. Students will examine how myths connect human narratives, social contracts, and expressions of human existence to understand: "Is there a pattern of being and a way of thinking tied to the past, present, and future?" The exploration of Athenian landmarks, history, literature, and culture will challenge students to establish criteria for determining whether these sites and their attached histories have a broader, universal significance. The course explores different approaches to memorialization: the desire to showcase "golden ages," why and how societies remember the past, how they decide which/whose pasts are worth remembering, and what motivations drive the promotion of specific pasts. This course includes travel to Greece. This course will be offered in January-Term. For the January-Term offering the course will be open for enrollment to NYU Abu Dhabi AEP students only.