[MGSA-L] FALL 2016 COURSES AT YALE

[Syrimis, George]

Hellenic Studies Program
course Offerings
FALL 2016

Elementary Modern Greek I, Maria Kaliambou
MGRK 110
M-F 9.25-10.15
An introduction to modern Greek, with emphasis on oral expression. Use of communicative activities, graded texts, written assignments, grammar drills, audiovisual material, and contemporary documents. In-depth cultural study.

Intermediate Modern Greek I, Maria Kaliambou
MGRK 130
M-F 10.30-11.20
Further development of oral and written linguistic skills, using authentic readings and audiovisual materials. Continued familiarization with contemporary Greek culture.

Advanced Modern Greek, Maria Kaliambou
MGRK 151
MWF 11.35-12.25
Advanced language course intended to further develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, while sharpening students’ sensitivity toward modern Greek culture.


Cinema of Migration, George Syrimis

MGRK 213/FILM 421/WGSS 261

Wednesday, 2.30-4.20

The age of Globalization has been characterized not only by an explosion in the transfer of information but also in the movement of people across the planet.  Focusing primarily on the Greek and southern European contexts, the course examines the rich and complex tradition of cinematic representations of the migrant experience. Refigured as agents of modernity, transnationalism, mobile human capital, and sexual objects, the immigrant is examined through the prisms of identify, gender, sexual exploitation and violence, nationalism and ethnicity with an emphasis on last decades of the 20th century. The course is structured around the themes of ethnicity, matrimony, sexuality, and aesthetics.

Culture of the Cold War in Europe, George Syrimis
MGRK 233/HIST 275J/FILM 368/LITR 320/FILM 368
Friday, 1:30-3:20
The course examines the common assumption that culture mirrors or reflects its historical circumstances by focusing on the diverse ways the experience of the Cold War informs the literature and film of the period in Europe. In examining European culture during and after the Cold War, the course seeks to assess and question the interconnectedness of politics and dominant ideologies with their correlative literary and cinematic aesthetics models and with popular culture. Though the historical milieu is the primary mimetic object of such politicized art, the course argues that artistic expression also reflects and negotiates the conventions of its own tradition. At the same time it questions the cliché universality of the Cold War experience by focusing on the specific local factors and divergences of certain countries particularly in southeastern Europe. Themes explored include totalitarianism, Eurocommunism, decolonization, espionage, state surveillance, the nuclear threat, sports, propaganda, as well as literary and cinematic aesthetics.

Eurozone Crisis, Paris Aslanidis
MGRK 236/PLSC 138/SOCY 221
Thursday, 2:30-4:20
The United States of America managed to survive the Lehman Brothers collapse that sent shockwaves around the globe in 2008. However, Europe is still struggling with the grave repercussions of the Great Recession and the sovereign debt crisis that strangles its economy. This course sheds light on the many facets of the Eurozone crisis and focuses debate on its impact on countries such as Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and, especially, Greece. It discusses this topic within the general framework of the feasibility of the Euro as a viable common currency area. Employing a political economy perspective, students will learn why and how the Eurozone crisis erupted and spread, who are the main actors of the drama, and whether this catastrophe could have been averted.

Populism from Chavez to Trump, Paris Aslanidis
MGRK 237/PLSC 375/GLBL 215/LAST 386/SOCY 389
Tuesday, 2.30-4.20
Populism is a trending political term in Europe and the Americas, employed to denote a wide spectrum of political phenomena, originating from both right and left. The course will disambiguate this interesting concept and help students identify its presence and intensity in the political field by use of a mixture of methodological approaches. Significant current and historical instances of populist politics across Europe and the Americas will be studied comparatively, from the US Populist Party to Argentina’s Peron and Greece’s SYRIZA. Students will be given the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the distinctive nature of populist discourse through textual as well as video material.  Moreover, populism’s relationship with (liberal) democracy will be analyzed and their compatibility debated.

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