• 2024 Topic: Migration and Boundaries—Reconceptualizing Mobility in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond
• Dates: June 29 – August 4, 2024
• Locations: Thessaloniki and Nafplio (Greece)
• Organized by: Harvard Summer School (HSS), supported by CHS Greece and CHS US
• Open to: University students (up to 20 positions)
• Application Period: Early December – January 25, 2024
• Language: English
• Faculty: Dimiter Angelov (Program Director, Harvard), Yota Batsaki (Dumbarton Oaks/Harvard), Sahar Bazzaz (Academic coordinator, College of the Holy Cross), Emma Dench (Harvard), Eurydice Georganteli (Harvard), Dimitris Kastritsis (Academic coordinator, University of Virginia), Ilham Khuri-Makdisi (Northeastern), Gregory Nagy (Program Director, Harvard), Michael Puett (Harvard), and Jake Ransohoff (Princeton)
• Activity Administration: Evan Katsarelis (CHS Greece) and Mina Tsentourou (CHS Greece)

About the program

Overview

This 5-week-long summer course is one of the oldest and most successful Harvard study-abroad programs. Divided between the historical city of Thessaloniki and the seaside town of Nafplio, the program has in its scope the promotion of cross-cultural understanding by exploring some of the major cultural traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean–and, more broadly, the world we live in–, their points of overlap, mutual influence, and strategic divergence.

Since the summer of 2002, when it was launched, a total of over 340 students from the four corners of the world have come to Greece, for this intensive course on comparative cultural studies. Discover more of the program’s history on the webpage dedicated to the celebration of its 20-year milestone.

Seminars and structure

The Harvard Summer School Program in Greece is fundamentally interdisciplinary, combining historical, literary, philosophical, and linguistic approaches to cultural exchange. The pedagogical model is interactive and research-driven, with faculty members and students exchanging ideas around the seminar table, making it a real laboratory for comparative and collaborative thinking. There are eight week-long seminars taught in English and each of them meets Monday through Thursday, for a total of four two-hour periods. Seminars run in pairs over the first four weeks of the course; the fifth week is devoted to the writing of the final paper. You may view the 2024 Syllabus of the program in the call for applications.

Furthermore, an essential part of the program’s curriculum is the weekend excursions to renowned historical and archaeological sites, along with various other extracurricular activities, such as dramatic performances and beach trips.

Eligibility and scholarship opportunities

The program is addressed to Harvard college students, as well as undergrads and postgrads from universities around the globe. There are no prerequisites, apart from being in good academic standing and proficiently skilled in English.

Like with every other Harvard Summer School program, Harvard College applicants are eligible for funding opportunities from the Mignone Center for Career Success. Additionally, support from the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington enables the program to further enhance the diversity of its student body through three competitive student scholarships in collaboration with the University of Patras in Greece and the Fudan University in China.

CHS Greece and the Harvard Summer School program

Since 2008, the program has benefited further from the establishment of CHS Greece. Seminars and workshops take place at the Center’s facilities in Nafplio and CHS Greece supports administratively and logistically the program. Additional strong academic links through guest lectureships and an additional University of Patras student scholarship, have been forged owing to CHS Greece institutional stature.

Learn more on the program’s page on the Harvard Summer School website.