The Greek Key: Getting Acquainted in Athens

Abstract

Greek Key: Exploring Athens as a Cultural Landscape serves as an interdisciplinary course aimed at giving students a first-hand understanding of an authentic Athens by way of guided walks. The modern facade of the city is leveraged by taking into account history, politics, socio-economic influences, as well as alternative approaches to studying the urban landscape. Learners are encouraged to respond to their immediate experiences and observations in a variety of expressive media. These involve writing in an effective voice, the compilation of a personal narrative of a selected route with non-textual means, the construction of a photomontage, as well as formal academic responses.  Readings selected both from the international critical discourse on contemporary urban culture as well as from Greek literary production assist students’ critical focus on their study abroad experience of Athens. Placing under discussion not only particular aspects of Greek society but also the ways individual background shapes each person’s perceptions of cultural difference the class aims at providing learners with the skill and enthusiasm of exploring a foreign culture as this is inscribed on its physical real physical environment. Along the way, Greek Key learners become acquainted not only with the city of Athens but also with themselves, challenging their very own cultural expectations and beliefs.