Mythos as MythUs: Facing and Overcoming crises through traditional narrative from antiquity to the present (international summer program)

• Start date: 19th Jun 2023
• End date: 28th Jun 2023
• University of Athens (History Museum, Plaka) and Antiparos, Cyclades
• Organiser: National and Kapodistrian Univeristy of Athens - BA Program in the Archaeology, History, and Literature of Ancient Greece
• Website

This 10-day program offers students the opportunity to dive into myth and folk narrative, from antiquity to the present, as these are the long-shared humanity’s voice, with which people respond to harsh realities and times of crisis, and deal with the distress that impacts entire communities. In times of transition and upheaval, myth and narrative serve to counter the inimical stereotyping, bigoted notions, and segregation that these challenging circumstances inevitably bring. In its role of healing, narrative has been not just preserved but also transformed, in all its oral, written, digital, and, of late, even contemporary literary forms.
The Program will offer the opportunity to study myth in one of its major birthplaces, from a group of scholars of international acclaim in classics and folklore studies, on the following general topics:
• Myth in Ancient Greek and Other Ancient Cultures
• The Role of Myth in Response to Dread, Disruption, and Disaster
• Narrating in Modern and Contemporary Society
This Summer School is a blended-learning program that consists of an online preparation class and a ten-day live attendance summer school of face-to-face classes in Athens as well as fieldwork on the island of Antiparos, Cyclades, and five group and/or guided tours in and around Attica and Athens.