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CLOSED: Pausanias' Tour of Greece

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Course Overview:

This course is an exploration of the intersection of landscape, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves and others in maintaining or creating identities for ourselves, through the particular lens of the ancient Greek writer Pausanias. Pausanias lived in the second century AD (CE), when the entire Mediterranean world and much of Europe were under Roman rule, an era referred to as the Pax Romana. He traveled extensively throughout central and southern Greece, we believe for close to three decades, chronicling the sites and stories primarily from the era when Greek civilization was vibrant, expanding, but mostly free (both timeless myths of old and historical events dating mostly to the eighth through fourth centuries BCE). Though he never explicitly says so, his work reads as that of a man who felt an older order was passing away and wanted to record as much as he could while someone still could. As we read his accounts of the places we visit, we reflect on how he constructed one version of Greek history and identity, as well as how the modern nation and people of Greece interact with the ancient past so often visible in the midst of their daily lives.

Does this course fulfill any major/minor/concentration requirements?

This course fulfills a 200-level requirement for the HIST major (either as an “early” 200-level or elective) and satisfies a 200-level elective requirement for the HIST minor. It also satisfies one of the non-language elective requirements for the CAMW concentration.

Are there prerequisites for this travel course?

No.

Destinations

Athens
Eleusis
Corinth
Nemea
Tiryns
Mycenae
Argos
Epidaurus
Tegea
Sparta
Megalopolis
Messene
Pylos
Olympia
Patras
Delphi
Thebes.

There will be visits to other sites as well, but less well-known. Our overnight stays will be in Athens, Nafplio, Sparta, Pylos, Olympia, and Delphi.

Course Duration: 15 days

Program Fee: $5,650

What costs are covered in my program fee?

  • Airfare to and from Greece from our US departure airport (likely to be Washington-Dulles, but students will be responsible for their own travel to and from the US airport)
  • All hotel accommodations
  • All in-country ground transportation
  • All breakfasts (included with hotel stays)
  • All site and museum entrance fees
  • Any programmed modern cultural events (folk dancing, cooking classes, etc.)
  • At least twelve of our sixteen dinners will be group dinners covered by the course fee

Estimated Out-of-Pocket Expenses: $300

The course price covers airfare, all breakfasts, eleven of fourteen dinners, all lodging (including taxes and gratuities), site and museum entrance fees, and ground transportation in Greece. Students are responsible for the cost of domestic transit to and from JFK International Airport, lunches, snacks and three dinners. $300 is a solid minimum, but an additional $100 - $200 of available spending money should more than suffice to cover any of your out-of-pocket expenses in Greece.

Outside Funding Options

History May Term Award