Program Overview: The 2009 Study Abroad Program in Athens, Greece, will be a four-week program of study with one week on the island of Paros and three weeks in Athens  There will be a one-day trip from Paros to Delos and three trips from Athens: Attica (1 day), the Peloponnese (3), mainland Greece (1).  The program will admit 22 to 30 students who will take two related three-hour humanities courses, one lower division and one upper division, both team taught by the two professors and program directors.

Course One Option 1: IDST 2305 Humanities I: The Ancient World. The Cycladic Islands--notably Paros, Mikonos, Delos, and Santorini, the Acropolis of Athens, ancient Olympia, Delphi, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and many more premiere World Heritage Sites form the outdoor classroom for this course in Classical Greek literature, art, architecture, and much more.

Course One Option 2: Special Topics. Students who have already satisfied this area of the core curriculum may take this class as an upper-division special topics course determined in  consultation with the professors.

Course Two Option 1: ART/ENGL/HIST/IDST 4950 Ancient Myth & Meaning. This course allows students to focus on a specific topic of special interest to their major or primary discipline, or to a combination of disciplines.  Ancient Myth & Meaning connects the historical, legendary, and mythological figures of ancient Greece with the sacred sites associated with them.  Walk in the footsteps of such historical figures as Pericles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Paul; legendary heros like Odysseus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Orestes; and gods and goddesses such as Dionysus, Athena, Poseidon, Zeus, and many more.  Study the temples, public monuments, and sanctuaries dedicated to these figures, learn what these sites meant in the 5th C. BCE and what they mean today to millions of travelers.  While there are some common readings that form the groundwork for this course, the main emphasis will be on guided independent studies.

Course Two Option 2: ENGL/IDST 4950 Travel Writing & Photography. This course examines the same subjects as Option 1 above but through the means of creative non-fiction and photography. 

About the Professors. Robert Viau, Ph.D., is a Professor of English & Interdisciplinary Studies, in the Department of English, Speech & Journalism at Georgia College & State University.  Pamela Nolte-Viau is an Associate Professor of Humanities and Learning Support at Middle Georgia College.  Together the professors have participated in many study abroad programs in the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.  The Summer 2009 Program in Athens will be their ninth experience either teaching in or directing study abroad programs in Greece.

In 1998 Professors Viau and Nolte-Viau participated in the University System of Georgia Faculty Development Program that performed the original “scouting work” and survey for the Thessaloniki Program the following year.  Rob Viau taught for the first two summers, and then after a break of several years, returned in ’06 and ’07.  Last summer the program originally developed by Dr. Chris Bourdouvalis at Augusta State University passed to Georgia College & State University.

Housing and Meals in Paros and Athens. Students will live in hotel rooms for the first week of the program on the island of Paros.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided daily for this first week.  Following ferry transport to Athens, students will live in apartments within a few blocks of the host institution, College Year in Athens, close to the modern Olympic Stadium and a fifteen minute walk from the Acropolis.  Lunch will be served on week days, or sack lunches will be provided for day trips.  During overnight excursions from Athens students will have breakfast and dinner.  In addition, the program will begin and end with multi-course taverna meals in Paros and Athens.

Program Host: College Year in Athens. The host site for the 2009 Athens-Paros Program is CYA, or College Year in Athens.  CYA is very highly regarded as one of the premier providers of high quality study abroad experiences for English speaking university students from around the world.  2009 will be our third year hosted by CYA.  For more information on CYA, please check out their website: College Year in Athens.

CYA provides the classrooms, apartments, all on ground/water transportation in Greece, meals, and a wide variety of other administrative services, including security and safety.  While participating in this program you will have free internet access in computer labs provided by CYA and wireless internet in the lounges and classrooms.  The CYA facility also a laundry facility and lunch room, administrative offices for mail pickup and message retrieval, and MUCH more.

Program Itinerary:  The 2009 Summer Study Abroad Program in Athens and Paros begins in Atlanta, Georgia.  Students and faculty will fly to Athens, Greece, and then transfer to a ferry to Paros, a beautiful island that serves as the home base for the first week of class. 

Paros--One Week.  On our first evening in Paros we will have a traditional taverna dinner to help ease the fatigue of travel.  For the first week we will begin all classes and explore the sites of the island.  Included in the first week will be a day trip to Mykonos and Delos.  Mykonos is worth a separate trip maybe on the weekend--it is one of the most beautiful islands in the  Cyclades, a cluster of islands in the Southeast Aegean Sea.  Our main adventure will be the island of Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, two of the most important Olympians.  The entire island is a World Heritage archeological site full of magnificent ruins and extraordinarily rich in history and myth.

During our week in Paros we will stay at the Eri Hotel.  During the our week in Paros students will have opportunities to explore on their own and even visit other islands nearby, perhaps Naxos.  After we transfer to Athens for three weeks there will be a number of opportunities for students to return to the Cylades or other islands even closer such as Aegina.

Athens- Three Weeks.  We will transfer by ferry and then bus to CYA Headquarters for a brief orientation.  Then we will move into our apartments.  Students will live in comfortable but basic apartments within a few blocks of the CYA Offices and classrooms.  Apartments include fully equipped kitchens, basic furniture, and usually balconies.

Classes will meet formally only a few days each of the next three weeks of the program.  On most days our classes will be in the field in Athens or on excursions in Attica (the greater Athens region), the Peloponnese, and Mainland Greece. 

Our “Odyssey” during this portion of the course will include the following day trips and excursions (click on the live links to open photo galleries from previous trips):

1. ✦    The Acropolis, Theatre Dionysus, Ancient Greek Agora, Roman Forum, and the New Acropolis Museum
   

2. ✦    Day Trip to Marathon, Ramnous (Temple of Nemesis), Brauron (Temple of Artemis), Thorikos (Ancient Theatre), and Cape Sounio (Temple of Poseidon)
   

3. ✦    Three-Day Trip into the Peloponnese: Eleusis, Ancient Corinth, Nemea, Napflio, Mycenae, Epidaurus, and Ancient Olympia.  This leg of the trip includes three of the four original sites of Olympic-style games (Olympia, Nemea, Isthmia).  We will stay overnight in Napflio, the beautiful seaside town known for its dazzling castle fortifications and quiet Venetian streets streaming with cascades of flowers; and Olympia in a beautiful modern hotel with a pool and amazing breakfast.
   

4. ✦    Day Trip to Ancient Delphi!
   

5. ✦    Additional trips to museums will include the new Acropolis Museum, the National Archeological Museum, the Cycladic Art Museum, The Benaki (one of the world’s finest private collections of antiquites), The Benaki Islamic Museum, the Byzantine Museum, and others by special student request or by special arrangement.
   

Note that while we are in Athens we can return to many of these sites for further exploration.

Free Days.  You will have 6 free days for your own exploration, including one three-day weekend for a longer side trip (Santorini?  Turkey?  The isle of Skopolos, where the popular movie Mama Mia was filmed?)

On the last day of the program, we will ride together on a CYA chartered bus to the Athens Airport and fly home.

Program Application Process.  Print the Program Application, complete it, obtain the necessary signatures, and then submit the completed application along with your check for your program deposit and two passport style photos.

Course Registration: Before registration period of Spring Semester ’09, Course Sort Numbers (CRNs) will be assigned for the various course offerings described above.  In compliance with new state policies and guidelines, students in study abroad programs must sign up for 6 semester hours.  Most students already do take two courses anyway, which is the best way to get the most study abroad “bang” for your buck.

Non GCSU students must submit a Transient Request Form before registering.  Please note that this form is extremely time sensitive.  You cannot go on this (or any other program) without first signing up for classes, and you can’t sign up for classes without submitting this form on time.  Please, non GCSU students, TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY!

HOPE applies to courses taken in study abroad programs.  Otherwise, your tuition is an additional cost.  The Athens-Paros Program Fee pays for the cost of all your trsavle expenses in Greece.  Tuition pays for your courses.

Financial Aid and Scholarships: All GCSU students are eligible to apply for a Weir/Wells Scholarship to support study abroad.  Applications are available in the International Office.  Please consult the following link: International Education Center: Funding for Going Abroad.

Program Fee: $5300.  Please note that we are doing everything we can to keep this fee low.  Airfares next year are the big unknown!  That and the Euro-US Dollar Exchange.  If the economy improves, the fee will drop.  No one in the business of managing study abroad in higher education is out to make a profit.  Really, all we want to do is offer very high quality educational experiences in an environment that is SAFE and COMFORTABLE and REWARDING!

Application Process Checklist: Print this Checklist and use it to monitor your progress through the application process.

Photo Galleries:   

2009 Athens Program (Viau)

Photos from Previous Study Abroad Trips to Greece (Viau)

Travel Warnings & Security Information:

U.S. State Department International Travel Information  This site provides valuable information on safely and security in international travel.  See Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, Country Specific Information, Country Background Notes, etc.

Travel in Greece:

Go Greece

Lonely Planet Greece

Athens Weather

Ancient Greece

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