DIKEMES (CYA)

International Center for Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies

 Study Abroad Program

Athens, Greece

Disclaimer: The following description of DIKEMES represents my personal opinion; it should not be construed to represent official Trinity College views or endorsement

DIKEMES began as College Year in Athens (CYA) in 1962, and despite the official name change is regularly referred to, even by its own staff, as CYA. In its original incarnation CYA focused on the classical past of Greece, with courses in classical art, archaeology, history, and civilization; it was also originally a full-year program. (Many current professors of Classics spent a junior year at the old CYA.) With changes in junior-year abroad practices -- especially the rise of a preference for one-semester away instead of two and the decline of Classics as a major -- CYA reformulated itself into a more flexible program, catering predominantly to one-semester students (while retaining the full-year option) and adding a brace of offerings in modern Greek studies -- hence the change of name.

Curriculum. The curriculum falls into two general divisions: ancient Greek civilization and eastern Mediterranean area studies. (Modern Greek language is dealt with below.) The first division includes a variety of courses in ancient Greek art, archaeology, history, and language. These courses cover a range at least as broad and deep as students are likely to find at the best liberal arts colleges, with courses ranging from basic introductions to advanced seminars. The curriculum follows a year-long rhythm, with a focus in the fall semester on the Bronze Age and Archaic Period and in the spring semster on Classical Greece (the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, with attention paid also to the early Hellenistic period). This means that Classics majors who stay only a semester may wish to coordinate their semester with their own interests or needs (students who want or need classes in the Bronze Age should not attend in the spring, for example).

On language matters, Classics majors should note that while DIKEMES offers a range of courses in ancient Greek, from beginning Greek to advanced reading classes (in Plato and Thucydides this year, but this varies), Latin offerings tend to be limited; typically, only "Advanced Latin" seems to be offered (evidently with different texts; Apuleius' "Cupid and Psyche" episode from the The Golden Ass was read in the Spring 2004 semester). It may not be easy or possible to get the level of Latin a particular student needs; therefore again some planning is clearly in order here.

In the eastern Mediterranean area studies division, a similar breadth appears. Courses are offered in history, politics, language and literature, and sociology. There is emphasis on the place of Greece in the larger eastern Mediterranean region and on the impact of US foreign policy, but courses are also offered on Byzantine history, gender and sexuality in modern Greece, and art and architecture. Modern Greek classes are also categorized under this division. The offerings are not quite as extensive as for ancient Greek civilization, and only a course or two appears at level three. The semesters are not as differentiated as in ancient Greek civilization, so that for students interested in these topics it matters when they go; and in general, the kinds of courses offered are quite rare in the US and students are much less likely to come prepared to study these topics at levels beyond those offered at DIKEMES.

DIKEMES runs several organized trips each semester outside of Athens to different parts of Greece. Trips this year included excursions to the Argolid and Krete (by boat!) in the fall and to Olympia and northern Greece in the spring. (I was scheduled to accompany the latter but had to withdraw because of personal reasons.)

Modern Greek. Students at DIKEMES are not required to study modern Greek, though most do. Those who do not seem typically to avoid Greek not because of language fear but because of a course of study they want to pursue while there which simply does not leave time for the language. In my view these students are short-changing themselves, because they come out of their semester without the ability to communicate with the people around them in even the most basic fashion. However, DIKEMES realizes that language study may not be for everyone, and the staff feels strongly that an unwillingness or inability to grapple with the language should not bar a student from benefiting from the other aspects of a semester in Athens.

Housing. DIKEMES is what is known in study-abroad lingo as an "island program" -- students live neither in dorms nor with host families, but in apartments rented by the program. These apartments, which house two to five students, are located in Kolonaki, one of Athens swankier (and more expensive) neighborhoods. They are about a 20-minute walk from the DIKEMES center. The apartments I visited were all typical Kolonaki apartments -- spacious by Greek standards, nicely if a bit spartanly furnished, with full kitchen facilities, and a balcony (no Greek would live without a balcony). The neighbors in the building are mostly regular working Greeks (or in one case the elderly lady who owned the apartment).

Integration with Athenian life. DIKEMES staff is well aware of the difficulties students often encounter in finding footing in Athenian life. The language presents one barrier (though not an insurmountable one), Greek social practices another. Since this program serves only foreign student (currently almost entirely from the US, but the directorate is exploring ways to break into the European "market"), contact with Greeks through formal classroom channels is non-existent. Most Greeks of college age live at home with their parents and belong to a "parea," a group of friends, which formed when they were children; they feel no need to make new friends, and foreign students often find it almost impossible to break into such groups. To address some of these problems, DIKEMES staff works to offer students extra-curricular opportunities, like outings, where they may meet Greeks. One of the most successful was an outing to a place to hear music, where students met Greeks of their own age and struck up conversations. Island living promotes a certain degree of integration -- students must deal with their neighbors, buy food, etc. But the staff admits that the challenges of entering into Athenian life are difficult, and the resources available to DIKEMES to answer them limited. Much depends on the resourcefulness and persistence of the students themselves, on a willingness to take social risks and not settle for the security of hanging out with the other students in the program.

Who should consider DIKEMES? DIKEMES has a very serious academic program -- almost all of the faculty has a Ph.D. and many are recognized experts in their fields with international reputations. DIKEMES takes advantage of the considerable number of US- and British-trained academics in Athens to staff its courses with highly respected scholars. In addition, DIKEMES has strong offerings in the non-classical aspects of Greece, with a particular focus on the Middle East, offering courses on Middle Eastern and Balkan politics and the impact of US foreign policy on the Middle East.

For more information. Explore the links below to find out more about DIKEMES, or contact me or other Trinity faculty who have some experience in Greece. For details about study abroad, and to plan your semester(s), see the Office of International Programs at Trinity: (860) 297-2005.

Contacts:

DIKEMES, Plateia Stadiou 5, 116 35 Athens, Greece -- (011-30) 210-75-60-749

Applications should be sent to: Coordinator of Admissions and Recruitment, College Year in Athens, P.O. Box 390890, Cambridge, MA 02139

Email: program@dikemes.gr