Who is a Greek? In different times Greece has offered conflicting responses to this simple, yet perplexed, question.

This course aims to explore the historical trajectory of this question illustrating how political and social priorities shaped diverse responses over time. The main goal is to understand that being a Greek, and the criteria that confirmed this over time, is not a strict legal category, but rather a flexible ideological concept. Therefore it aims to discuss Greece as a thought-provoking paradigm where national identity is conflated with perceptions of the ancient past, novel challenges and shifting geopolitical and social realities.

The overall goal is to provide students with a deep understanding of the politics of identity and citizenship in the Balkan Peninsula and allow them to rethink on how we conceptualize social, political and cultural transformations over time. In order to do so the course is designed to encompass readings on theories of nationalism and identity, sources relating to Modern Greek history, and activities (visits, walking tours etc.) that illustrate how the contemporary debate regarding the future of European nation-states is interrelated with historical legacies.