CYA (College Year in Athens): Online Summer Course - When Egypt Meets the Aegean

This course will be offered on-line with synchronous and asynchronous sessions, equivalent to 60 contact hours. 

This course provides an interpretative survey and a thematic coverage of the history of the Aegean and Egypt with a special focus on the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1700-1050 B.C.). Students will explore a brilliant moment in the history of civilization of Greece, the Aegean Bronze Age, during which Egyptian culture had a great impact on the local societies. A number of aspects of everyday life will be explored, such as architecture and planning, burial practices, trade and exchange, scripts and literacy, religion and ritual, arts and crafts, hierarchy, warfare and political organization. All these will be discussed and appreciated through the study of the wider Eastern Mediterranean geographical context, including the role of Cyprus, the Syro-Palestinian coast and Hittite Anatolia in the shaping of a truly International Age.

This course is designed according to the fundamental rule that the key points mentioned earlier can be studied, understood and appreciated even from a distance. In terms of broadening one’s horizons and quality education this online experience will be as stimulating as any traditional in-person class. The participants will benefit from accessing electronically the unique collections of the Egyptian and Aegean prehistoric antiquities at the Athens National Archaeological Museum, the Herakleion Archaeological Museum and the stimulating collection of Cypriot antiquities at the Museum of Cycladic Art, amongst many others. They will also experience virtual tours of major locations, such as the town of Akrotiri on Thera, the complex palatial sites of Knossos and Mallia in Crete, the citadel of Mycenae and the “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos, the town of Enkomi in Cyprus, the Mortuary Temple of Medinet Habu in Egypt and the port-of trade of Ugarit in Syria.

The course also consists of up-to-date readings, quizzes and self-study assignments, one research essay and one presentation per student (topics according to personal interests and backgrounds), live discussions on pre-determined topics and frequent correspondence for feedback and academic support.