Andreas Aktoudianakis
International Students at Deree Explore Greece and Learn about Each Other
Standing right at the center of the universe, the omphalos stone, which according to Greek Mythology is the point where the two eagles sent by Zeus met, wasn’t enough to make the Deree trip to Delphi exciting. Being there with three students from other countries was.
There we were: a group of young people with a shared history – Greece – that we were exploring together.
The places we went and the discussions we had made me realize, more than ever, that the diverse student body of Deree makes it an international location where people communicate their ideas and learn from each other.
Our trip began at 7 a.m., so we weren’t into talking much at the outset. But as… Continue reading
Looking for Happiness at Work? That May Be the Problem, Says Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton, the best selling author who breaks through the walls between literary genres, came to Athens to present his new book. Through The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, an overview of ten different professions, de Botton uncovers the beauty and the beast hiding in the contemporary work environment.
Dr. Haris Vlavianos, Deree professor, poet, and director of the journal Poiitiki, introduced de Botton to the audience at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
“De Botton, in my opinion, is the author who dares to record the platitude only to highlight it for what it really is: an element that affects and shapes modern life,” said Vlavianos.
In his book, de Botton crucifies the modern platitude-cum-mentality that a job is… Continue reading
Before the Summit in Copenhagen, Greenpeace and WWF Screen the Age of Stupid in Syntagma
Greenpeace estimates the annual cost of environmental catastrophes around the world at $1.25 trillion. This is why the organization considers cutting green house gas emissions a global priority. And, to make its point, its screening of the film Age of Stupid in Syntagma Square on October 22 literally cost the environment nothing, said the organizers of the event.
Directed by Franny Armstrong, Age of Stupid features Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
All needs for energy during the projection were covered through the use of renewable energy sources and recyclable materials. This means… Continue reading
Drama and Music majors entertain Franklin College students with a “Musical Journey of 2500 years”
Deree dance and music majors embarked on a Musical Journey of 2,500 Years with 34 students from Switzerland’s Franklin College, who visited Deree as part of their Academic Travel program in Greece.
The Franklin students spent an afternoon exploring the origins of Greek folk music and its links to ancient Greece thanks to the efforts of the Deree students who put the performance together at the Library upper level on October 13.
“To show the ancient traces of Greek folklore we had to start from the oldest preserved song written on papyrus, dating back to 500 BC,” said Professor Tatiana Papageorgiou, from the Deree Music Area and musical director of the event.
With their artistic abilities and the guidance of… Continue reading
Harvard interns gain professional experience while exploring Greece
Fourteen students from Harvard University are working as interns in respected Greek organizations this summer, after concluding a week’s seminar on modern Greek history at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Nafplio.
The program’s coordinator, Oxford- and Princeton-educated Dimitris Antoniou, who holds a fellowship at Harvard, served on the committee that reviewed the 154 applications and essays submitted this spring. According to Antoniou, the hope of the program coordinators is that students will get an introduction to multiple aspects of Greek society — both present and past.
Communication skills, academic excellence and the desire to experience life in Greece are the criteria on which candidates for the program were judged.
Through a series of film screenings and seminars during the… Continue reading
Film Music students go From Hollywood to Theodorakis
Pianist Tatianna Papageorgiou, a Deree College professor, and soprano Lina Orfanou, who has performed at Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera of New York, gave a summer session recital that blended Jazz and Greek folk music and left students and professors applauding enthusiastically.
The recital on July 9 was a part of the Film Music course and took place in the events hall (across Starbucks) in the AG campus. Orfanou, a graduate of Princeton University, and Papageorgiou played From Hollywood to Theodorakis, spanning Hatzidakis, Theodorakis, and classic Jazz pieces from Hollywood films of the 1960s.
The audience enjoyed a mix of songs that, apart from their significance and success as film soundtracks, have historical importance for the Greeks, who… Continue reading
Bananas make ends meet
You can spot them in big roads around Athens, and usually you wave your hand negatively when the time comes.
Han, the nineteen-year-old Pakistani who sells his bananas at the traffic lights of Stavros in Agia Paraskevi, didn’t want to talk in an interview.
He was obviously scared, thinking I might be some kind of threat, so he called somebody on the phone and asked me to speak with him.
The man on the phone said “OK, let me explain it to him,” and Han was given the green light to talk to do an interview in exchange for selling all of his bananas at once.
Han had lived in the slums of Karachi for 19 years before the need… Continue reading
Stratos Kourakis, a veteran of Dachau
As I was wandering around the central square of Vrilissia, holding an ice cream and some napkins, I approached the church of the Analipsi. The crowd was perky, parents standing like proud peacocks in anticipation of their sons and daughters marching by in the annual October 28th parade commemorating Greece’s rejection of an Italian ultimatum to surrender at the outset of World War II.
The younger kids were running up and down the square, twirling around as the speakers played a squeaky military march. Everybody was waiting for the flag bearers to come out of the church and lead the parade.
Enjoying my ice cream, I noticed an old man turned completely the other way, away from the crowd,… Continue reading