2025-26

The course examines the development of history as a discipline from ancient times to the 20th century. It deals with the principle theoretical approaches to the subject that have influenced various forms of historiography. It analyses the most important questions in current discussion about history and the relations between history and the social sciences. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue on the development of contemporary history.

Greek FolkSongs: Semiotic Approaches

The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the biology of man and the demography of a series of populations studied by anthropologists, such as the Ache, !Kung, Rendille and the Hutterites and to lead students to the study of the forces that shape the progress of such populations in space and over time.
Course outline:
Population structure and size of population: The examples of the Ache and the Dobe !Kung
Mortality and life expectancy among the Ache, !Kung, Bari, Agta, etc.

This course introduces students to social and cultural anthropology and therefore focuses on the concepts of society, culture and civilization.  It therefore introduces students to the different anthropological directions involved in the inquiry of these matters. Students will learn about the trajectory of anthropology and the different schools/perspectives that evolved from the early 20th century down to the post-war period and recent trends. Thus we will examine and assess functionalism, structural-functionalism, structuralism and post-structural studies.

The course presents the history of the so-called "Islamic world", i.e. those areas where Islam raised and prevailed. The course examines the periods of Islamic history from the pro-Islamic era in Arabia (6th c.) until the 16th century, when most of the Islamic territories are incorporated into    the Ottoman state. The course is historical and not theological, it deals with the history of regions conventionally called "Islamic world" and not with Islam as a religion.