By Alexia Apostolina A cloudy morning in November we woke up, dressed as warm as we could with a smile on our faces, bags with pullovers, raincoats and everything else we wanted to give to those people. Heroes. In the bus everyone seemed unsure, wondering about what we would come across in Eidomeni. Many feelings, many […]
Advocates of engaged learning in higher education through programs such as internships, cooperative education, and service-learning make strong claims for its value to students, colleges, and communities. But many mainstream academics either ignore or reject those claims, favoring more conventional forms of curriculum and teaching. Drawing on ethnographies of scores of student-interns and many years […]
By Nikos Konstandaras Groups of left-wing protesters have been fighting to obstruct university reforms which, among other things, will put an end to their lengthy dominance. At the same time, groups of far-right thugs have stepped out of the shadows and can now be heard bragging that the time of their own dominion is coming. […]
This weekly feature offers a glimpse of what is happening in and around Thessaloniki. Compiled by Laura Strieth. Thu 16th to Sun 19th May- 10th Thessaloniki Book Fair- The institution of the Thessaloniki Book Fair has established a dynamic presence the last 10 years and signals its new era by creating strong collaborations and international […]
By Krysta Kalachani In business transactions, as in all transactions that one desires to be fruitful, productive and of mutual benefit all interested parties are supposed to establish a ground of mutual trust first. Mutual trust must be accepted as a prerequisite, because otherwise transactions, social relations, relations between citizens and governments, and among people […]
By David Wisner I have asked myself this question over and over. So have many of my acquaintances, from what I can gather. Indeed, I began this line of inquiry barely a year into Greece’s sovereign debt crisis. American that I am, I asked the question from the point of view of the tax payer […]
By Evangelos Kontos Experiencing these difficult days in Greek society first hand makes any person regardless of their political views, economic status, education, feel uncertain for the future, for the days to come. This uncertainty can transform to fear instantly and fear brings always his best friend with him, panic. A society in panic is […]
America’s Very Own Golden Dawn By Francesca Kareivis As I am enrolled in several political science classes in my study abroad program, the issue of Golden Dawn has been brought up in discussion quite a bit. Many students and professors have referred to them as neo-Nazis and fascists. I decided to do some research of […]
Internet offers us the possibility to create, publish, distribute and consume media content fostering therefore a space of full participation, engagement and self-expression. With the development of social networks we all can participate in cyberspace in a variety of ways ranging from keeping in touch with your friends and developing new contacts to sharing content […]
Americans look at the crisis in Europe and think they see “an underdeveloped version of the American polity,” that if European leaders only acted more like us, everything would be solved. This article by Russell A. Berman inspects that fallacy of logic and offers an informative run down of the euro crisis and Merkel’s budgetary […]
By Niko Adamopoulos Editor’s note. Niko Adamopoulos is a summer intern at the Dukakis Center from Colgate University, where he is a junior in international studies. While in Thessaloniki he will volunteer in local humanitarian efforts with refugees and migrants from Syria and other countries. Here he compiles an annotated list of blogs on citizenship […]
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.” — Marcus Aurelius
By Pantelis Boukalas All those stereotypical expressions that recur in our speech probably once carried some actual meaning before losing it somewhere along the way. The value of these expressions was mostly undermined by overuse, which was in turn prompted by two apparently contradictory desires that in fact complement each other. On the one hand, […]
Originally published by Stathis on February 19, 2013, at http://www.enikos.gr/stathis/121761,Apergia_dioti.html.
By Maria Patsarika A new company has come to my attention, called West Wing, a political consultancy. Unbelievable, where did this come from! A true ”boutique outfit,” that. As I was going through “West Wing’s” strategy – what a name they chose, huh, reminds you of American sitcoms – I thought that the facelifting that […]
By Politis This past week the Municipality of Thessaloniki has hosted a unique Franco-German initiative, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in Southeast Europe, a Dutch-registered NGO based in Thessaloniki with outreach throughout the Balkans. Academics, journalists, practitioners, and above all university students have gathered in Thessaloniki to continue their ongoing series […]
By Krysta Kalachani I was surfing online today, looking to book tickets to see the opera on Tuesday, and I came across this story about unemployed citizens given the opportunity to attend the general rehearsal of Wagner’s “Flying Dutchman” for free yesterday at the Atticus Theater. Good news, right? “In this crisis, at the very least,” […]
By Claudia Chwalisz Editor’s note: Originally published on policy-network.net as “An Athenian solution to democratic discontent,” February 19, 2015. Reposted by permission of the author. New forms of contact democracy and innovative forums that allow political and economic institutions to deliberate with citizens are important steps in the long-term battle to renew representative democracy for the […]
By Maria Patsarika Last week I went to an interesting talk about the role of social sciences in these days of financial, political and social crisis and insecurity for Greece. Throughout the talk a critical question was lingering in the air, like the elephant in the room: “Why do most social scientists and intellectuals typically […]