In this section:

Prof Stella Drougou, Professor of Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
is responsible for the overall supervision of the MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies.

The Course

The Black Sea region, with its special geophysical and cultural characteristics, is regaining significance as a geopolitical region between Europe and Asia. The important natural resources and the crucial position of the region at the hub of international routes has aroused the interest of many nations over the ages, leading to numerous events of great cultural and historical significance.

The Black Sea region continues to be one of the great international gateways, of considerable importance for Europe as well as for Asia and the East. Over the last decades, research institutions and university departments all over the world have promoted research programmes concentrating on this region of such rich scientific material.

Thus the School of Humanities is launching the “MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies”, which is based on an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the history and culture of the Black Sea region. The study and interpretation of the historical and cultural data of this region, an area of increasing geopolitical and economic importance, will provide the student with an outstanding opportunity to specialise in a research domain of such significance in our times.

The Master’s Programme “MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies” promotes learning and teaching characterised by a diversity of teaching methods. The programme’s duration is three semesters, of which the first two are taken up with taught modules and the third is dedicated to the master dissertation. The nine taught modules include four core, three stream core and two stream elective modules.

The programme of study will focus on two principal areas (streams):

• Archaeology and History
• Politics and Economy

It is addressed to graduates in:

• Humanities,especially
  • History
  • Archaeology
  • Art history
  • Ethnography and Social Anthropology
• Political Sciences
• Economics
• International Relations

Our graduates (depending on the stream they choose) will be able to work in:

• Educational and research institutes and academies all over the world dealing with the Black Sea region
• Archaeological services, especially in the Black Sea countries (and also in Greece), or foreign archaeological missions in those countries
• Museums, galleries and other places of collection, study and exhibition of works of art, especially from this region
• The Diplomatic Corps or other state services
• Businesses which operate or have interests in the Black Sea region

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The Core Modules

• Historical-cultural geography – cartography of the Black Sea region (ancient and medieval period)
• Monumental topography of the Black Sea region
• Medieval and modern history of the Black Sea region
• Contemporary political and diplomatic history of the Black Sea countries (20^th century)

The Stream Modules

 

ARCHAEOLOGY-HISTORY STREAM

Stream Core Modules:

• Ancient and medieval history of the Black Sea region
• Ancient and Byzantine art in the Black Sea region
• Mediterranean archaeology

Stream Elective Modules:

Students will choose two of the three elective modules below:

• Ancient religions and mythology
• Modern art and architecture in the Black Sea
• Ethnography of the Black Sea countries

POLITICS-ECONOMY STREAM

The Stream Core Modules:

• Nation states and globalisation
• Black Sea countries & the European Union
• Examination of the modern economy of the Black Sea region

The Stream Elective Modules:

Students will choose two of the three elective modules below:

• Immigrations and minorities in SE Europe
• Black Sea region & Asia
• Civilisations in their neighbourhood. Relations and interactions

 

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The Structure

The MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies (full-time) is a one-year programme comprised of three parts over three semesters. It is taught mainly on weekdays over three-hour teaching periods. The first two semesters cover the core and elective modules of the programme. Each teaching term has 10 teaching weeks followed by a 10-day exam period.

The MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies offers two specialisation streams in order to provide specialised education in two demanding areas of interest. In the second semester, the students will choose one of two specialisation streams: a) Archaeology-History b) Politics-Economy. The students will complete three required and two elective modules for each stream to fulfil the taught-module requirements of the MA.

The third period is taken up with work on the Master's dissertation.

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The Dissertation

As a part of the MA programme, students work on a subject relating to their academic interests and stream specialisation. The Master's dissertation provides a good opportunity to apply theory and concepts learned in different courses to a Black Sea related issue or challenge. The Master's dissertation tests students’ ability both to apply a certain methodology and approach in the analysis of a given problem and to demonstrate reasonably original research or fieldwork.

A member of the academic faculty supervises students throughout their projects. The supervision is delivered through face-to-face meetings at the University and through the e-learning platform of the University.

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