• 2021 Topic: Olympia & the struggle for Freedom, 10th International Scholars' Symposium in honor of the Bicentennial of Greek Independence
• Organized by: CHS US, International Olympic Academy (IOA), CHS Greece
• Dates: October 9 & 10, 2021 (annual activity)
• Location: Virtually
• Open to: 40 undergraduate students (juniors and seniors), masters, and PhD candidates from a list of eligible departments in Greece and Cyprus
• Application period: Opens on June 3, closes on September 12, 2021
• Language: English
• Academic coordination: Stamatia Dova (Hellenic College Holy Cross & CHS), Charles Stocking (University of Western Ontario & CHS), Maša Ćulumović (CHS), Paul Christesen (Dartmouth College), Heather Reid (Fonte Aretusa - Exedra Mediterranean Center), Nicolas Prevelakis (Harvard & CHS), Gregory Nagy (Harvard & CHS)
• Activity coordination: Christos Giannopoulos (CHS Greece, cgiannopoulos@chs.harvard.edu) and Marilena Katsadoraki (IOA, m.katsadoraki@ioa.org.gr)

 

About the symposium

Overview

Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington DC, the International Olympic Academy and the Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece, Harvard University are organizing the 2021 International Scholars' Symposium in the "Sports, Society, and Culture" series to be conducted online. The topic of this year’s symposium is “Olympia & the struggle for Freedom, 10th International Scholars' Symposium in honor of the Bicentennial of Greek Independence.”

As part of the international scholarly exchange on sports, society, and culture, the 2021 meeting of the IOA/CHS Symposium examines the multifaceted relationship between athletics and the pursuit of liberty. Entitled "Olympia and the Struggle for Freedom", the 10th International Scholars' Symposium will be held in honor of the bicentennial of Greek independence, hosting online an academic gathering designed to shed new light on Hellenic identity formation and state-building within the broader context of the Olympics, ancient and modern.

Structure

The symposium follows an asynchronous and synchronous template. On October 2, participants will be offered access to pre-recorded video lectures/short presentations given by the symposium’s speakers on this year's topic. On October 9, the symposium will open with a keynote event, followed by online live sessions. These sessions will be held on October 9 and 10, and the participant students will be invited to ask questions and discuss with the speakers reflecting on the themes of the pre-recorded presentations, and to engage in thought-provoking dialogue during small-group and plenary sessions. All sessions will be moderated by the speakers as well as the symposium’s Pre-doc Fellows in Sport and Society. The symposium will conclude with a closing session, where the outcomes of the discussion will be presented.

Participation

This activity is open to up to forty junior and senior undergraduates, graduate/Masters students and PhD candidates from a list of specific eligible departments that span the disciplines of Sport Sciences, Humanities and Political Sciences in Greece and Cyprus.

Read the list of all eligible departments for participation in the symposium.

This is a non-fee-based event. Participants will receive certificates of attendance through email, and they will be given priority for participation in the Symposium of 2022 to take place in Olympia.

See the full program of the symposium as well as the abstracts of the video-presentations.

Apply now for the "Olympia and the struggle for Freedom" symposium.