Art-Cultural Heritage-Development Policies – THEMATIC UNITS

HOU > Art-Cultural Heritage-Development Policies (TEP) > Art-Cultural Heritage-Development Policies – THEMATIC UNITS

TEP50 Cultural Landscapes and Cultural Heritage of The Greek Space

Unit Code: TEP50
ECTS Credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: First (1^st)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

The Thematic Unit TEP50 primarily examines fundamental concepts of the Program as a whole, such as memory, cultural identity, cultural monument, landscape, and corridor, as well as institutions of cultural management and protection, Greek and international. Current questions of cultural identity are placed on the basis of spatiality internationally and in Greece. Theories of space and of cultural landscape are recapitulated.

The following important issues are then discussed:

First, common Greek places, which contributed to the formation of networks of national consciousness, spatial sanctity but also borders. The Aegean has been the focus of Greek civilization since the Cretan-Mycenaean/Cycladic era, later framed by the Greeks of Asia Minor and of mainland Greece, as well as the ‘Western Greeks.’ The legacies of Homer and the Aegean are approached as timeless aesthetic, literary and spatial archetypes with revivals during the Byzantine Empire. Cultural landscapes are recapitulated in relation to the Greek cultural heritage. Ancient monuments throughout the country are approached as parts of unifying networks, particularly because of the uniformity of Greek art.

Following the above, the ancient perception of space, the cosmos, relation between matter and spirit, progress, as well as the continuity between humans and the cosmos are examined by means of poetry and philosophy. Pre-Socratic poets and philosophers, classical philosophers, historians and geographers are briefly examined from these points of view. The role of mythology in Greek art and landscape is also examined.

Second, theories of visibility in Greece, in Byzantium and the West. Their convergences and divergences are highlighted on the basis of aesthetic, historical and geographical considerations.

These theories are linked in the context of the Module TEP50 with the anthropocentric social organization of Greek spatiality through the spatial registration of communities enjoying self-government and a democratic structure for many centuries, until the foundation of the Greek state. Differences and similarities are presented in the value system and the manner of perceiving space and the cosmos in relation to prevailing current spatial perceptions and to the perception of progress.

Academic convergence of areas such as geographical and cultural thought, visibility theory, literature and philosophy is highlighted, each of which is constituted by a multitude of research and writing contributions. This convergence is a partial but also an overall contribution/position of TEP as a whole.

It should be noted that the appropriate connection with the next modules of TEP is sought.

Learning Outcomes:

The completion of this course enables students to:

Have a critical overview of fundamental concepts of art, cultural landscape and cultural heritage.
Distinguish the articulations and interconnections between philosophical thought, cultural geography, literature and archaeology.
Perceive similarities and differences between visual perception of Greece and the West, which is decisive for the formation of cultural space, art and creative becoming.
Capture the relationship between visual perception of the environment, the landscape and the cosmos on the one hand, and socio-spatial organization on the other.

Subjects:

Thoughtful examination of fundamental concepts: Memory, cultural identity, cultural monument, landscape and corridor, Greek and international institutions of cultural management and protection.
Common places of the Greeks and of Greek expression: Creation of networks of spatial and national consciousness, spatial sanctity but also of borders. The Aegean as the center of Greek culture.
Theories of visibility in Greece, Byzantium and the West: Their convergences and divergences. Connection with the anthropocentric social organization of the Greek rural areas. Communities that have maintained their self-government and democratic structure for centuries

Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 30 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 70 percent of the students’ final course grade.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP51 Genealogies of Aesthetic Thought in The European and the Greek Movement of Monuments’ Protection: Theory and Application

Unit Code: TEP51
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: First (1^st)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

Module TEP51 acquaints students with a comparative and concise presentation of aesthetic thinking around the promotion and protection of cultural heritage in the European and Greek context. In this context, the difference between the historical-technical and aesthetic approach is emphasized, and ancient, Byzantine and Western approaches are critically presented.

Aesthetic theory is included as a branch in philosophical thought. On the other hand, there are independent approaches to restorative and cultural action in general. This module proposes with originality the theoretical convergence of aesthetics with restoration and construction action, introducing an imposed reflection, which is necessary in the Greek space.

First, some key aspects of ancient aesthetic views are recapitulated, such as the questionσ of harmony, symmetry, as well as the cosmos/eurythmy and light in Homer, the lyric poets, the Pre-Socratic, the Pythagoreans, Plato and Aristotle. Some basic aspects of the Byzantine aesthetic view are also recapitulated, such as the concept of beauty, the discourse on the city and architecture, plus the Neoplatonic view of light, image, allegorical representation and art. Then epigrammatic elements of the Western aesthetic theory are approached mainly through Kant. Although aesthetic issues were raised much earlier, the systematic discourse on aesthetics goes back to the 18th century.

TEP51 points out the moral, ideological and national dimension of aesthetic pursuits, given that ‘any search for aesthetics cannot be considered correct if it lacks moral content.’ Related are the contributions that examine the ideological dimension in the aesthetic view of Europe and the current questioning of the aesthetic discourse. At the same time, the aesthetic dimension of the urban experience is emphasized, which is strong in urban planning and its literary representation.

Following the above, European thought relating to the aesthetic enhancement of cultural heritage, including English, French, Austrian, and Italian, as well as Greek thought is summarized.

It should be noted that the appropriate connection with the next THE of the TEP is sought.

Learning Outcomes:

After completing the Course Module, students will be able to:

Have a broad understanding of the main paths of thought around aesthetic experience.
Understand the differences between the aesthetic and the historical-technical approach.
Move smoothly from theory to experience and back.
Critically capture similarities and differences between aesthetics, which are ultimately moral and ideological “persistences” and cultural “durations”.

Subjects:

Recapitulation of Ancient, Byzantine and Western aesthetic view/theory.
Recapitulation of European thinking on the aesthetic promotion of cultural heritage (English thought: John Ruskin, French: Viollet le Duc, Austrian: Alois Riegl and Italian: Giovannoni and others, as well as Greek thought: Pikionis, Bouras, Korres, etc.
Issues of value, evaluation and prioritization. Ethical, ideological and national dimension of aesthetic pursuits.
Selected restoration projects, public works and landscaped spaces.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP52 Classical Heritage and Modern Cultural Identities: Greece And the World

Course Unit Code: TEP52
Credits ECTS: 10
Course Type: Compulsory
Semester: First (1^st)
Language: Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

Cultural heritage is now recognized as a collective good with particular importance worldwide. This course focuses on the concept of classical cultural heritage, both internationally and in 21st-century Greece, aiming to highlight its uses (possibly even ‘misuses’) by modern societies. Through specific examples, with a fixed reference point in the art, architecture, and urban planning of the classical world, students observe the evolutionary processes through which the cultural stock of a country, with an emphasis on Greece, is activated as “heritage,” both by the central state and various institutional entities and by public groups, often with conflicting perceptions among them.

The concept of “identity” plays a significant role in this discussion: national/ethnic, cultural, social, gender, collective, or individual. In the case of Greece specifically, the remnants of the pre-Hellenic and ancient Greek (as well as Byzantine) past, both material and immaterial, have been multifariously used as elements of modern Greek identity. This has been done, on the one hand, to document the historical continuity of the Greek nation, thus connecting the distant Hellenic prehistory with modern Greekness. On the other hand, the spatial coexistence of Greeks in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries with the material remnants of the past, whether classical or post-classical, inevitably led to the formation of a modern Greek identity where the aesthetic perception of the past holds significant importance.

The course also examines external factors contributing to the formation of modern Greek cultural identity. Since the 17th and 18th centuries, Greece (then part of the Ottoman Empire) was perceived by the ruling class and intellectuals of Western Europe as a place where the classical heritage remained alive through its ruins. This perception of modern Greece as a “classical place” critically influenced both the creation of the independent Greek state and the formation of modern Greek cultural identity. However, over the course of modern Greek history, it gradually became evident that local interpretations of the Greek past deviated significantly from those of the Western world, where such identities had been constructed. Therefore, the course also covers cases where the Greek cultural heritage may be a point of contention among domestic groups and between Greeks and foreigners.

Finally, the course explores how the Greek cultural heritage and its identity connotations, both domestically and internationally, can be considered as a development factor. Starting from the obvious observation that the country’s cultural assets are an attractive (though not the sole) pole for international audiences—mainly in the form of tourism but not exclusively—the course investigates ways in which the Greek cultural heritage can be activated as a development tool through best practices and a thoughtful use of its inherent imaginative qualities.

Learning Outcomes:

The completion of this course enables students to:

Process theoretical concepts regarding the reception of Graeco-Roman heritage in national and supra-national level based on the available literature
Develop their own ideas on matters of heritage and identity
Compare between classical cultural receptions in Greece and abroad
Develop a critical approach to state policies regarding heritage
Conceive of best practices for the “use” of classical heritage as an agent for growth
Discuss main aspects of cultural heritage as a political and economic agent in contemporary societies

Subjects:

The concept of “cultural heritage” at the national and supranational level
Classical culture – art, architecture, urban planning – as a legacy of antiquity
Cultural and other identities in Greece in the 20th and early 21st centuries
Cultural heritage as a factor for growth: failures and best practices

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP53 Diachronic stratigraphy of Greek cities: Networks of art, nature and monumentality, planning issues

Unit Code: TEP53
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: Second (2^nd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

TEP53 is a particularly original module which focuses on Greek space which is historically experienced and shaped space, comparing similarities and differences between old Latin-occupied (mainly Venetian-occupied) and Ottoman-occupied cities and regions of Greece, which inherited the Byzantine spatial heritage. The purpose of TEP53 is to acquaint students with aesthetic considerations and their management, both design and cultural. Often, we are dealing with the same cities at different historical phases, as is the case in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Rethymnon, etc. It is about the construction and consequences of urban space designed by outsiders and corresponding to externally imposed cultural standards, as opposed to neoclassicism, which borrows more directly from classical monuments.

Comparison reveals the difference of the design ethos in the aesthetics, the infrastructures (public squares, other public spaces, post-Byzantine churches, mosques, Catholic churches, baths, mosques, etc.), the landscape, art, literature, public rituals (on Crete and the Ionian Islands), the settlements, the selective application of urban planning principles, the importance of visuality in the urban space, and development, past and present.

It should be noted that there is some research neglect of this era among international researchers in relation to classical Greece. The use of Ottoman sources for the historiography of Greek spatial development is still uncommon, but foreign authors may have more access to sources. The study is comparatively more advanced for monuments of the Venetian rule in Greece, such as the walls of Cretan cities.

Cities and places that condense art (mainly but not exclusively post-Byzantine painting), philosophy, literature and poetry are briefly presented:

Thessaloniki as the epicenter of Byzantine culture in Greece.
Crete during the Venetian occupation and its cities.
Ottoman-occupied regions of the country: Attica, Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, Thrace.
The Ionian Islands and their cities.
The new cities of the 19th century at the junction between foreign-occupied and neoclassical space as a symbol of national independence. The contribution of Heptanesians to the launching of neoclassical space organization of independent Greece. Modern Athens as the capital of the modern Greek state.

Historical centers-nuclei of complex historical character are examined in terms of urban planning, stratigraphy/palimpsests of memory and art and urban transformation over time. Specifically, landmarks and urban structures that have shaped the Greek space are studied, which, while at the time of their creation corresponded to forced cultural couplings, given colonialism and occupation, are today part of the domestic cultural heritage and spatial imagination. Current problems (infrastructure, urban expansions, land-use compatibility) are highlighted and appropriate management is sought.

Learning Outcomes:

The completion of this course enables students to:

Approach the rich architectural heritage of the country by areas, cities and regions, and familiarize with its aesthetic consideration and design as well as cultural management.
Deeply and critically recognize important landmarks and characteristics of the urban and regional space, with an emphasis on the post-Byzantine Greek space, whether it originates from the Venetian or Ottoman rule, as well as with an emphasis on the neoclassical Greek space.
Understand the importance of the visual experience in design.
Utilize this knowledge in various capacities.

Subjects:

Similarities and differences between Venetian-ruled and Ottoman-ruled cities and regions of Greece.
Brief presentation of cities and sites: Thessaloniki, Crete, Ionian Islands, Aegean Islands. Ottoman-ruled areas: Attica, Central Greece, Thessaly, Epirus, Thrace.
The new cities of the 19th century at the crossroads between foreign-controlled and neoclassical space.
Monumentality, public art, environment, landscape, and nature.
Contemporary design issues.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP54 Byzantine and post-Byzantine art (4th-18th c.), architecture and urban planning in a national and European context

Unit Code: TEP54
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: Second (2^nd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

TEP54 combines visual arts with spatial arts and explores perceptions of the Byzantine creative culture in new ways.

In particular, TEP54 aims to critically examine the main phases and corresponding characteristics of Byzantine art, architecture and urban planning, namely the most appealing aspect of Byzantine culture, which has been controversial for a long time, and continues to be in part. For some, Byzantine art is a direct continuation of Greco-Roman art as an evolution of ancient art and the aesthetic quests of antiquity, a position supported by Byzantine intellectuals themselves such as Photios (9th century). According to the opposite view, Byzantium has been at a distance from antiquity, closer to the East than to the West. Claims that Byzantium contributes to the questioning of academic classicism are the subject of examination, given that Byzantium sought inspiration sometimes in the East and sometimes in the West, apparently utilizing a different sense of geography than today. Therefore, TEP54 proposes a concise study of the spatial perceptions of Byzantium, as dictated by the artistic wealth, by architectural and urban space, but also by the very extent of the empire.

Among the subjects of the TEP54 is included the summary examination of the conditions for the return of Byzantium among the favored areas of academic research and interest, given previous exclusions from research. The Byzantine ‘restoration’ occurred after long disputes. The Byzantine manner of visual space representation which characterizes a culture of global importance (‘world civilization’) and constitutes a cultural ‘permanence’ (as already analyzed in Module TEP50), although continuing an ancient tradition, has been considered ‘delayed’ or even ‘primitive.’

As examined in the context of TEP54, the restoration of Byzantium constitutes a substantial, ‘legitimized’ expansion of European heritage and aesthetics, a subversive saga of spirituality and of vivid polychromy. The academic position of the now renowned Byzantine studies, important both for Greece and beyond, is reflected in major international exhibitions, intensive bibliographical flows, major international conferences and the Dumbarton Oaks research center affiliated with Harvard University, among others. For the Greeks, Byzantine art is a living art. The site of a Byzantine church such as the Katholikon of the Monastery of Hosios Loukas has been a place of constant and continuing worship since the 11th century. This art, and its spatiality, connects today’s Greece with a vast cultural geography, which includes the Balkans, Russia and the Sinai Peninsula.

TEP54 also focuses on the ‘Byzantine garden culture’ and the general relationship of the Byzantines with nature and light, the eclectic affinities of post-Byzantine art with the Baroque, the influence of Byzantine art on modern and contemporary art, as well as on ecclesiastical architecture.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the Thematic Unit, students will be able to:

Critically understand the cultural dialogue underlying the development of Byzantine studies in general and in particular the extremely rich Byzantine art, which has undergone academic obscurity in the past.
Possess and recognize key features of this art diachronically.
Understand the relationship of Byzantine art with later creative manifestations of European culture.

Subjects:

Older and new terms of reception and recapitulation of Byzantine art, architecture and urban planning.
Critical consideration of phases of Byzantine art, architecture and urban planning.
The Byzantine culture of nature, light and landscape.
Byzantine art and later creative manifestations: Baroque, modern art, ecclesiastical architecture.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP55 Museums, monuments, sites of value and history: Value approaches

Unit Code: TEP55
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: Second (2^nd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

TEP55 examines from a different perspective the multilevel relationship of the country’s citizens with the vast and diverse wealth in/of museums, monuments, archaeological and historical sites. TEP 55 picks up the thread from where TEP50, TEP51 and TEP52 left it (issues of conception of monuments, spaces, places and networks of cultural significance, their visual interpretation and understanding, their aesthetic enhancement, as well as personal and collective relationship with them). TEP55 explores museums both in terms of their building and museological constitution, as well as in terms of their value, based on the different ideological positions which are occasionally expressed in both public debate and in research as regards their role. TEP55 also recapitulates the value framework for considering monuments, archaeological, and historical sites on the basis of legislative frameworks for their establishment, recognition and operation, especially from the 1950s onwards.

For each respective category (museums, monuments, sites of value, archaeological and historical sites), TEP55 focuses both on the institutional framework that governs it (legislative texts, institutional arrangements, national and international bodies and organizations, such as UNESCO, ICOM, ICOMOS, NEMO, EMF, etc.), as well as on characteristic examples of its buildingology, placement, museological organization and management of museums, as well as promotion of monuments, archaeological and historical sites in Greece, but also in the wider European and international space. It also maps and critically evaluates different models of value hierarchy in each of the above categories, analyzing them through revised trends in the fields of museology, cultural management and archaeology as public social practice. This is combined with an examination of the challenges posed by the difference, even the conflict between the ideological positions of the actors in relevant fields, as well as the participatory activation of local and wider societies. Also, the principle of sustainable management of cultural heritage, given the awareness of its multilevel existence (aesthetic, environmental, social, economic and spatial at various scales, among others).

Case studies reinforce the theoretical framework of the module, providing students with the opportunity to practice on the basis of specific assumptions and empirical data.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of TEP55, students will be able to:

Distinguish the characteristics that govern the basic terms of Law 3028/2002 “On Antiquities and Cultural Heritage in general”.
Understand the concept of integrated monument protection and what exactly it includes (e.g. documented interdisciplinary research, evaluation and integration of monuments through appropriate management, their systematic maintenance, their conferral to the public, etc.).
Know the history of the World Heritage Convention and the processes that led to its adoption as well as key milestones in time and their significance.
Know and be able to distinguish the stages of the process of declaring places on the World Heritage List (WHL) and the importance that each one entails.
Understand important concepts that act as prerequisites for the inclusion of a monument in the WHL, such as the concepts of authenticity and integrity.
Understand the importance of the criteria for inclusion of a monument in the WHL, as well as be able to critically evaluate the reasons for its registration, the benefits that may arise and the possible restrictions.
Understand the reasons that have made the Convention for the Protection of World Heritage a timeless institutional tool of global scope and acceptance, through various examples-case studies.
Understand the importance and necessity of periodic control of the monuments’ protection process.
Generate critical thinking and evidence-based discourse on the relationship that may exist between state and private support for a monument’s protection project with the aim of a national strategic framework of awareness of the past.

Subjects:

The concept of “value” in culture and in cultural heritage: Recapitulation, additional considerations. Ethics and deontology, principles and standards, accreditation.
Museums and monuments: Definitions, relationships, legislative framework.
Typical examples of the organization and management of museums, monuments, archaeological and historical sites in Greece and in the wider European and international space.
Case studies.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP60 Modern and contemporary (19th-21st c.) art, architecture and urban planning in the national and European context

Unit Code: TEP60
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered:Third (3^rd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

The Module TEP60 recapitulates key movements and developments of modern and contemporary art on a national and European level, highlighting influences, eclectic affinities and the Greek avant-garde.

The 19th century is considered the most important in terms of a sense of historicity by many theorists who saw it as dense prehistory, particularly in terms of construction technology. Imitation of antiquity through neoclassicism continued. TEP60 recapitulates Greek neoclassicism and its relation to European cultural/aesthetic counter loans, mainly German and French.

However, turbulent transformations within modernism occurred not only in Paris, but also in what are considered peripheral regions, such as the Greek periphery. This, at least at the level of architecture and urban planning, is found out contrary to the, allegedly complete, process of dependence of the country on external cultural loans.

In the turn towards the 20th century, historicism gained momentum in regard to the advancement of ancient urban strata. However, the relationship between antiquity and modernity has been, and continues to be, complicated. There is acceptance and projection of fragment and fragmentation, the new purity, geometry, asymmetry, bold dialogues with emptiness, new bold angles of urban vision and observation in place of the old symmetry, but also new kinds of completeness. This concerns in particular the utilization of new technologies and materials: Glass, iron, steel, aluminum. At the same time, the West had already discovered and exploited, the East in multiple ways, examined here, both as subordinate Other and as lasting modern inspiration.

TEP60 examines ontological dimensions of modernity and modernism, while also referring to the new relationship with nature. Essential Western art movements are recapitulated. Moreover, the module examines the relationship of modernism with crisis as particularly relevant to the Greek case. Methodologically, art is examined in the spatial context defined by architecture and urban planning.

The 20^th century has been painful but also full of creative processes in Greece, summarized by TEP60. Pre-war, new trends were broadcast from Paris to a generation of modern artists such as Parthenis, Maleas, Papaloukas and many others, while at the same time space had to be regulated to accommodate the trauma of the Asia Minor Catastrophe; this brought about drastic movements on a cultural, economic, productive and spiritual level, as expressed with outstanding creative impact by the Generation of the 1930s.

In the post-war period the saga of quantity matched with reconstruction. Although in the case of Greek architects such as Dimitris Pikionis, Aris Konstantinidis and Takis Zenetos, as well as urban planners such as Konstantinos Doxiadis, quantity is accompanied by spirituality and ingenuity, there have been negative consequences on the regional landscape and cities, the combined outcome of imitation of the Athens model, tourism and industrial development.

This was followed by the exuberant advancement of postmodernism, urban successes and failures (indicatively: at the environmental level), and the consequences of crisis. All of them are examined in terms of the formation of Greek cities and visual arts.

The topic activates conferences and vast literature, including academic journals.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the thematic unit, students will be able to:

Have oversight of the basic developments of modern, contemporary and contemporary art, architecture and urban planning on a national and European level.
Easily mobilize their comparative oversight towards the examination and exploration of relevant issues.
Recognize the Greek dynamic as well as innovative creative expressions.
Understand the multiple historical, aesthetic, social, economic and geographical parameters that intensify during the periods under review.
Be aware of the conditions under which the phenomenon of crisis has arisen.

Subjects:

The historicity and technological turn of the 19th century: Implications for art, architecture and urban planning. Corresponding Greek movements. The 19th century as prehistory of the 20th. The East and classicism as sources of multiple comparison and inspiration.
Modern Greek neoclassicism and academicism in art, architecture and urban planning.
Revolutions at the level of representation. Cézanne, Picasso, cubism, scientific developments. Modernism in Western art, architecture and urban planning.
Greek pre-war modernism in art, architecture and urban planning.
Greek post-war modernism in art, architecture and urban planning.
Current movements and the consequences of the crisis.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP61 Audiovisual communication media in museum and urban space

Unit Code: TEP61
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered:Third (3^rd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

TEP61 is a dynamic and modern module which examines the importance of audiovisual means of communication (photo, cinema, video,) for the representation of museum, urban and monumental space. The subject in question seeks to combine a theoretical and an applied (lab applications) approach, covering three main dimensions:

Theory and history of representation.
Transfer (transliteration) of theoretical texts into audiovisual language both in the case of the museum and the urban space.
Photos and moving images as historical evidence in any video and film format and for any use.

Regarding the first level, theory and history of representation are examined. Audiovisual media are systems of representation, i.e. of transmission of meaning. The power of the image, always enormous and acknowledged, has peaked nowadays. As is shown in TEP61, representation is a cultural practice of centrobaric importance, which concerns “common meanings” and values, resulting from the various media used. The development of shared perceptions, ideas, images and codes, including visual messages, is based on the material and symbolic world. The same is true of exhibition spaces such as museums and the works of art contained in them.

Representation is linked to identity and knowledge, as ideas and images are developed within contexts. Related aspects are the spectacle, poetics, the political dimension of representation, as well as the metaphysics of representation and the aura of artworks. Included in the examination are recent interdisciplinary art-biology encounters that link neuroscience to the concrete representation of cultural objects.

Regarding the second level, the role of moving images in the representation and perception of everyday urban landscapes is explored; this is based on the interdisciplinary dialogue around the cultural production of space, time and memory in modern museums and modern cities. Objects of examination are the contradictions embedded in the cinematography of today’s urban space, as well as the critical interaction between material and immaterial spaces and practices. This approach materializes through the importance of location in film practice and urban cultural theory from the 19th century onwards.

Based on important selected material, current analyses of what constitutes the political potential of filmic-audiovisual representation are approached, and the relationship between cinema and urban space is highlighted. Certain practices are explored, such as filming in specific spaces, time management, experiments with memory, as well as the interconnection of screen spaces and reality, in order to highlight the relationship between film and the urban space as a laboratory, and to understand the dynamics of the urban space, which constantly highlights new opportunities and new limits. Also, the conversion of text (‘language’) into audiovisual material (‘image’) is explored via examples through various techniques such as montage, reperage, decoupage. The meeting of spatiality in the two cases we are interested in (city/museum) with their political/aesthetic/ethical considerations is highlighted through their audio-visual recording.

Regarding the third level, audiovisual media, past and present (digital technology products), are examined as archival materials, with an emphasis on the relationship between the city/museum as spectacle and the city/museum as archive. Art museums and major libraries developed their photographic record in parallel from the mid-19th century onwards. Filmic recording followed from the 19th century as historical evidence. The above procedures for converting visual to archival are reviewed here.

Learning Outcomes:

The completion of this course enables students to:

Possess theoretical aspects of audiovisual media, with an emphasis on museum and urban spaces.
Possess and utilize applied/practical dimensions of audio-visual media, with an emphasis on transcribing texts related to museums and urban spaces into images.
Utilize the new audio-visual technologies in recording and viewing urban, monumental and museum spaces.
Examine audiovisual media as archival materials in the case of museums and urban space, with an emphasis on monumental space.

Subjects:

Theory and history of representation as a cultural practice. Audiovisual media as representation systems. Representation and identity, political, ethical, aesthetic, metaphysical dimensions of representation, recent interdisciplinary intersections of art and biology.
Transfer (transliteration) of theoretical texts into audiovisual language in both museum and urban/monumental space cases. Perception of everyday urban landscapes and interdisciplinary cultural dialogues.
Photographs and moving images as historical evidence in any form of video and film and for every use.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEP62 Development dimensions of culture: Cultural heritage and tourism

Unit Code: TEP62
ECTS credits: 10
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered:Third (3^rd)
Language of instruction:Greek
Module Outline

Course Content:

TEP62 furthers the awareness of the students on the developmental dimension of cultural heritage through cultural and creative tourism, following the preceded examination of art of all periods, of ancient, Byzantine, Renaissance, traditional and modern architecture and urban planning, of museology, archaeological protection, and large-scale public works.

TEP62 espouses a humanistic outlook, since this module avoids unilateral or mainly economic, managerial or promotional/ marketing approaches.

TEP62 prepares students for vigilance and high awareness, as cultural heritage tourism (and creative inspiration based on it) is important due to its positive economic contribution on the one hand, and on the other it also contributes to the strengthening of local identity and the preservation of cultural heritage. At the same time, however, cultural tourism can contribute to stressful phenomena.

Specifically, TEP62 makes synthetic use of the theoretical and applied aspects of all previous TEP modules on issues of space, time, aesthetics and identity; besides, the examination of cultural authenticity and of creative expression is deepened, given the contribution of tourism to cultural and creative changes, actions and formulations, synthetic, design-related (of every scale), artistic and architectural, among others. Tourism is currently one of the main pillars of development for Greece. Cultural and creative tourism is based on the country’s museum and archaeological wealth, visual arts, cultural events and participation in various festivals, as well as the potentially expressive and creative inspiration from the above.

Culture has always been a major motivator for travel, as evidenced by the north-south intra-European movement implemented through the Grand Tour from the 16^th century onwards. Cultural attractions continue to play a big role in the tourist flows of the country, be it monuments of global or local appeal. However, today they represent a special attraction for specific categories of tourists interested in art and monuments. In fact, cultural heritage tourism is the fastest growing in an international environment of increasing tourism specialization.

Cultural heritage in Greece (as has become clear from the previous modules), is mainly protected by the Ministry of Culture, whose established policy is the networking of archaeological museums and sites, as well as of cultural actions and events institutionally or informally.

Cultural heritage tourism refers to many categories of stakeholders, groups and individuals, namely tourists, the national level, especially national administrators (National Tourism Organization; Ministry of Culture; other cultural institutions), local communities, etc. Students are in the advantageous position of having received a multilayered preparation based on the synergy of the previous and the present module; this allows them to identify the proper management of the cultural heritage involved in specific tourist projects, in terms of aesthetics and materials, as well as in terms of understanding the impact of tourism on host communities and on tourists alike. This, in turn, results in cultural, creative, economic and social benefits, financial resources for the protection of cultural heritage, as well as in expansion processes within the above framework.

Module TEP62 focuses on the organization of cultural tourism in Greece, on monuments and museums that can be visited and the accessible archaeological sites, intending, along with the theoretical framework, to achieve an experiential, personal experience of students through organized visits to such sites and spaces.

In terms of the international context, the views of UNESCO and of other international bodies on cultural development are examined. TEP62 highlights the decisive role played by parameters such as planning, organization and management in the search for sustainable tourism development on a case-study basis. This includes certain elements of tourism marketing, as well as new forms of assessing progress. Issues such as social inclusion and the carrying capacity of local societies are discussed.

Positive and negative examples of tourist activity in important cities and places (Venice, Knossos, Acropolis, Rhodes) are presented and studied.

The multiple dimensions of the topic draw international academic interest, including conferences such as the conference “Cultural Tourism and Development” and numerous publications, books, and articles in special journals (Annals of Tourism Research, International Journal of Tourism Research, etc.).

Therefore, TEP62 sets design goals for sustainable development, such as the following:

Preservation of cultural resources, including monuments, museums, landscapes of particular natural beauty, important architecture, urban and regional landscapes. The students have been prepared through all the previous modules of TEP. It is of great importance to adopt the basic principles of sustainability and environmental protection in the process of promoting sustainable tourism development. The natural, anthropogenic, intellectual, archaeological, aesthetic and architectural environment emerges as a resource of particular importance, on which, directly or indirectly, all tourist activities are based, especially of course those associated with high-level cultural and creative tourism.
Accurate interpretation and careful enhancement of these resources.
Defense of authentic guest experience. Specifically, limits and conditions in the exploitation and commercialization are explored, in order to ensure the feeling of monumental authenticity in perpetuity. This has already been discussed from a different angle in the context of Module TEP51.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the thematic unit, students will be able to:

Know the historical course of the tourist activity in Greece.
Recognize the multiple dimensions of the tourism phenomenon, national and global, as well as the historicity and fluidity of this phenomenon, in order to properly orient their plans and choices.
Know the stakeholders and their responsibilities both locally and globally.
Decide on the current situation and plan appropriately and mindfully relevant cultural tourism activities in various regions of the country.
Further explore the cultural, creative (related to artistic inspiration and action) and social dimensions

Subjects:

Synopsis of the course of tourism activity in Europe, the world and Greece: The main tourist fields and tourism competition today.
International conventions, responsible bodies in Greece.
Conservation and promotion of cultural resources: Environment and antiquities.
Perception and interpretation of cultural tourism on the part of today’s postmodern or ultra-modern tourists.
Social and economic dimensions of cultural heritage tourism. Elements of cultural marketing.
Examples from important European and Greek cities and sites (Venice, Knossos, Acropolis, Rhodes). Carrying capacity, architectural infrastructure, construction, capacities and problems.

Prerequisite courses: None

Teaching Method: distance learning using the HOU’s e-Learning Platform and conducting Group Counselling Meetings (tele-GCM).

TEPPD Postgraduate Diploma Thesis

Unit Code: TEPPD
ECTS Credits: 30
Unit Type: Compulsory
Semester in which it is offered: Fourth (4^th)
Language: English
The language of the Postgraduate Diploma Thesis is Greek. However, following the justified agreement of the thesis Supervisor and of the Director of the Program, it may be one of the main European languages.

Module Outline

Content:

The elaboration of the Postgraduate Diploma Thesis presupposes the completion of the nine modules of TEP, which are mandatory. The scope of the thesis should be directly related to the modules, with particular emphasis, where appropriate, on the promotion of the arts, cultural heritage and developmental contribution, as well as the compatibility of new architecture, in general of new constructions and land uses with the cultural heritage of a place, a network of places, or wider geographical subdivisions on a national or a wider Mediterranean and European level, or their combination.

The Postgraduate Diploma Thesis may, after consultation with the Supervisor, include a combination of original textual research with the development of specific materials (e.g. websites) or the production of original audiovisual digital materials (videos, interviews, documentaries, etc.), painting material, architectural or urban plans, etc.

Indicatively, the following areas are mentioned:

Tourism policy in areas of the country or abroad with emphasis on the cultural parameter. History and proposals.
Study and promotion of cultural landscapes of the country or abroad. Theory and design application.
The environment of monuments in Greece and/or abroad. Theory, comparative approach and design application for proper integration into today’s conditions.
Presentation, criticism and combined proposals regarding restoration programs throughout the country or abroad. Theory, application, comparisons.
Highlighting the relationship of cultural heritage (ancient, Byzantine, modern and contemporary) with current identity issues in Greece.
New museums in Greece or abroad: Location proposals and museological studies.
Old museums in Greece or abroad: Proposals for new museological studies as well as a wider architectural upgrading and integration within the urban space.
Digital and textual studies/representations of interventions for urban enhancement in environments of high cultural significance in Greece or abroad.
New interpretations of well-known works of art and cultural heritage, Greek or international.
Comparison between local and international theoretical approaches to issues of art and cultural heritage over time.
Cultural/archaeological/artistic networks across the country or abroad. Suggestions for creation, promotion and enhancement.
Comparative approach to Greek in relation to international approaches to specific issues and dimensions of cultural heritage and artistic or architectural creation.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the TEPDE, students are expected to:

Dispose of an aesthetically aware, interdisciplinary and critical view of the art, cultural and architectural heritage of Greece and Greek culture in general, which includes urban and regional environments rich in natural and anthropogenic beauty, as well as in cultural and aesthetic goods.
Perceive and promote the Greek urban and regional landscape as a palimpsest of history, nature and art, to be protected and enhanced.
Possess methods of theoretical, aesthetic and technological advancement, as well as spatial planning which is qualitatively suitable for the Greek landscape both as spiritual event and as material existence.
Approach the developmental dimension of Greek art and cultural heritage.

For more information regarding the Specifications – Useful Material for writing Master’s Theses and uploading a Thesis at the H.O.U. Repository, you can go to the Digital Training Area http://courses.eap.gr and especially to the Program of Studies section.

General Regulation for the Preparation of Master’s Theses in postgraduate programmes with a six-month duration.

Prerequisites: The presentation of the Postgraduate Diploma Thesis takes place after the successful completion of the program’s Modules.