Module Code: LPK50
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Compulsory
Semester: First (1st)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
The module introduces students to the multifaceted conceptual, epistemological, theoretical, and methodological parameters of the study of popular/folk culture. Initially established as a special branch of “philological studies”, folklore focused on the study of traditional folk culture through the classification of oral monuments of speech and the customs of the rural world. In this context, folklore became a “national science”, documenting the “historical continuity” and “national homogeneity” of the Greek people. However, the introduction and establishment of disciplines such as social/cultural anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies have elevated popular culture into an interdisciplinary field. This has resulted in a new, socially critical, or comparative folklore, treating popular culture as a complex, dynamic, and heterogeneous socio-cultural system.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK51
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Compulsory
Semester: First (1st)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
This module introduces the concepts of culture and heritage as studied in humanities and social sciences (folklore, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, cultural management, etc.). It examines the conceptualizations and content of cultural heritage at an international level, especially after World War II with the creation of institutions such as UNESCO, ICOM, and ICOMOS. Emphasis is placed on tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the recent historical period (19th-21st centuries), concerning traditional and modern Greek society. Newer cultural heritage includes a set of tangible and intangible cultural manifestations, practices, knowledge, evidence, etc., preserved for future generations and contributing to the cultural identity of communities. The protection, safeguarding, and exploitation of cultural assets are managed by institutional bodies implementing international and national conventions for their promotion. Recognizing and utilizing the newest cultural heritage enhances social cohesion, organization, and economic development.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK52
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Compulsory
Semester: Second (2nd)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
Material culture is studied by various scientific fields (archaeology, history, folklore, ethnology, anthropology, industrial archaeology, museology, etc.), focusing on the relationship between objects, society, and culture. This module examines material culture’s conceptualizations and content through different theoretical currents and methodological approaches. The latest material culture and evidence (objects, tools, utensils, machines, buildings, etc.) of pre-industrial and proto-industrial society are analyzed concerning production processes, empirical knowledge, everyday life, and consumer practices. Emphasis is placed on areas such as nutrition, gastronomy, architecture, habitation, clothing, and industrial heritage, linked to symbolic and mnemonic practices. The development of museums, including different types of museums and ways of presenting exhibits, is explored. Specific types of museums (folklore, ethnographic, open-air) are studied for their focus on modern culture and their methods of communication with social and educational groups.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK53
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Compulsory
Semester: Second (2nd)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
The focus is on the relationship between popular culture and ethno-local identities. The individual local, regional, and/or ethno-cultural traditions shaping modern Greek popular culture are mapped. Processes of composition, prioritization, diffusion, and interaction of these traditions and their integration into national popular tradition are examined. Traditional Greek folklore has historically treated ethno-cultural diversity within a unified Greek culture, often ignoring or downplaying cultural differences. However, interdisciplinary shifts have led to new orientations that highlight cultural differences and the dynamic nature of ethno-local identities. Recent research examines these identities in the context of globalization, with the term “glocalization” describing the interaction between local and global influences. Popular culture is increasingly seen as a key factor in socio-economic development, with elements utilized in alternative tourism and local knowledge used for sustainable development.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK560
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Third (3rd)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
This module introduces students to the field of intangible cultural heritage, a relatively new area that has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. It emerged as a global concept with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, ratified by Greece in 2006. Since then, it has remained prominent through the actions of global organizations, states, local societies, and groups. Each nation state now compiles its own catalogues/inventories to record elements of intangible cultural heritage. According to the UNESCO Convention, intangible cultural heritage refers to the living traditions of communities and groups, which are enriched, evolve, and adapt to socio-cultural conditions. Intangible cultural heritage includes social practices, representations, knowledge, techniques, oral traditions, performing arts, etc., which communities and groups recognize as part of their cultural heritage. However, this field often faces strong critical deconstructions and local and global controversies. It is a complex and broad concept with various meanings across different languages and cultures, often without absolute identification. Generally, intangible cultural heritage refers to particular forms of heritage that must be preserved for future generations. However, a prerequisite is its living existence in the present, its transmission from generation to generation, continuous reproduction and re-creation by communities and groups, strengthening identity and continuity, respecting diversity, protecting human rights, and ensuring sustainable development. The elements of intangible cultural heritage often do not have direct material existence, visibility, or physical presence but are felt through their results. Therefore, safeguarding and ensuring its continuity is more challenging than for physical objects. Each element of intangible cultural heritage has significant weight and different meanings in terms of reception and acceptance. Preserving and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage requires an interdisciplinary approach, institutional recognition, and active participation of collectives.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK61
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Third (3rd)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
This module focuses on urban folk culture. Building on the concept of popular culture from a previous section, this module explores urban popular culture as a distinct methodological and epistemological field. It is an interdisciplinary topic, which requires various clarifications and delimitations. The unit highlights the specificity of urban folk culture and its expressions in the Greek area. The special social conditions of the early 20th century, during which unique artistic, cultural, and social expressions developed in urban centres, especially ports, are examined. These expressions, though influenced by dominant ideology, are autonomous and develop hybrid actions and resistances. Urban folk culture encompasses cultural practices and expressions of everyday culture that define specific groups distinct from the dominant culture. The unit also examines urban popular culture concepts related to scientific interest: methodological approaches, ideological references, stereotypes, and conceptualizations. International (tango, blues, fado) and Greek (rebetiko and folk song, Shadow Theater , dime novel, pulp fiction, popular cinema, other popular forms of entertainment) cultural creations will be presented and discussed concerning their composition, operation, and references to the wider cultural field.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK62
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Third (3rd)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
This module examines the processes of composition and reproduction of public representations and practices surrounding popular culture in Greece. It focuses on the importance of cultural, educational, and self-governing institutions, intellectuals, and media, as well as their interactions on three interrelated levels: a) thematic standardization and ideological crystallization of the Greek folklore canon, b) political practices for consolidating and reproducing this rule, and c) procedures for recording and disseminating it in public discourse. Although these fields form a hegemonic institutional framework around popular culture over time, today they are not completely defined, hierarchical, or coherent. This paves the way for the emergence of different discourses and practices about popular culture in the public sphere. These “alternative” narratives usually do not translate into organized policies but express a tendency to enrich, renew, and re-interpret individual aspects of the national folkloric norm. In recent years, innovative educational projects have treated popular culture dynamically, connecting it to contemporary social issues (globalization, inter-culturalism, environment, gender relations, etc.). These programs link to the increasing networking of school units through the Internet or their participation in local, supra-local, or transnational educational and cultural networks. This interaction offers school communities multiple, heterogeneous, and less hierarchical sources of folklore knowledge, allowing for multi-faceted readings, interpretations, and pedagogical uses of folk culture.
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPK63
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Fourth (4th)
Language: Greek
Objectives – Description of the Module:
The field of popular culture and its close relationship with visual and digital culture has undergone a major boom in recent years. Popular culture is a multifaceted and complex concept that is often combined with traditional culture and popular and/or mass culture. Today, the popular culture of dependent strata (subaltern) is considered an autonomous field, which deals with issues of transition and transformation in the field of social and cultural processes in modern multicultural societies. Emphasis is placed on the lived experience and the everyday life of the subjects, considering popular culture as an overall way of life and action, with the production of cultural practices and meanings characterized by ideological dominance, hybridization, resistance and exclusion. Visual Culture refers to a set of perceptions and practices in terms of representation and their visual documentation. It examines the social and cultural dimensions of visual representations, emphasizing popular culture and everyday practices. Folk culture as a whole is visualized and rendered in various forms and ways for many decades. From the traditional society to the postmodern and digital society, the representations of this visualization have been carried out with various means (photography, ethnological cinema, analogue and digital video etc.). Digital Culture refers to the massification of contemporary internet technologies and their impact on the body of contemporary popular culture. Like visual culture, it is an interdisciplinary field that explores the imprints and effects of the modern digital world, decisively highlighting the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, and ensuring the formation of a digital strategy in the field of culture through the use of modern technologies. Both visual and digital culture contribute, especially in recent years, to the recording, transmission and display of popular culture, thus utilizing valuable information in the field of memory. The available technology has helped in this since it has become easy to use, particularly in the process of recording in the field of oral history as well as in the field of recording ritual and performative practices. These recordings are now carried out in the context of an interactive, reflective and open use of both the knowledge and the means of recording and reproduction by all participants (academics, researchers, representatives and members of local communities).
Learning Outcomes:
After completing the Module, students are expected to:
Topics:
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Module
Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.
Teaching Method: Distance learning using the HOU’s e-learning platform and conducting group counselling meetings (tele-GCM).
Module Code: LPKPA
ECTS Credits: 15
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Fourth (4th)
Language: Greek
Description: The internship is offered as an option in the 4th semester and aims to introduce and bring students into contact with organizations (research centers, museums, public organizations, local government organizations, etc.) whose activity is the research, protection, utilization and management of issues of popular culture and elements of the modern political heritage. The employment of students through the Internship in the context of their post-graduate studies aims at the substantial utilization of theoretical knowledge and skills and the acquisition of experience in the working environment, creating a two-way relationship between academic education, research and professional employment.
Learning results:
After completing the Internship, students are expected to:
Teaching Method: The Internship of the students is carried out with the cooperation of the academic institution and the selected organization under the supervision of the teacher (SEP member). It ends with the submission of a written report by the student.
E.P.A implementation bodies: Bodies and services in which the Internship can take place/carry out include the following:
Deliverable: Internship (3 months) with a written report of 4,000-5,000 words.
Module Code: LPKDE
ECTS Credits: 30
Module Type: Elective
Semester: Fourth (4th)
Language: Greek
Description: Elaboration of a thesis of 20,000-25,000 words, with elements of theoretical and original argumentation and/or composition.
For more information regarding the Specifications – Useful Material for writing Master’s Thesis and uploading of Thesis in the EAP Repository, you can visit the Digital Education Space http://courses.eap.gr and especially to the Curriculum section.
Learning outcomes:
With the successful completion of the Master’s Thesis, students are expected to:

