About Hellenic Studies

The Hellenic Studies Program at the University of Washington was initiated in the summer of 1998 with the establishment of the Hellenic Studies Endowed Fund. An agreement between the University and Hellenes of the Northwest, a formally organized group of people interested in Modern Greek history and culture, inaugurated an effort to develop a Program that presented the durable story of Greece from antiquity to the present. The initial donation was $80,000, but on-going contributions have raised both the level of the Hellenic Studies endowment and added two new endowments. An endowment dedicated to provide aid to students was named in honor of the first director of the Program, Professor Theodore Kaltsounis. An endowed Professorship was created by Doctors Nick and Nancy Vidalakis: Dr. Nick and Nancy Vidalakis Family Professorship of Culture, Excellence and Spirituality in Hellenic Studies.

One of the innovative aspects of the Hellenic Studies program is that it combines the traditional study of historical Greece with that of modern and contemporary Greece, offering a holistic understanding of Greek experience and of the various historical and contemporary forces that shaped the Greek language, history, literature, and culture over time. The Hellenic Studies program’s special emphasis on modern and contemporary Greece is mirrored in its placement as a degree track within the European Studies Major. Additionally, the program’s mission to support and promote the study of modern and contemporary Greece is further reflected in the opportunities it presents students with to study modern Greek language at all levels, and to gain first-hand experience of Greece by participating in the study-abroad program it organizes annually.

Other opportunities offered to students include special courses and public lectures on Greece given by visiting scholars and specialists, as well as cultural events, seminars and conferences addressing the cultural, social, political and economic aspects of Greek experience around the world and across time.

–Alex Hollmann
Vidalakis Endowed Professorship of Culture, Excellence and Spirituality in Hellenic Studies and Program Chair

For inquiries or donations to the Hellenic Studies Program, please contact us at cweseuc@uw.edu