Alabama-Greece Initiative Lecture Coming Up

On Wednesday, March 6th, the Department of Religious Studies will be hosting Prof. Ioannis Xydopoulos from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece. His visit is part of the Alabama-Greece Initiative, a program that promotes relationships between American and Greek scholars. Beginning in 2010 and sponsored by the University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences, the initiative encourages the exchange of students and faculty for study abroad, research, and guest lectures.

Prof. Xydopoulos’s most recent published work.

Prof. Vaia Touna, who organized this event, grew up in Thessaloniki and attended Aristotle University for both her undergraduate and graduate studies. She was also a participant in the Alabama-Greece Initiative at its start, teaching courses in Greek and Religious Studies.

Prof. Touna will guide Prof. Xydopoulos in a tour of the University and surrounding area before he offers a public lecture titled “Macedonia from the 8th-6th c. BCE: Myth, Literary Sources, and Archaeology.” Xydopoulos’s work in the Department of History and Archaeology at Aristotle University complicates myth-making and identity formation with a focus on Ancient Macedonia. His presentation on Wednesday will explore this relationship between the past and present.

The Department looks forward to hosting Prof. Xydopoulos and continuing its involvement in the Alabama-Greece Initiative. Stop by Garland Hall 203 at 6 pm on March 6th to attend Prof. Xydopoulos’s lecture.