The Department of History at Ionian University was founded in 1985 in Corfu. It is the only Department in Greece solely dedicated to History and its total active population is around five hundred. The Department is currently employing 29 members of staff (including Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors, special educational personnel, laboratory teaching personnel, special teaching personnel, adjunct teachers and academic scholars). It runs four laboratories and four high quality postgraduate programs.
Short Description
3D Illustration: Spyridon Verykios, Assistant Professor
Studies
The Department of History provides its students with a solid background in History from antiquity to the present times. Emphasis is given on social, economic, political and global history. Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the Department offers moreover, a wide range of academic disciplines in humanities, help students acquaint themselves with an up-to-date methodological approach and learn foreign languages. The Department of History runs four laboratories, which produce new knowledge and operate on the fundamental principle of connecting teaching to research, and four high quality Postgraduate Programs.
Future Plans
The Department of History will launch the operation of an International Program addressed to foreign students. The modules and curriculum of the Program are currently under preparation. The Department is furthermore, fully promoting “Study in Greece” Program and intends to actively participate in NAFSA 2021 Conference in June dedicated to International education and exchange.
Summer Schools
Since 2017 the Department of History has been organizing in August a Summer School entitled Greek Language and Culture addressed to anyone interested in developing his/her linguistic skills and argumentation in Greek language and applying that knowledge to history, philosophy and other disciplines. Summer School generally lasts one month (1-31 August) and is organized in the island of Corfu that blends the exquisite beauty of the natural landscape with the unique architectural, artistic and cultural environment of a place that is part of UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage. In July 2019 (1-13/7/2019), the Department organized another Summer School in Corfu addressed both to undergraduate and postgraduate students, entitled “Seafarers in Ancient Greece: Pirates, Sailors, Colonizers.”
The academic co-ordinator of the yearly Summer School held in August is Vaios Vaiopoulos, Professor of Latin Language and Literature in the Department of History at Ionian University and the academic co-ordinator of the Summer School held in July 2019 is Athanasios Efstathiou, Professor of Ancient Greek Language and Literature.
International Collaborations
The Department of History has been actively involved in Erasmus+ Program and has signed bilateral agreements with several European Universities mainly in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc. The mobility of students and/or staff is a principal aim of the Department’s policy. In addition to the exchange of students and/or staff in the context of Erasmus program, the Department of History has signed Memoranda of Understanding and Special Protocols with non-European Universities such as Georgia State University in Atlanta and Sisu International Studies University in Sanghai with the purpose to enhance each institution’s competitive advantage in the discipline as well as their international standing. Finally, the Department of History has signed MOUs with Frederick University in Cyprus, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III and Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV) in France with the aim of co-supervising dissertations and Ph.D theses and nurturing outstanding research that leads faculty and students to rigorous scholarly and professional training in an international setting.
