This course aims to further the understanding of painting by studying such elements as light, color, composition & texture. There will be expanded practice in the basic concepts of painting, exploring it through a variety of approaches, media, processes and experimentation. The class will develop the student's understanding of developing a painting both physically as well as conceptually. The student will be exposed to different genres of the vocabulary of painting, from the traditional objective through the non-objective. Class trips to museums, islands, villages will help students learn not only about past Greek art, but also will become a way to learn about contemporary Greek life, art, music, and passion for life. The teacher will help students channel these new experiences into inspired and searching paintings.

This course will survey major trends and writers in American literature from the end of the Civil War to the present. The course will examine the shift in the late 19th century from Romanticism to Realism and Naturalism and the 20th century experiments of Modernism and Post-Modernism. The course is structured as a chronological survey beginning with the poetry of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickenson, and continuing on to include what is generally perceived as the peak verse period in the mid 20th century with the rise of Stevens, Pound, Elliot, Williams and others. The Beat Generation and contemporary writers of today, in both poetry and prose will also be read and discussed in class, including examples from "alternative" voices, such as immigrants, native Americans, minority groups, and social and life-style activists. With respect to the rise of the American novel, participants will first examine the upheaval in literary manners exemplified by the struggle between the Romantics, the Realists and the Naturalists. The works of Emerson, Twain, Henry James, Frank Norris and others, will help students to indentify some of the moral and ethical roots of the American novel. While the great proliferation of American writers, male and female, in early to mid 20th century presents a daunting task to the student of literature, students will through careful selection be able to glean the various essences of the modern novel. Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner, will start parcipants off on a journey into the works of selected others, chosen for their social, political, or experimental works. Major writers of focus will include Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow, John Updike and Issac Singer.

This studio course is designed for students who have a solid grounding in drawing and painting, in both the theory and practical aspects of visual art, and who want to develop and produce a researched and coherent body of work. The course will help students develop work which addresses in an incisive and in-depth manner the fundamental plastic properties of 2D art as well as the theoretical, aesthetic issues painters face today. Students will be encouraged to develop a personal point of view fusing an exploration and understanding of methods and materials with a philosophical, aesthetic position. The importance of research and development, leading to in-depth studio work, will also be emphasized, as will an understanding of the differences and similarities between North American and European contemporary art and culture, plus how American students in Europe are influenced by and position themselves within that polarization in the case of Study Abroad students. Prior art theory and/or art history course/s or the Theories of Art class at HISA is a prerequisite.

This course has as its primary objective the goal of making the student an intelligent and critical reader of Shakespeare. Major and representative plays are covered - comedies, tragedies, and histories - as well as samplings of the sonnets. While each selection is examined as a work on its own terms, there will also be a focus on various ways in which the pieces reflect Renaissance culture, historical and intellectual trends, development in the theatre and in poetics, and philosophical exploration. We will trace the development of the bard's styles and modes, explore his source materials and use of them, analyze his craft and strategies, and, importantly, attempt to forge an appreciation of the plays as both literature and theatrical productions.

An intense, one-of-a-kind educational encounter with Paros and selected neighboring islands that unlocks the secret authenticity of Cycladic rural life. Journey along infrequently traveled Byzantine trails to remote villages and mountain farms, as well as ancient caves and marble quarries, historic monasteries and ruins. Unearth a humanistic island archeology beyond the textbook or tour. When not capturing your own impressions on paper or film, see how Paros's modern sculptors, artists and ceramists work to build on a continuity from ancient Greek culture, and attend evening performances of music and dance.

The objective of this course is to give an in-depth understanding of the great feminine divinities of Ancient Greece and of what they might represent, for the ancients as well as for ourselves in the 21st century. Many of the notions and concepts that are relevant to the Greek goddesses will be studied. In particular, participants of the course will question how the notion of the feminine has been constructed and translated through myth, and review both the speculative and historical record of the shift from worship of the Goddess over time to sky-god, patriarchal religion/s. In order to do that, coursework will examine works of art and literature that deal with the different aspects of the Goddess, not simply her displacement, but the different ways she is portrayed and referenced – both positively and negatively. A great part of the course lectures are centered around Classical Greece, aimed at taking advantage of the location in which students are studying. An attempt is made to cover a certain sweep of eras and countries to give an indication of how various and profoundly omni-present is the idea of the female Deity.

This course is designed to alert students to the various ways in which works of literature (novel, short story, and play) are translated to the screen. A selection of films drawn from different literary genres will be considered in order to gain a sense of the historical development of literature and cinema. Students will learn to critique the disparate elements of acting, direction, and in particular the script, while lectures and class discussions will examine how the screenwriter has selected, edited, or changed the literary text. An in-depth exploration will be made into why such choices have been made and consider the effectiveness of such adaptations. Particular emphasis will be placed upon the patterning of thought and theme, evoking a cross-disciplinary analysis of the archetypes central to the Literature and Creative Writing courses. Students will learn to view film and literature as synergistic art forms, appreciating the differences and convergence of the narrative method in both disciplines, thus deepening their critical abilities.

This course is designed to move the student forward from undergraduate film survey into a close analysis of the work of four important directors of differing national traditions and with different focus and historical significance: Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Eric Rohmer, and Luis Bunel. Individual selected films and oeuvres as a whole are considered for their cinematic concerns as well as influence on other filmmakers in order to give the student a strong sense of the significance of each auteur within the scope of film history as well as within an intellectual, social, and technical context. Filmmakers will be discussed in terms of their own development as well, and attention will be given to genre and the evolution of critical approaches to their work. Analysis, group discussions, and individual student presentations will accompany each film, along with readings from course texts.

This course is an intensive workshop designed to encourage writers to discover and experiment with their own voice. The course will assist the student's exploration into the realm of his/her own creative resources, away from the dependence on learned authority or the weighty impressions of the "great writers." To aid in this process of discovery, students perform spontaneous writing exercises in class and experiment with persona, voice and character. Each week, students will submit new writing for open, non-judgmental critique and discuss in a small workshop setting the ideas and feelings they possess about writing and how it relates to their lives. Questions on "craft" will be examined from different points of view, but no hierarchy of style or manner will be favored.

This course is an intensive workshop in creative prose, traditional and non-traditional, centered on student work and with special consideration of the interests and academic and professional goals of the workshop members. Course work will concentrate on the writing and editing of student work with a view to increasing the length and complexity of prose pieces towards the goal of the novel. Risk-taking is encouraged, as well as serious self-reflection on writing content and design. The aim is to produce already maturely scrutinized works that can be presented to agents and publishers with some confidence, and a positive attitude towards rejection, revision and criticism.

This course aims to expose students to the ideas and beliefs of other artists in order to help clarify their sense of what it means to be an artist today, and to further enlighten the daily work done in the studio by enabling students to develop their own critical and theoretical points of view. Students will learn to sharpen the verbal, analytical, and presentation skills needed to present one's ideas and work and/or pursue a concurrent career in museum or gallery work, writing criticism, collecting or cataloguing artworks, or teaching art history. Methods used will include a teacher/student collaborative investigation into why different artists structure their vision the way they do, and an in-depth exploration of artists' perceptions of their own work, through autobiographical writings, films and music. Discussion sessions will also center on the personal themes and beliefs that each student feels are central to their own art.

This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity for exploration into the world and people around us as well as our perceptions. Intensive coursework will assist students in developing technical abilities in exposing negatives and making technically perfect prints, creating a professional portfolio, and mastering the language of photography. In addition, the unique cultural exploratory components of this course will enable students to personalize his/her vision and mode of expression, develop and enhance visual thinking, and provide photographic interaction with Greece and Greek culture: historical and present-day.

This literature course consists of two different modules: readings in Classical Greek literature and "The Art of the Novel and Novella". The modules are not taught sequentially (i.e. first Greek then "modern"), but rather are carefully ordered so that a student who desires to concentrate on only one segment may do so at a reasonable pace across the entire 13-week period. The approach is to use perspectives gained from one line of reading to inform the other: archetypes and patterns from the Classical; "existential" questions about search for meaning from the other. Thus, what appears at first glance to be an odd coupling actually forms a neatly integrated program of study if taken in full.

This course focuses on those works of certain modern writers in which the idea of inquiry into the shifting nature of "truth," "reality," and in particular the writer's grappling with the sense of individual destiny as inextricably linked with artistic exploration is paramount.  Intensive examination of the texts in both lecture and seminars, as well as encouraging the students to simultaneously explore their own artistic leanings within the unique setting of Paros (whether as a writer or in a different area), will hopefully impart a greater appreciation of the link between place and artistic output.

For the student who has conventional photography experience, this course is intended as a solid grounding in digital imaging techniques, but aims as well to move forward students who have some acquaintance with artistic digital photography. General procedures related to new technology and equipment including digital photography and digital manipulations, Photoshop and video editing software basics, input and output options will be covered. Students will also become familiar with how to learn new techniques as they emerge for a self-motivated ability to find and use the techniques relevant to their work. Students will manipulate their images and explore the technical illusions of movement and animation. The course will provide a background for contemporary thought about digital images. It includes a survey of current artists working with digital technologies and a discussion of these practices in terms of conceptual questions of documentation, reproduction, what is "live", self-expression, and theories of objectivity. The current parameters of digital practice will be questioned and students will examine its potential integration into other media. Participants will also question how digital technology might alter perception in terms of simultaneity, continuity, speed of attention, and ideas of truth. It is recommended that the Theories of Art Class at HISA be attended in conjunction with the class.

This course is designed for students who have previous experience in photography and digital imaging, and who wish to further develop digital imaging techniques to produce a researched and coherent body of work in artistic digital photography. The course will enhance students' skills in using various procedures related to new technology and equipment including digital photography and digital manipulations, input and output options, Photoshop and video editing software, all of which are covered in the first semester course, Digital Imaging - Beginner. Students are also required to show some ability in manipulating their images using the technical illusions of movement and animation.

This intensive inter-disciplinary arts studio class is designed to help students focus their experiential and creative study abroad experience within the context of their Greek island historical, cultural and artistic environment. Elements of mixed-media projects, painting and drawing, digital still and video film, graphic art constructions and installations, will all form part of the student's semester of study. Also inherent will be lectures and instruction concerning website design and online presentation of art and installation projects, leading to the student's own career objectives. With an eye on depth of content, as well as exploratory and investigative approaches, basic themes may be drawn from personal experiences, archetypal literary patterns, philosophical and spiritual beliefs.

This course is designed to explore and evaluate our personal sources of knowing, believing, and existing. Rather than a traditional survey of philosophers and their writings, the course calls upon each student to examine where his/her moral, ethical, spiritual, political and romantic belief systems originate: how and why we lead our lives the way we do. Fundamental to Life Themes is a challenge to preconceived notions of what we accept as Truth, and in particular preconceived notions of "correctness" in morality, ethics, taboo, loyalty, sacrifice, sex, family relations, and even what we eat. The purpose of the course is not to change anyone's belief system; but it is the intent of the course's guided inquiry to encourage students to open their minds to explore the genesis of their own and others' belief systems.

This course is an introduction to Modern Greek language and the first of two sequential semester classes. It is designed for students wishing to learn Greek as it is written and spoken in Greece today. As well as learning the basic grammar and the skills necessary to read texts of moderate difficulty and to converse on a wide range of topics, students explore the Modern Greek cultural landscape and living habits, participating in field trips as part of their assignments. Thus, this introduction to the language aids a cultural immersion into the whole of contemporary Greek society.

This course is an introduction to Modern Greek language and the second of two sequential semester classes. It is designed for students wishing to learn Greek as it is written and spoken in Greece today. As well as learning the basic grammar and the skills necessary to read texts of moderate difficulty and to converse on a wide range of topics, students explore the Modern Greek cultural landscape and living habits, participating in field trips as part of their assignments. Thus, this introduction to the language aids a cultural immersion into the whole of contemporary Greek society. Pre-requisite: Modern Greek Language I

In an attempt to deepen students' understanding and appreciation of the rich cultural history of the Eastern Mediterranean world where they are spending the semester, visits are made to important Cycladic island sites and the Aegean Coast of Turkey as well as museums where appropriate. For each excursion there is a pre-visit preparation by a teacher or contributing artist, historian, folklorist or mythographer in order that participants can receive the maximum benefit from their visit. Primary emphasis is given to myth, history, and classical religious traditions rather than art history per se. Temple sites of the gods and goddesses are predominant, but visits include archaeological sites, marble quarries, and museums that showcase ancient sculpture, jewellery, artefacts, as well as later Byzantine and Venetian times.