On Monday, February 13, 2023, the inaugural event of the Twinning Programme (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021 ACCESS) called GrECI (Greek Heritage in European Culture and Identity) took place at the Information Centre – Library “Stelios Ioannou”, on the University campus. The project is a collaboration between three universities (University of Cyprus, University of Oslo, Norway and University of Franche-Comté, France), with the University of Cyprus (Dr. Natassa Konstantinidou, Department of History and Archaeology) as coordinator. The Ambassador of France, the Director of the Norwegian Institute of Athens, representatives of the three collaborating universities (on behalf of the University of Cyprus, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, Professor Eleni-Tatiana Synodinou, Professor Nassatata T. T. Synodinou, on behalf of the University of Cyprus, the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Professor Martin Hinterbeger, and the Chair of the Department of History and Archaeology, Professor Maria Parani), as well as the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth of Cyprus welcomed the meeting and welcomed the audience.
During the meeting, the partners from the three universities presented the idea and background of the project, as well as its four research axes.
The project is coordinated by the University of Cyprus (Dr. Natasha Constantinidou). Over the next three years, the project consortium aims to explore the complex historical processes of cultural reception and appropriation that shaped the idea that the heritage of ancient Greece is one of the “pillars” of common European culture and identity. It will explore a key phase of this process: the reception and appropriation of ancient Greek culture in early modern Europe (15th-17th centuries), from the ‘rediscovery’ of Greek language and literature to their full integration into the European cultural and intellectual landscape. The interdisciplinary and international context of GrECI will address this complex historical issue through a series of research meetings. The research project will also examine some of the contexts of this theme for current conceptions of European identity through a summer school at the University of Cyprus and a networking and outreach meeting at the Maison de l’Europe, Franche-Comté, France.
The meeting also presented the research themes. Dr. Natasha Constantinidou focused on the History of the Book and spoke about “The Greek Book and the Common Culture of Europe”. Prof. Marie Barral-Baron focused on the History of Ideas (with an emphasis on the Religious Reformation) and spoke on “Hellenism and Religious Identities in Europe”. Prof. Han Lamers focused on Language and Literature, discussing the theme “Greek Language and European Identities”. Finally, Dr. Cristina Manzetti drew the audience’s attention to Cultural Heritage and Digital Media and the role of the European Cultural Heritage in the development of the European cultural heritage.The third part of the meeting was dedicated to the presentation of the project implementation methodology, the specific work packages and the timetable. This part included a presentation by the coordinator of another Twinning project, Dr Stavroula Konstantinou. Dr Konstantinou gave a description of her experiences of coordinating NetMAR (Network for Medieval Arts and Rituals), followed by a fruitful discussion. Most of the attendees expressed their interest in the progress of the project. The first workshop of the project will take place at the University of Cyprus in June, on “Greek Books in the West and Common European Culture.
For more information, see the project website at www.greci-twinning.org .
Source: University of Cyprus I Latest News (https://bit.ly/3XYHLMs)