EC EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SUMMER PROGRAMS: Some reflections on Cyprus

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Some reflections on Cyprus

I have a confession to make: I was really not fully aware that Cyprus is an independent state prior to coming here. Cyprus is distinctly different than Crete despite the fact that they share cultural aspects from Greek culture. Cyprus feels more eastern than Crete does, but I would not go so far to say that it feels "Middle Eastern" or "Arabic" or "Islamic," but there is something to it that I am finding hard to place that makes it clear that the cultures are different.

The lectures that we received in Cyprus held my attention more astutely than other lectures that we received in Rhodes. That's not to say that our lectures in Rhodes were not as interesting, but I believe it has more to do with the fact that what we would be learning about in lecture was immediately shoved into our faces when we stepped into the streets. Here it was extremely apparent the significance of geopolitics and energy in the region. It has honestly given me some new perspective into some future studies and opportunities that I may want to pursue in the future, specifically with grad school.

On another note, now that we are coming into the final week of the program it is really hitting me even more the fact that after completing this program I will no longer be an undergraduate student. That in and of itself is terrifying.

Another thing that has really struck me this week is that just last night the University of Virginia student detained 17 months ago in North Korea, Otto Warmiber, died less than a week after his release. Hearing that news in conjunction with being in the demilitarized zone between Cyprus and Turkey was extremely striking.

1 comment:

UnknownJune 21, 2017 at 6:48 AM
Hey! I completely get what you mean on the cultural difference. One thing I noticed right away in Cyrpus was the boom in diversity that I didn't see in Rhodes and rarely see in Crete, which in many ways added to the sense of familiarity that I felt while in Cyprus. In regards to the lectures, I have to confess that I was more captivated by the lectures we received in Rhodes than in Cyprus. I couldn't tell you why, because the speakers were all phenomenal and I did enjoy getting viewpoints that, for the most part, contradicted a-lot of what I already believed.
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EC Eastern Security Studies Program

In the summer of 2011, as the "Arab Spring" was unfolding and the "Eurozone Crisis" was entering its second year, the Emmanuel College Eastern Mediterranean Security Studies Program was established in Crete, as a way to make the location the classroom. Beyond the grand theoretical, historical and political understanding that can be achieved through reading and classroom discussion and exchange, a more immediate, intimate and truer appreciation of the complexities can only achieved by experiencing the cultures, languages of personal interaction.

Since 2012 students have been able to combine an intensive curricular study, with the experience of immersion and living in a local setting. The geopolitical and geoeconomic forces that have acted in the region for centuries, can be identified in the classroom, but they can only be understood by being there. This year's EC EMSS Program will add a fourth week of study, experience and exploration and will also travel to the islands of Rhodes, and Cyprus. In Rhodes we will be partnering with the Prefecture of Southern Aegean and the Aegean University, while in Cyprus we will be hosted by the University of Nicosia.