Sports, Society, and Culture
“After the Agon: Olympic Memory in Ancient and Modern Athletics”
Sixth International Scholars’ Symposium
Dates: July 9 – July 13, 2017
Application Deadline: April 23, 2017
The International Olympic Academy (IOA), in cooperation with Harvard University’s Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS), is organizing the Sixth International Scholars’ Symposium on “Sports,  Society, and Culture” in Ancient Olympia, on July 9-13, 2017. As in the past years, the Symposium will host scholars from around the world and bring together more than a hundred students and professors from Universities in Greece and abroad.
Topic
Building on some of the themes that were developed in the previous years, the specific topic of the 2017 Symposium is “After the Agon: Olympic Memory in Ancient and Modern Athletics.” As part of the international scholarly discourse on sports, society and politics, the 2017 meeting of the IOA/CHS Symposium examines the significance of memory in post-agonistic formations of identity for athletes and their states. By exploring the dynamics of Olympic commemoration, recollection, and emulation, this year’s conference brings to Olympia an academic gathering designed to shed new light on the dialogue between the ancient and modern Olympics.
Faculty
This year’s Symposium faculty will include Gregory Nagy (Harvard University and CHS Harvard), Stamatia Dova (Hellenic College and CHS Harvard), Maša Culumovic (CHS Harvard), Nigel Spivey (Cambridge University), Sofie Remijsen (University of Amsterdam), Sebastian Scharff (CHS Harvard), Efimia Karakantza (University of Patras), Heather Reid (Morningside College) and Peter Miller (University of Winnipeg).
Participation
The Symposium is addressed only to undergraduate students who are in their junior year of studies (3rd year and above),as well as postgraduate students (Masters and PhD students).
Priority will be given to first-time participants. For the eligible Departments from Greece and abroad, please visit the Symposium’s website.
The International Olympic Academy will facilitate, by bus, the transportation of the participants from Athens to Olympia on Saturday, July 9 and from Olympia to Athens on Wednesday, July 13. Accommodation (double room) and meals (Breakfast, Lunch) on the IOA premises will also be offered by the International Olympic Academy. The IOA and the CHS do not cover airfare and other incidental expenses associated with the presence and participation in the symposium, beyond those described above.
This is a non-fee based event, and the participants will be given certificates of attendance during the closing ceremony of the Symposium.
For more information, please visit the Symposium’s website and/or contact the IOA Academic Programs Coordinator Mr. Panagiotis Trikaliotis via email: p.trikaliotis(at)ioa.org.gr or phone: 210 6878810 and/or the CHS Content Editor and Programs Assistant Ms. Christina Lafi via email clafi(at)chs.harvard.edu or phone: 27520 47030.
