Welcome to the webpage of the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
On our website you can find information about the curriculum, the research activities and the academic staff of the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies (BNE) of the University of Cyprus. Through this website and through the facebook page of our department, you can also be informed about events, conferences and lectures organized by the department.
The Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies is the only university department in Cyprus that offers a complete program of study in Greek literature and language covering a wide time range spanning from the first post-Christian centuries to the present day, with one undergraduate and two postgraduate programs (master and PhD) in Modern Greek Philology, on the one hand, in Byzantine Studies, on the other hand, in collaboration with the Department of History and Archaeology.
The undergraduate program aims to provide basic knowledge in the four areas of Byzantine Philology, Modern Greek Philology, Linguistics and Literary Theory, to develop competences in the analysis of literary texts and language phenomena and to foster critical thinking. The program also includes courses in Ancient Greek, Latin, Philosophy and History. Postgraduate programs aim to offer specialized knowledge, cultivate autonomous critical thinking and form researchers who are able to carry out high-quality research work.
Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies are of interest to people who wish to acquire a broad training in Greek philology and language in order to engage in education and teaching but also in areas that require a good knowledge of the Greek language and skills related to good oral and written expression, competences in promoting and preserving cultural heritage, a global understanding of the history of the literary tradition in the Greek-speaking world as well as creative expression, communication skills, critical thinking, and the ability to manage material and intangible cultural resources.
Graduates of the department can work in research and cultural institutions (libraries, research institutes, cultural centres), in the fields of communication and in the dissemination and circulation of ideas (advertising agencies, public relations departments, publishing houses, mass media), in public services of related interest and as teachers of philology courses in public or private education.
The Department is connected to three research and educational institutions of the University of Cyprus: the School of Greek Language which was founded on the initiative of the department in 1998, the Research Centre for Modern Greek Studies-Petrondas Study which has been operating since 2010 thanks to a donation by Christos and Eugenia Petrondas; and the Research Unit for Medieval Arts and Rituals (EMoMeT) founded in the framework of the European Union Twinning program – WIDESPREAD-05-2019 / Horizon 2020.
Marilena Karyolemou
Professor of Linguistics
Chairperson of the Department of the Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies
