On Wednesday evening, May 22, the public screening of the iconic film Thelma and Louise (directed by Ridley Scott in 1991) served as a prompt for an open discussion at Ypsilon Café. The event was organized by the English Department of ACT as part of the continuous efforts by ACT’s BA in English to bring academic discussions out of the classroom into the public sphere.
More than 80 people enjoyed the film and engaged in a lively discussion. The discussion was led by ACT professors Yvonne Kosma (PhD Sociology of Culture) and Emily Bakola (PhD Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies) who triggered an interesting debate and offered fascinating and valuable insights around the film and behind the scenes.
Ridley Scott’s film exploded on the screen in the early 1990s, challenging the ways genre and gender politics alike defined Hollywood’s narrative style. The film gained prominence in academic circles, as it forced audiences, critics, and scholars to confront their own definition and understanding of masculinity, femininity, morality, friendship, justice, crime and punishment.
Almost thirty years later, this film still raises questions without offering clear answers: is it really a story of female empowerment? What are the most significant ways that it allows for a feminist reading? In what ways can the film be seen, at the same time, as a case of female disempowerment?
As the event’s discussion testified, some see this film as an attempt to empower women and redefine gender politics in the postmodern era. Others disagree. Clearly the debate goes on... In the words of Katerina Dimitriadou, ACT English major present at the event, “For students of ACT, challenging our minds and worldviews is a common and familiar stage as this happens during our class time; for some members of the audience, it was a taste of embracing ideas and diversity. The only odd thing for an ACT student, was addressing our professors in Greek, but innovative initiatives such as this event and using ordinary activities to dive into crucial matters while exchanging views through productive conversations, was just another day at the ACT family!”
To mark the completion of the first academic year of the reintroduction of the Psychology degree, ACT offered two wellness workshops to its students. The workshops were held at the end of May and aimed to help the students in view of their final exams. The first workshop was coordinated by Dr. Elina Kazi, a psychologist for the Parent Academy, Life Long Learning at ACT, who discussed the methodology and the secrets of time management. Dr. Kazi incorporated exercises into her presentation that highlighted ways in which the attendees could free up their time through the goal recognition process.
The second workshop coordinated by Ms. Nelly Florentin, a psychologist at ACT’s Counseling Center, discussed stress management. During this experiential workshop, the participants had the chance to discuss daily stressors, to recognize common triggers and to exchange ideas regarding coping mechanisms. It was a great opportunity for them to further develop their positive thinking patterns in order to manage daily stress more effectively. After the positive response and enthusiasm shown from both students and faculty, ACT aims at organizing many similar workshops and presentations during the next academic year.
Exciting opportunities are available for psychology undergraduate students to get hands-on learning and valuable research experience. While most students tend to complete internships during their junior or senior years, ACT’s Psychology Program offers internship opportunities with site supervisors from the first year of studies to increase competitiveness in the job market and support students to develop into well-rounded employable graduates.
The Greek Association of Alzheimer Disease and Relative Disorders (Alzheimer Hellas) is a non for profit organization that was founded in 1995, by relatives of patients suffering from Alzheimer Disease as well as by doctors of all specialties - mainly by Neurologists and Psychiatrists and also by other experts (such as psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists, etc.) that deal with the problems caused by this disease and by other types of dementia. Today, Alzheimer Hellas operates 2 Day Care Centers in Thessaloniki and has over 4.000 members.
Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (St Eleni Center): Ms. Xenia Maiovi, Stan Assouad (student), Ms. Evaggelia Bakoglidou, Christiana Smyrli (student), Natasa Tertlidou (student)
Christiana Smyrli (completed 100 internship hours at the site): “A unique experience that showed me how important it is to see theory in practice, and a confirmation that I have chosen the right career". Christiana was also encouraged by her on-site supervisor to contribute to the 3-month Alzheimer’s Journal (Greek) Edition. -read here part 1 -read here part 2
Natasa Tertlidou (completed 100 internship hours at the site): “Through our internship at the St. Helena Unit, we have acquired not only practical knowledge in cognitive psychology but also the trigger to explore even more information about brain function. The experience was pleasant and gave us great satisfaction”.
Stan Assouad (completed 100 internship hours at the site): “At St. Helena's unit I had the opportunity to broaden my knowledge of cognitive psychology and to know about people with dementia. The psychologists working in the unit treated me with respect and made me feel welcome”.
Spastic Society of Northern Greece (SSNG): SSNG was founded in 1970 in Thessaloniki as an association for the parents of spastic children and became the Spastics Society of Northern Greece in 1980. Its members are parents of children and youths with special needs, handicapped persons themselves as well as interested friends. The SSNG’s objectives are on the one hand to provide services to the disabled and their families, and on the other, to help bring about suitable conditions in the community for the integration of the handicapped on an equal basis.
Ms. Niki Moshovaki (Psychologist) with the student, Einini Chatzikakou (currently under completion of 100 internship hours at the site)
The Psychology Program highly appreciates the time and effort all supervisors and staff spend with our students and look forward to a continuing relationship with your organizations.
Known for being passionate in promoting Science Asteris Grigoroudis is ready to spread his enthusiasm for Chemistry to young students.
Asteris Grigoroudis, a Chemistry instructor at ACT, studied Chemistry and received a doctoral degree in Biochemistry from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Since then, he has evolved as an avid researcher, a ‘master’ teacher, and a passionate advocate for science.
Dr. Grigoroudis’ research has been focused on Signal Transduction Systems in Bacteria, or, in plain words, how bugs sense their environment. Building on the work of Yale University, he was able to identify a potential network of such systems, governing the functions of the ODC-antizyme. Additionally, in collaboration with researchers at the University of South Carolina, he is currently working on the discovery of small molecule protein kinase inhibitors targeting signaling and cell cycle proteins involved in tumor proliferation. Grigoroudis stated that “Development of anti-cancer therapeutics has long been a challenging target of both academia and industry with huge implications to everyday life and society, for the struggle against the disease of the 20th century.”
Grigoroudis’ research background is been transferred into his teachings by using ACT’s state-of-the-art labs, something that he calls “teaching Chemistry in its natural habitat.” In addition to ACT’s degree-seeking students, Grigoroudis is teaching a good number of Engineering, Pre-medicine, Physiotherapy, and Science students from various colleges and universities in the United States that study at ACT as Study Abroad students. These students are able to gain hands-on academic experience in their studies, readying themselves for the next semester, when they will be returning to their home institutions. Affectionately, he has been called by his students as “My Cool Chem Teach.”
Grigoroudis is passionate about science and wants others to catch the science bug as early as possible. Thus, early on he became involved with Greece’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY - Greece), a collaborative venture between Anatolia College and Johns Hopkins University, supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The program identifies and develops the academic talent of young students through time-tested courses that are student-centered and challenging. Initially, at CTY Greece he was the instructor in the “Chemistry and Society” course, while later on, he taught the “Be a Scientist”, a course for 3rd and 4th graders, and “CSI@CTY”, a course for 7th to 10th-grade students. Regarding his CTY Greece involvement, he stated that “CTY Greece gave me the opportunity to take part in international Erasmus+ workshops focused on developing curriculum and teaching students with special abilities, making the research and promotion of giftedness an inspiration and aspiration!”
On Monday, June 10, 5:30 PM, Dukakis Center organizes in Athens a lecture by Jeffrey A. Engel from Southern Methodist University (SMU). The event will take place at the Office of the European Parliament in Greece - Steki Room (Amalias 8 & Xenofondos Str)..
In 1988 George Herbert Walker Bush was elected 41st President of the United States. Bush’s Presidency was without doubt one of the most consequential in American history in terms of foreign policy. In short order, Bush would have to confront the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, the collapse of communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe, the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the emerging crisis in Yugoslavia, the Chinese crackdown on popular demonstration on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent UN authorized Operation Desert Storm. Throughout it all, the Bush Administration managed to prevail when and where it chose to intervene and to generate a feeling that the world was new.
Jeffrey A. Engel has written what may be the definitive account of the foreign policy of the Bush Administration. Now, in an exclusive appearance in Athens, he will deliver the spring 2019 Dukakis Lecture on his extensive research into President Bush’ foreign policy successes. The lecture will allow the local audience to relive this watershed moment in world affairs. Professor Engel’s lecture will also be a tribute to outgoing Dukakis Center Advisory Board member Marten van Heuven, who has served in this capacity since 2006. Jeffrey A. Engel is founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. He has authored or edited twelve books on American foreign policy, written scores of scholarly and popular articles for leading publications, and is a frequent contributor on international and political affairs for media such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has also studied at Cornell, Oxford, and Yale Universities.
By invitation only. Please use the Xenofondos Street entrance and show photographic identification at the door. RSVP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Michael and Kitty Dukakis Center for Public and Humanitarian Service at ACT. Celebrating 20 years of public service initiatives in Greece
To launch our birthday celebrations, the Center has scheduled two major events in March. The first, to take place at the Municipality of Thessaloniki on March 9-10, is a mock national democratic convention for local high school and university students.
The second event will also be a premier of sorts, as we take our team to Athens for the first time. On Wednesday, March 14, American election official Michael Ertel and MIT Professor of Political Science Charles Stewart will be joined by OSCE election observer Susanne Caarls in a round table on "The Future of Voting in America," to be co-hosted in Athens by Eliamep and moderated by Alexis Papahelas of Kathimerini (tbc).
Celebrations will continue throughout the 2018-19 academic year, to culminate in a gala in Thessaloniki in September 2019.
For more information please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Our vision for the Dukakis Center is to be the premier private, independent think tank in Greece, unique in Southern Europe for its focus on citizen engagement, worthy of a great institution like Anatolia College. To this end, a core group of senior former Dukakis Chair fellows and lecturers, friends of Anatolia/ACT, and other supporters of our programs has been invited to serve on our Honorary Board of Advisors, to provide, on a purely voluntary and non-stipendiary basis, expert advice on academic and outreach activities undertaken under the auspices of the Dukakis Center.
Ex-officio members include ACT’s Provost, Stamos Karamouzis, and the Executive Director of the Dukakis Center, David Wisner. Other members serve one or more three-year terms on a rotating basis.
The Annual fall meeting of the Board of Honorary Advisors has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 14. The plenary session will take place, in situ and remotely via Skype, at 7 PM Athens time.
Items on the agenda will include a recap of the 2016-17 year, and a preview of planning for the twentieth anniversary season. Additional items will be announced in due course.
On the afternoon of November 10 the Dukakis Center will co-host Margaritis Schinas, Deputy Director General, European Cmmission, for an informal talk at ACT. Additional events are being planned for the lead up to the meeting.
On Wednesday, September 13, the Dukakis Center and the US Consulate General of Thessaloniki will co-sponsor the keynote session at this year’s Reworks Agora event, a Dukakis Lecture by Elizabeth Barry on "Reports from the Frontiers of Democracy: Implications for Urban Design."
The lecture will take place at 2:15 at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall (Maurice Saltiel Hall) and will be an integral part of the 17th annual Reworks contemporary music festival.
As director of urban environment at Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, Liz Barry develops geographic tools and civic science methods for collaborative cities. She holds an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture from NCSU, and a MSA+UD from Columbia University. She teaches at Columbia University and Parsons the New School for Design. Previously, she worked at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill planning international new cities and campuses, at Durham Inner-city Gardeners (DIG) coordinating youth urban agriculture enterprise, and traveled around the country catalyzing interaction among strangers with a “Talk To Me” sign – a project that received considerable international press.
Ms Barry is also co-founder of TreeKIT, in which capacity she has launched a project to map all the trees in New York City.
17 Sevenidi St. 55535, Pylaia Thessaloniki, Greece Tel. +30 2310 398398 P.O.Box 21021 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.