Professors travel and teach history

Cal State Long Beach Professors David Hood and Charles Jernigan will be presenting classes in the shadow of the Acropolis this winter. The Oracle of Delphi will act as a backdrop for the professors' lectures, and Athens will provide the setting for finals.

Since 1982, Hood and Jernigan have led an expedition to the "Cradle Of Civilization," Greece. The trip is part and parcel of a three-unit class called "Greek World," which is available through University Extension Services.

Hood, who specializes in ancient history, provides instruction in the long and varied history of the Greek peninsula. Battle fields will be surveyed by students, while Hood describes the clashes of men and arms that took place there. The ruins of Corinth, Mycenae and the Great Theater of Epidaurus will be perused as Hood relates the stories of those who once dwelt and created there.

Jernigan, a professor of comparative literature, provides instruction in the classics of Hellenistic literature, including the works of Homer, Sopholces and Aeschyles.

Both professors will provide instruction in Greek architecture.

Greek food and wine will be sampled, as well as an introduction to modern Greece, which serves as the course's focal point. Greek literature and sculpture will be explored both in lectures by Jernigan and through visits to the priceless art collections of Greece's museums.

The marriage of the two disciplines, history and comparative literature, provide the student with both a human and historical perspective. Early Greek literature provides an insight to the people and events described by Hood. Jernigan provides the historical perspective with which to consider Greek literary classics.

"History isn't just history," said Hood, "it's society and the people of that society. You can't get around the art, and you can't get around the history."

Katie Gillon, a comparative literature student attended the class last year. "The literature showed how man responded to the history," said Gillon. "As we experienced what we were learning about, it became real."

Greece gave birth to Western culture, and visiting the sites of Sophocles' earliest performances, or walking in the long-vanished footsteps of Homer or Plato, may be seen as a kind of affordable cultural pilgr image.

The trip, which costs $2,275 plus class registration, is far less than might be expected if the student were to arrange the trip on his or her own. Upon completion of the course, connections can be made to Italy for as little as $75.

The above price includes round-trip airfare, touring buses, accommodations and all breakfasts. A New Year's eve dinner with wine and entertainment in Nauplion is also included in the price.

Those interested in venturing to the Greek Islands this winter may attend a meeting on Sept. 21 in the University Library, room 302.