# Travel as a Thread of Civilization ![Poster for the Workshop "Travel as a Thread of Civilization."](/sites/g/files/omnuum7151/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-01/4%20-%20Workshops%2025-26%20TSIRONIS.png?itok=5gIX8RM7) ## About the workshop Key information Thematic areas – structure Accessibility ## Key information - **Full title:** Travel as a Thread of Civilization. From Troy to Utopia and from Boston to the Digital World - **Dates:** March 14-15, 2026, 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. - **Location:** CHS Greece, Nafplio - **Organized by:** CHS Greece - **Open to:** All (limited number of places) - **Application period:** January 8-February 8, 2026 - **Academic coordination:** [Christos N. Tsironis](https://tsironis.webpages.auth.gr/?page_id=291) (Professor at the School of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Harvard University CHS Fellow in Comparative Cultural Studies 2018-19) - **Activity administration:** Matina Goga (CHS Greece) - **Contact number and email:** (+30) 27520 47030, int. line 1, ### Overview Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece organizes the workshop "Travel as a Thread of Civilization. From Troy to Utopia and from Boston to the Digital World." CHS Greece, through its annual workshop series, aims to support Hellenic Studies and the broader field of Humanities, and to offer intergenerational, interdisciplinary, lifelong learning opportunities to the public. The workshop approaches travel as a historical, social, and cultural practice that runs through human experience from the mythical journeys of antiquity to contemporary digital forms of movement. Travel will be explored not as a simple movement through space, but as an experience, as a bearer of meaning and memory, and as a way through which societies construct and narrate their civilization. Travel thus constitutes a thread of civilization: it shapes the social canvas on which various cultural expressions are inscribed and at the same time continually weaves new cultural horizons. Within the context of the workshop, the evolution and the socio-cultural significance of travel are presented. We will deepen our understanding of travel, journeying, and tourism, as well as their important role in the enrichment, transformation, and renewal of human civilization. We will examine travel in its dual dimension: as movement in space and time towards an "other place," but also as an inner experience, as a journey through the facets of the self, which is linked to the formation of personal and collective identity. Key concepts, distinct types and stages in the development of travel, as well as the motives and characteristics of contemporary tourists, will be clarified. From Odysseus on his journey of return and Solon, who left Athens to study human affairs ("for the sake of inquiry," Herodotus 1.30.1-2), to the students who travel to Boston to study and the digital wanderers who "travel" on the internet, the workshop highlights the multifaceted and cohesive relationship between travel and civilization. Through fundamental theoretical and literary texts, historical testimonies, cultural evidence, and everyday narratives of travel experience, the workshop will approach travel as a multifaceted phenomenon: a mythical and social undertaking, a cultural practice, a form of consumption, but also an adventure, a quest, and an opportunity for (self-)transcendence. ## Thematic areas – structure The approach to the topic will be organized around the following thematic axes: ### Day 1 1. **Travel, myth, and history: From Odysseus to travelers and tourist-travelers** The first session includes the following thematic axes: A deeper exploration of travel as a mythical and social practice, as an experiential and poetic act. Participants will engage with questions such as: "How are mythical and historical journeys connected with the search for goods, with cultural exchanges, with the pursuit of knowledge, with the meaning and memory of human action?" Concepts such as myth, history, and social necessity as driving forces of the travel endeavor will also be examined. 2. **Towards a deeper understanding of travel, movement, and tourism: A social theory of travel** In the second session, the historical development of travel will be presented, and the mechanisms through which travel is influenced by social and cultural changes, while at the same time shaping them, will be examined. Reference will be made to key social theories of travel and mobility as a modern phenomenon. The transformative dimension of travel in social experience and in the formation of our cultural identity will be analyzed. ### Day 2 3. **Travel in Liquid Modernity: Travelers, tourists, digital wanderers. Traditional and contemporary forms of travel, tourism as a polymorphic social practice** In this session, the main and emerging forms of travel will be analyzed, along with the relationship between motivations, desires, cultural identity, and the social position of today's travelers, the role of technology, and the prospect of "traveling without moving." The quest for "change": From time travel to travel applications based on Artificial Intelligence. 4. **Travel as an idea, as consumption, as a social and cultural practice: critical and interpretive approaches** In the final part, the following will be presented: The social and cultural dimension of contemporary travel experience and tourism; "destinations," "tourism resources," and the "non-places" of travelers; the dual dimension of travel as movement to an "other place" and as a journey of self-knowledge. Travel as a "new" cultural phenomenon and its role in the perception and representation of contemporary civilization: critical reflection and conclusions. The structure of the workshop combines theoretical grounding, the analysis of texts and evidence, the comparison of historical narratives with contemporary travel experiences, and experiential activities that encourage a reflective approach and active participation. Ten days before the workshop, participants will receive relevant reading material that they may optionally study in advance. ## Accessibility The Center for Hellenic Studies in Greece welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its workshops and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please email or call [(+30) 27520 47030]() and then press "1," in advance of your participation. Requests for accommodations should be made as far in advance as possible. We will explore each request on a case-by-case basis. However, please note that all services are subject to availability. See also:- [ Workshop Series ](/activities-type/workshops) - [ Humanities ](/activities-field/Humanities) - [ Social Sciences ](/activities-field/social-studies) - [ Open to all ](/target-audience/open-to-all)