Teaching Experience as a Primary Instructor:

“Histories of – and in – Greece” (NYUAD, J-Term 2020, J-Term 2023)
Nationalist histories of Greece position the Golden Age of Athens (480-404BCE), the War of Independence (1821-1829CE), and the anti-Axis resistance as Greek history’s three touchstones. Since the Regime of the Colonels fell in 1974, historians have sought to add nuance to this picture by retrieving silenced narratives and restoring the suppressed voices of women and minorities. Recently, histories of Greece have emphasized trans-imperial and trans-national circulations of people, ideas, and capital, pushing the field to consider the utility of non-conventional area frames. This course introduces and examines these various and varied histories, challenging students to consider the place of suppressed Byzantine, Ottoman, Jewish, Romá, and refugee histories within “Greek history.” Along the way, it addresses key debates about the ancient Greek “miracle,” the right to culture, the continuity thesis, and Greek exceptionalism.

“Journeys and Emancipations” (NYUAD, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2021, Spring 2022)
Journey narratives have been a staple of literature since antiquity. Whether in epics or myths, letters or journals, the journey has served as a metaphor for both the passage of time as well as different levels of consciousness. It has symbolized the search for meaning and expressed cultural values. This course invites students to reassess the critical importance of the journey – both literal and metaphorical – to the human experience through an examination of the journeys of literary characters, capital, and ideas. Moreover, through an examination of the stories of migrants, travelers, combatants, and prisoners, it will nurture an appreciation for how texts can represent

“Identity” (NYUAD, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021)
The latter half of the twentieth century witnessed the emergence of mass political movements grounded in claims about the injustices perpetrated upon specific communities (women, racial/ethnic minorities, indigenous groups, the LGBTQIA community etc). These movements are supported by – and contribute to – a growing literature concerned with the character of the identities being defended. As the concept of “identity” has become indispensable to contemporary political discourse, this course explores the roots and evolution of various categories to which the concept of identity has been affixed (gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, class, and sexuality). Our discussions will reveal how new identities emerge, acquire salience, lose relevance, or come to be redefined at unique historical conjunctures. The course invites students to consider the degree to which one’s sense of self is fashioned through personal choices/experiences, whether modern notions of selfhood are really “modern,” how one’s sense of self is informed by power dynamics, and whether cosmopolitanism offers an effective and responsible way of managing cultural difference.

“Global Discoveries and Dialogues: Histories of – and in – Greece” (NYUAD, J-Term 2019)
Global Discoveries and Dialogues” examines the case for the “universal museum” through the twin lenses of global history and global heritage management. It explores different approaches to memorialization, and considers how to strike an appropriate balance between the desire to showcase “golden ages” and the responsibility to restore silenced voices. Beginning in Abu Dhabi, both sections will meet together to discuss global cultural heritage, before visiting the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The two sections then embark upon their own individual journeys. “The Quill and the Chisel” visits Florence, where students examine Michelangelo Buonnarroti’s unparalleled influence on Renaissance architecture, art, poetry, and sculpture. In considering Michelangelo’s remarkable artistic and literary achievements, alongside those featured at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, it asks students to weigh their importance in Florentine, Renaissance, and Global history. “Histories of – and in – Greece” considers the place of suppressed Byzantine, Ottoman, Jewish, and refugee histories within “Greek history” through an exploration of a diverse group of Athenian landmarks. In doing so, it challenges students to establish criteria for determining whether these sites and their attached histories have a larger significance, “outstanding universal value,” and “importance to the collective interests of humanity.” Through the use of social media, students will collaborate extensively between the two locations to further interrogate the question of how history and memory are produced. Upon returning to Abu Dhabi, groups comprised of students from both sections will craft presentations synthesizing their on-site research, in an effort to address the questions posed at the start of the course.

“The Quill and the Chisel: A Study of Michelangelo’s Artistic Expression through Writing, Art, and Sculpture” (NYUAD, J-Term 2016, J-Term 2017, J-Term 2018)
Exerting an unparalleled influence on the development of Renaissance art, Michelangelo Buonnarroti’s sonnets, sculptures, and architectural commissions belong within the pantheon of artistic creation. This course explores Michelangelo’s remarkable artistic and literary achievements, and considers their importance in Florentine and Renaissance history. Examined from Abu Dhabi, site of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, this course also asks whether the inclusion of these works within the category of “global cultural heritage” should inform how/where these works are housed.

“Capstone Seminar” (NYUAD, AY2014-2015, AY2015-2016)
The capstone experience provides seniors with the opportunity to work closely with a faculty mentor and to conduct extensive research on a topic of their choice. The program consists of a capstone seminar, taken in the first semester of the senior year, and a year-long individualized thesis tutorial. During the capstone seminar, students define a thesis topic of their choice, develop a bibliography, read broadly in background works, and begin their research. In the tutorial, students work on a one-to-one basis with a faculty director to hone their research and produce successive drafts of a senior thesis. The capstone experience culminates in the public presentation of the senior thesis.

“Global Histories (Part B)” (NYUAD, Spring 2015)
This course introduces students to central themes in history from the ‘Age of Discovery’ (ca. 1500 CE) to the present. It explores various historical contexts and points of view through the use of primary sources, while identifying and evaluating moments of cross-cultural interaction within world history. The aim of this course is to foster a greater awareness of the global processes that have shaped the world in which we live.

“Global Histories (Part A)” (NYUAD, Fall 2014)
This course introduces students to central themes in history from the emergence of the river valley civilizations towards the end of the Neolithic period to the ‘Age of Discovery’ (ca. 1500 CE). It explores various historical contexts and points of view through the use of primary sources, while identifying and evaluating moments of cross-cultural interaction within world history. The aim of this course is to foster a greater awareness of the global processes that have shaped the world in which we live.

“Understanding Historical Change: Modern Europe” (Fordham University, Fall 2013)
This course introduced students to the nature and methods of historical study and examined specific topics essential for understanding the evolution of modern institutions, ideologies and political systems.  Lecture topics included the ‘Glorious Revolution,’ the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, the first Industrial Revolution, the Revolutions of 1821-1848, the ‘Going to the People’ Movement of 1874, national unification in Germany and Italy, European colonialism, the First World War, the Great Depression, and the Second World War.

“From the Enlightenment to the Holocaust: The Modern European Age” (New York University, Summer 2013)
In this seminar, students were asked to consider what distinguished the ‘modern European age’ as distinctively ‘modern’.  It considered this question by examining Europe’s history from the Peace of Westphalia to the end of the Second World War, and reading this history next to the writings of contemporary philosophers and political figures.  It explored how shifting understandings of power, personhood, and history informed European history during this period.

Other Courses:

“Hellenisms”
As demands to decolonize and diversify university curricula have spread, the place of the Western Civilization survey requirement has come under increasing scrutiny. Calls to eliminate histories of the “West” from Plato to NATO abound; yet, little consideration is given to the need to frame the inescapable Hellenic presence within the curriculum. Within Hellenic Studies, an internal debate over how to evolve the field beyond ethnocentric, Eurocentric, and exceptionalist interpretations of the past seems stagnant. “Hellenisms” considers these questions within a broad examination of the emergence, diffusion, and resonance of classical Greek thought and habits. Exploring the variety of Hellenisms expressed over time, the course explores the contributions of Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle alongside those of Al-Ghazali, El Greco, and Nietzsche. It traces the varied spaces Hellenism has occupied, and considers the various ways the Hellenic legacy has been interpreted and renegotiated through films, novels, operas, genocides, and “heritage flings.” Decoupling Hellenism from Greekness, it promotes a more expansive approach; one that considers Arabic, Ottoman, and Jewish Hellenisms, and is more inclusive of non-Christian, female, queer, and cosmopolitan voices.

“Global Histories of Revolution: The Age of Revolutions in Global Context”
The period between the outbreak of the French revolution and the uprisings of 1848 is frequently referred to as “The Age of Revolutions.” Associated with the articulation of novel political claims and new modes of production, exchange, and belonging, the period has long been associated with diverse movements and transformational processes. Contemporary understandings of this epoch have been shaped by R.R. Palmer, whose two-volume epic describes a series of anti-aristocratic movements throughout the Atlantic World, and Eric Hobsbawm, whose work narrates how a “dual revolution” (the French Revolution and the contemporaneous, “British” Industrial Revolution) “transformed, and continues to transform, the entire world.” More recently, historians have come to question the diffusionist and “Eurotropic” perspective of these seminal texts. Informed by the “global turn” in historical scholarship, David Armitage and Sanjay Subrahmanyam have questioned if the disparate movements and disturbances in the period c. 1760-1840 were more interconnected than once thought, and whether they can be conceived of as part of a broader, “World Crisis.” This course will explore questions of causation and connection during the Age of Revolutions, asking how revolutionary communities cohere, how revolutionary subjectivities are engendered and what animates would-be revolutionaries (ideas, experiences, or sentiments). It considers whether it is appropriate to situate the various revolutionary, reformist, and reactionary movements under consideration within a connected – or even “global” – history of the period. In so doing, it aims to highlight the richness of political imagination and the complexity of global interactions.

Teaching Experience as a Teaching Assistant:

“Theories of Political Economy: From Smith to Sachs” (New York University, Spring 2014)
This course examined theories of political economy from the eighteenth century to the present.  My responsibilities for this course included overseeing two recitations, assigning participation grades, and grading four short papers and two exams.

“A Global History of World War II: The Zenith and End of Empire” (New York University, Spring 2013)
This class traced the origins, course, and legacy of the Second World War, viewing it as a contest among empires and countries aspiring to create empires.  I served as a grader for this class of 44 students, and was responsible for grading a map quiz, a 6-8-page essay, and two exams.

“World Cultures: India” (New York University, Fall 2009)
This course introduced students to the society, culture, and economy of modern India – from the foundation of British colonial rule in the late eighteenth century to the nationalist struggle in the early twentieth century.   My responsibilities for this course included overseeing two recitations, each of which was comprised of 19 students.  Additionally, I was responsible for assigning participation grades, as well as grading presentations, two quizzes, and two exams.

“World War II” (New York University, Fall 2008)
This course narrated the military history of the Second World War.  It aimed to highlight the most important events, incidents, trends, and personalities of the war.  I served as one of 4 teaching assistants for a class of 156 students, and I was responsible for grading 3 book commentaries and a final term paper of 12-14 pages.  Along with the other teaching assistants for this course, I also helped to organize and run an informal writing workshop for the students.

– Vasilis Molos