The course of “Historical Demography” is taught in the Graduate Program of Panteion University in Athens and Ionian University in Corfu.

Various aspects of the population, as well as the historical approach of its variants on different levels of analysis (natural environment, economic activity, social structures, ideological and political systems, attitudes, etc) are studied under the course.

Its main subjects are: Basic concepts and methods of Historical Demography. Demographic events and phenomena. Models of population historical evolution. Theory of demographic transition to new forms.

The study of families represents a fruitful field where the logic of a population’s history and its various determinant factors is specifically expressed, illustrating essential mechanisms of history, attitudes in particular. Following the microhistory of family, one can form a sound perception of essential mechanisms of macrohistory. Teaching is based on our research in Historical Demography of the Hellenic area, Greek as well as that of Diaspora, as well as on the implementation of concepts and methods of Historical Demography, with dominant examples that of the population of Lefkada (17th -20th century) and Egyptiot Helenism (19th – 20th century). We focus on critical moments such as the Occupation – resistance – civil war, Hellenic diaspora, attitudinal modernization, etc.

 The 19th and early 20th century is the “age of empire”, the global expansion of the colonial system is consolidated and centered on the western metropolis. Dynamics and contradictions of forms lead to the crisis and dissolution of the system during the “short twentieth century” 1914-1991.The function of Hellenic Diaspora in this historical period has been substantial, both for local realities and for the establishment of the Greek State.The fall semester course focuses on the establishment of the Greeks in Egypt and in the process of creation and development of the local Greek community. Therefore, apart from the issues related to the historical and economic dimension of migration, issues regarding the location and functional role of the Greeks and the relationships developed with western settlers in multicultural Egypt at the time are also dealt with. Particular emphasis is given to the triptych “community – homeland – National Center” and the function of Greek benefactors and benefaction ideology.

 A course that deals with the “Cotton Route”. This route connects the industrial dominant rural Europe to the colonized Middle East, through networks and mechanisms where Egyptian Greeks were the crucial link in a chain of interdependencies, interactions, contradictions, conflicts and tragedies which characterize the global economic, political and ideological platform in its historical development. At the same time, ideas and cultures that characterize the leaders of the cotton route, shaped and supported a decisive element for cultural, social and institutional settings of modern Hellenism: the ideology and practice of benefaction.The institutional setting, social and economic activity of the Greeks in Egypt, formed a special identity with the emergence of bourgeois ideology benefaction, enabling individuals to take action for ‘collective’ projects.

 Comprehension of the terms Population-Historical Demography, demographic events and population dynamics. Definition of the object: the populations of the past and the dynamics of these populations in the historical process. Demographic models and demographic transition. Methodology: The study of demographic events (birth, marriage, death, immigration).

 Application of concepts and methods of Historical Demography in the field of social, political and historical reality. Demographic processes and social dynamics. Correlations and interactions. Historical Demography and culture. Interactions between demographic dynamics and evolution of mentalities. Quantitative techniques to study fertility, marital status, mortality and migratory movements.