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Cyprus Course Readings

Cyprus Seminar Discussion Board

Assumption of Risk form

Emergency Contact Sheet

Professor Toews has completed the Syllabus, which is available at our Cyprus Readings page. 

All of the readings should be completed before you arrive in Cyprus.  You'll need to use your UW net ID and password to access these pdf. files, print them up, and take them for reference during our discussions in Tochni.

Theron will be sending you a lot of emails over the coming weeks, with updates to the syllabus, travel information etc., so please keep an eye on your inbox.

We will be staying in a small village called Tochni, near the southern coast of Cyprus (the Greek side), and almost directly between Larnaca and Limassol.

Check in date:  Sunday, August 19
Check out date:  Sunday, September 2

United States passport holders do not need a visa to enter Cyprus. 

Students and Faculty from previous programs have had good success with the following Travel Agencies:
Council Travel/STA (206) 632-2448, 4311 University Way and
Caravan-Serai Tours (800) 451-8097.

Our hosts at Cyprus Villages will arrange for you to be picked up at the Larnaca Airport when you arrive on August 19 - as long as you have sent your airline, flight number and arrival time to Theron.   If you arrive earlier, you will need to provide your own transportation and lodging.

The Program can provide airport transfer back to Larnaca Airport on September 2.  After that, you're on your own and free to travel off to meet your new friends in Egypt or Lebanon - or anywhere else!

An e-post message board has been created for our group.  Click here to go there.  You can arrange to be notified whenever there are new messages, or just keep an eye on the message page.

Gain a better understanding of "American" and "Arab" identities and their mutual perceptions and misperceptions, during a two-week seminar in Cyprus, historically a meeting place for political players from the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Participants from the University of Washington, the American University of Cairo, and other students from the eastern Mediterranean region will live and study together in a small Cypriot village for two weeks at the end of the summer. The theme of the Seminar is the apparent tension that exists between the Arab and American worlds – especially in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001 and the American-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq – and its main concern is the role played by identity, and the construction of identity, in either exacerbating or moderating this tension. After introducing the notion of identity, the course goes on to explore the possible meanings of both Arab and American identity, before considering a number of ways in which these identities might be said to be in tension.

While in Cyprus, students will attend lectures, participate in discussion groups and conflict resolution exercises, watch films and go on field trips – in addition to sharing common meals and living conditions.  Several UW students from each of the previous three Cyprus Exploration Seminars spent the two weeks following the program traveling (at their own expense) to the homes of their new international acquaintances.

University of Washington participants will receive 5 credits in: Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) 477, Middle East Study Abroad (I&S).  Participants should also check with their academic advisors to determine how these credits may apply to major requirements.

Helpful Links

Information specifically about Tochni is now on a seperate Tochni Information Page.

The U.S. State Department's Country Page for Cyprus has a lot of statistics and some history about the country.

The Consular Information Sheet for Cyprus lists entry requirements and any security information that the U.S. State Department deems important.

You may also want to check the Cyprus Embassy's website.

Your fellow students are from the American University in Cairo, and if we're lucky, also from the Lebanese American University.

Want to learn some Arabic language?  The Babel Arabic site has lessons with audio samples for pronunciation.

The Exploration Seminar Travel Info Page has many more links to health, packing and other travel information.