Gender Studies in the Department of Social Anthropology and History The department of Social Anthropology and History started offering courses at the postgraduate level, in the field of Gender Studies in 2003-2004. At this year a new Postgraduate Studies Program lasting one academic year and entitled “Women and Gender: Anthropological and Historical Approaches” was launched. Ever since the Department was founded, the study of the social constitution of gender has received particular attention at both the undergraduate and the postgraduate level. The research interest of the teaching staff and the titles of the courses offered in the Department’s Student Handbook bear witness to that. For instance, at the undergraduate level, we offer courses such as Anthropology of Gender, Anthropology of Kinship, Anthropology of Reproduction, History of Family and Marriage, Social Demography, whereas at the postgraduate level, we have offered courses such as Anthropology of Kinship and Gender, and Family in European Historiography from the very first years of its operation. In 2014 the PSP was renamed as “ Gender, Culture and Society”.

The PSP “Gender, Culture and Society” in the Department of Social Anthropology and History of the University of the Aegean is based on the Department’s expertise and long-standing experience in gender issues at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. The department also operates three labs which actively support the teaching and research activities of the PSP: the Ethnography Lab, the History Lab, and the Family and Kinship Lab. Furthermore, a computer lab with 17 work stations has been in operation since 1992, catering to the needs of both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The library collection of the University of the Aegean, founded in 1984 and based in Mytilene, adequately supports the teaching and research needs the PSP. The Mytilene Brach of the Library holds the largest book and magazine collection in the area of Social Anthropology in Greece. Library collections are regularly updated thus allowing for uninterrupted monitoring of international developments in the field of anthropology, while the collection of books and magazines in the History section has grown significantly. Meanwhile, the History Lab maintains a large collection of 19th and 20th century newspapers and magazines which is constantly growing. In the framework of the PSP, the Mytilene Library Branch has acquired 250 new book titles on gender-related topics in the area of anthropology, history, politics, education, economy, health, language, and art.