Alumni
February 3, 2026 2026-02-03 12:58Alumni
Alexandros Gosevits
My experience with the Department of Philosophical and Social Studies (PSS) began in 2006, when I enrolled as a first-year student. The main criteria behind this choice were, from the outset, the structure and flexibility of the curriculum, as well as the research interests of the academic staff in the Philosophy Section. From a very early stage, I benefited from the opportunity to attend general-education courses alongside specialized seminars and tutorials—an option that fostered a comprehensive understanding of the historical development of philosophical thought, while at the same time allowing for in-depth engagement with themes and thinkers closer to my own conceptual concerns.
I would particularly like to emphasize the decisive impact of courses taught in the form of tutorials, since the meticulous examination of a philosophical text within a small group of students cultivates the consistency and acuity that such readings demand. Equally helpful was the interdisciplinary logic that ran through the curriculum, enabling the necessary contextualization and interpretation of the philosophical tradition within its historical and cultural framework. The combination of these characteristics that defined the Department of Philosophical and Social Studies was crucial both in opening up a wide range of theoretical approaches for me and in instilling a deep faith in the value of philosophical inquiry.
Following this thoroughly positive experience and upon completing my undergraduate studies, I left in 2012 as a DAAD scholarship holder to attend courses in German Idealism at Humboldt University of Berlin. In the following academic year (2013–2014), I completed the M.A. in Philosophy at UCL (University College London) with a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation. After completing my master’s degree, I began my doctoral studies in the Department of Greek & Latin, with a dissertation entitled “The Concept of the Tragic in German Idealism,” which I completed in 2020 under the auspices of the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP).
Anastasia Theologou
My studies in the Department of PSS profoundly changed my life on every level. In terms of academics, although my greatest passion was ancient philosophy, the interdisciplinary dialogue between philosophy and the social sciences cultivated by the Department’s curriculum shaped the way I understand and study philosophy and significantly broadened my way of thinking.
Today, as the manager of a network of European universities (CIVICA) aimed at bridging academia and society, I fully recognize the particular importance of the culture of discussion and dialogue that characterizes the Department—one that encouraged students to pose their own questions and not hesitate to seek their own answers. Personally, I am certain that I would not have come this far had I studied elsewhere, or had the people who serve the Department of PSS not believed in me and supported me to such an extent.
Maria Karakousi
The Department of Philosophical and Social Studies at the University of Crete was not a random choice in my educational path; it was my first—and therefore most deliberate—choice on my application form. And I never regretted it. The Department’s professors, always approachable and friendly, were highly qualified, active, outward-looking, and internationally engaged in the field of philosophy. They showed genuine interest in students’ progress and encouraged them, thus making engagement with the otherwise “demanding” subject of philosophy more accessible.
Moreover, the curriculum was comprehensive, offering the opportunity to explore every aspect of philosophical activity alongside pedagogical and philological training, thereby providing all the necessary tools for one’s future professional career. Today, I am a PhD candidate in Philosophy at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, while at the same time I have the pleasure of teaching, among other subjects, Philosophy in the second year of upper secondary school as a teacher in secondary education—putting into practice everything I gained from the Department of PSS. I can now say with confidence that the years I spent in the Department laid the foundations for and shaped my subsequent educational and professional choices.
