ITP Greece: The Odyssey Begins Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will embark to Greece with a bakers dozen of Northwestern Law Students as part of the International Team Project (ITP). The ITP is a unique class and travel program where students choose a country to visit, create a course of study and curriculum and then conduct field research by way of interviews with legal scholars, government official, private business managers and the people of a foreign country. Following the trip the students write and present research papers on their topics.

Our class is studying the legal system and economy of Greece vis-à-vis the European Union and Austerity measures. Students are conducting research in the following areas: Greek family welfare and dynamics in the face of recent economic changes and hardships; the interaction between economic, social, and political factors with Greece’s evolving immigration policies after joining the European Union; regulation of private industry; and the impact of austerity on public utilities, education, transportation, and healthcare in Greece.

For our pre-trip sessions we secured guest lecturers from local attorneys of Greek descent and professors from other institutions who research Greece and the European economy, including Margarita Tsoutsoura and Del Wright. Yesterday the Consulate General in Chicago hosted our group and provided an in-depth economic background regarding the operation of Greece within the European Union as well as a historical overview of Greek culture.

I will be blogging about our findings regarding the interaction of the law and the economy during the next several weeks as we interview academics and officials in Greece. If you have any academic contacts abroad who may be interested in meeting with my students while we are in Greece feel free to comment here.

Meeting with the Consulate in Chicago