Epic: the heroes, the chants, the words Erasmus Project

Project Title

Epic: the heroes, the chants, the words

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

Project context
The project is essentially defined by its headline, as the main elements that blend it together are outlined there. The primary objective is to deepen the knowledge of a common European culture, from the perspective of the humanities and social sciences fields. The epic genre echoes a past anchored in the origin of its peoples and its identities, and Europe has a history with shared elements in the oldest cultural manifestations. Communication routes have flowed from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Western European countries and from the Germanic peoples to Southern Europe. The historical evolution of each people made the rise of their songs distant in time from each other. Their heroes and their songs, which can be considered the sublimation of the common national spirit, have given these cultural manifestations a value beyond the literary and have placed them into the anthropological field.
Humanities, one of the foundations of the project, fulfil two essential functions:
1. To assume the cultural heritage that allows us to know our present in a more rigorous and conscious manner.
2. To improve the understanding of economic, social and political life in the European context and participate in the consolidation of democratic systems.

Project objectives
– Educational:
• To stimulate, increase and improve the learning process. (O1)
• To develop linguistic, cultural and artistic, social and civic skills. (O2)
• To teach by means of intercultural approaches. (O1)
– Research-Innovation.
• To promote innovative educational development and learning. (O3 & 4)
• To improve inter-school communication. (O2)
• To search for information on qualifications and employment in the field of the Humanities. (O1)
– Digital society.
• To process information and improve digital competence through ICT (O3)

Number and profile of participants
The partners in this project are five secondary and high schools from countries where there is a strong cultural and literary tradition of epic songs. The Spanish school has three European Sections in German, Italian and English. The French school has a European Section in Spanish. Italian specializes in classical studies and teaches Spanish as the first foreign language. At the German school, in addition to having Spanish as the second most demanded foreign language after English, The Odyssey is part of the Latin School Curriculum and the school works with drama activities as a learning methodological approach. Besides specializing in Liberal Arts and using Karaguiosis as a teaching tool, the Greek school also teaches Spanish classes.

Description of planned activities
The suggested activities relate to the following areas of knowledge: plastic arts, music, philosophy, history, Latin, Greek, German, French, Italian and Spanish language and literature. All of them will be implemented using ICT.

Methodology approach used to implement the project
The methodology is based on the identification and definition of common objectives to be met throughout the development of the project. We will always work with the eTwinning platform in order to have a shared space which students and teachers can use to enhance their communicative competence and ICT skills. Likewise, the activities have been planned in a framework of flexibility and ease: these activities can be adapted to the characteristics of each partner and to the different working methodologies needed for different topics or areas.

Brief description of the results
The expected results are presented in four dimensions:
1. Assessment of the cultural and sociological aspects of the epic genre and epic songs as common elements from classical Greco-Latin to medieval European culture.
2. Consolidation of multilingual learning.
3. Awareness of the possibilities of employability in the field of Liberal Arts.
4. Development of our students’ European awareness and citizenship, so that they become familiar with multicultural approaches to common realities in our days.
5. Increasing our students’ command of new technologies.

Expected impact and long-term benefits.
During the project, we will seek to reach and involve students, families and each partner school participating in this project, as they are recipients and direct issuers of the project. Once this school association is completed, thanks to the skills acquired in it, synergies will be formed in the knowledge triangle, that is, innovation, research and education. These three axes are fundamental for students, as they allow them to advance in their acquisition of knowledge and their integral training and growth. Detailed and systematic work will allow them to be prepared for mobility in their training during their university years. The option to continue studies or temporary stays in any of the partner schools following this project should not be ruled out.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 160300 Eur

Project Coordinator

IES ANDRES VANDELVIRA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• I.I.S.S. “Carlo Maria Carafa” Mazzarino
• Gymnasium Thomaeum
• 3rd Senior High School of Polichni
• LYCEE POLYVALENT BEAUSSIER