Earlier this month we welcomed two new interns, Christina Coutsougeras and Brandon Montague, who will be with us at the Institute until the end of July.

Christina Coutsougeras is a graduate student studying European Affairs at the University of Toronto.  Although her undergraduate background is in Political Science, she has managed to incorporate Modern History in her studies, particularly pertaining to Greece.  Her graduate studies focus on Greek-Canadian relations, particularly Greek immigration to Canada, but she is always open to learning more about Greece’s history, as far back as ancient times.  She has taken courses in Greece which involved all aspects of its history, from ancient, cultural and cuisine, to a complete course on its modern history.  She always feels that she is learning something new about Greece.

Through this internship, Christina hopes to learn about Greece’s archeological history and the relationship that the Canadian Institute has with Greece in order to be able to partake in this archeological research.  In addition, she hopes that working in the library and archives will allow her to incorporate what she learns for future research.  Having a strong connection with Greece, Christina is always open to learning as much as she can and is eager to continue to explore its many museums and archeological sites.

Brandon Montague is a third-year undergraduate student at Trent University studying Archaeology with a specialization in Mediterranean Archaeology. Having completed his Archaeological Field Training in Galway, Ireland, he found a passion for early medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Europe. Upon graduation, he plans to join field excavations at Byzantine sites in the eastern Mediterranean region before pursuing his Master’s degree in Archaeology.

In his studies at Trent University and Field Training in Galway, Brandon gained an appreciation for the complex symbolism in religious architecture and its relation to local life-ways. With this newfound interest, Brandon hopes to investigate the comparative relationships that exist between Western and Eastern Christian approaches to religious architecture and sacred spaces.

While in Greece, Brandon will be able to explore Early Christian and Byzantine sites as well as Pre-Christian sites to understand the complex relationship that exists between Greek Identity and religious architecture that still persists to this day.

Jonathan Tomlinson
Assistant Director