Visiting Lived History: Questioning Firsts
Penn Global Seminar: American Race: A Philadelphia Story
Charmaine, one of the Spring 2026 Penn Global Seminar Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Spring Break. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
When I was accepted into the PGS course: A Philadelphia Story with spring break travel to Greece, the first three words I thought of were food, shopping, and learning.
I had heard of Greece in many of my classes, particularly my history courses that discussed how Greek leaders are often documented as the first: the first civilization, the first practitioners of medicine, the first philosophers. When I hear that a European country is seen as the “first” to have higher thinking and civilization, I question this because of many European countries’ worldwide influence and colonial roots that defined civilization based on Western norms. There are so many alternative ways of thinking about primitive medicine, civilization or philosophy, and labeling Greeks as the first feels like an overgeneralization. It assumes there was little interaction between different regions and that there is one correct way to disperse knowledge. History is so much more complicated than that.
I wish to take this trip to learn more about the context behind these labels and how truthful they really are. Also, knowing that Greece holds much history, I wish to use my travel experience to view how much human systems and practices have changed over time. I find it fascinating that I will be walking through (and taking pictures in) lived history. I am excited to explore the Acropolis, Parthenon and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, places where people fought, ate, shopped, and conversed. I can’t wait to compare these historical lessons with the lives of current day Greek people as I visit various nonprofit organizations and work daily at one in my team of four. Lastly, I am looking forward to spending my free time as a tourist, trying an authentic gyro, eating pistachio ice cream, and spending our last day relaxing on Aegina Island. I am heavily prepared for this because I have been doing lots of TikTok research on “Best Places to Go in Athens.”
As an immigrant from Zimbabwe, I am interested in using global perspectives and tools to help all my communities, in Zimbabwe as well as America. I hope to use international law and public policy to address educational disparities between rural and urban Zimbabwe while expanding access to quality education in America. This class has given me a unique opportunity to compare Greek human rights issues and discrimination with the United States, bringing any effective approaches from Greece back to my work in Philadelphia and eventually Zimbabwe. Through my work in Greece, I wish to learn more about how countries internationally are addressing racism and human rights needs, bringing this knowledge back to my local and global work. I can’t wait to be in Athens!