Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Honors Thesis (Open Access)
Department
Colby College. History Dept.
Advisor(s)
Sarah Duff
Second Advisor
Robert Weisbrot
Abstract
Camps are one of the most distinct institutions of American childhood, offering children a place to socialize and explore their identities. Since the late 19th century, camps have been used to inspire religious, social, and ethnic identity. Extensive research has been done into some kinds of summer camps, this thesis attempts to add to this literature through analysis of Greek Orthodox Summer Camp programs run under the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (The Metropolis of Boston Camp and Ionian Village). This dissertation examines the role of the modern religious summer camp in building and maintaining Greek American and Greek Orthodox identity in children descended from Greek immigrants. It seeks to prove that there was a demonstrated effort from the Orthodox Church in the mid-20th century to link youth ministry with Orthodox camping programs as a way to preserve culture, ethnicity, and religion. This dissertation argues that the creation of these programs played a role in a significant number of ethnically Greek American youth choosing Greek ethnic association in religion and culture.
Keywords
Summer Camp, Greek America, Greek Orthodox, Greek Orthodox Summer Camp, Ionian Village, Metropolis of Boston Camp, Religious Summer Camp
Recommended Citation
Walsh, Julia J., "“Off to Greek Camp”: A History and Examination of Greek America and its Adaptation of American Summer Camp Culture" (2025). Honors Theses. Paper 1477.https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/honorstheses/1477
Included in
Christianity Commons, Cultural History Commons, Ethnic Studies Commons, Other American Studies Commons, Religious Education Commons, Social History Commons