After the completion of the course students should be able to:

- Understand and deal with different definitions of islands and insularity - islandness

- Understand different symbolic characteristics of islands and the seasonal geographies that result

- Handle issues of island development

Definitions of islands, insularity and attractiveness of islands; history and island functions; the "island problem" and reasons for the marginalization of islands. The future of islands in Europe, Greece and the world

The course is structured in 13 lectures:1 Introduction2 Definitions of islands, island typologies3 Insularity and attractiveness4 Island history and "functions": Islands as fortresses, islands as commerce nodes and industrial poles, islands as havens, island as prisons5 Island history and "functions": Islands as exiles, Sacred islands, Tourism islands, Islands as heritage places, islands as protected areas6 Transport and accessibility7 Seasonality and islands8 Island Attractiveness: services and infrastructure9 Island Attractiveness: services and infrastructure II10 Island Attractiveness: Symbols and literature11 The "island problem": the greater socio-economic system and the marginalization of islands12 The "island problem" II: European islands - future prospects: quality instead of quantity13 Student papers - evaluation - summary of the course

Spilanis G. (2012) The development of islands: What strategy and policies for territorial cohesion, Gutenberg, Athens