The publication of this book signifies, before anything else, a specific gesture.

Through its content, which consists of texts derived from the various social sciences, the common intention of the authors is expressed to acknowledge the work of their teacher: Nikos S. Petralias.

The public presence of Nikos Petralias in academic life, as well as the quality of his political participation and action in the realm of the renewal Left, is accepted by all who have interacted with him even for a brief moment. This acceptance is not coincidental. It is the product of a less overt process, a process of producing students with critical consciousness.

After all, the tenure alongside Nikos Petralias is not only a valuable experience filled with insights and rich in knowledge. It is, above all, an apprenticeship towards freedom, a continuous commitment to emancipation. A struggle, fortunately, without an endpoint.

The initiative for the publication of this volume belongs to another teacher and great friend of Nikos Petralias who is no longer with us: Kosmas Psychopaidis. He did not get to see the completion of this initiative of his own. We merely sought to fulfill his wish.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the publication]