The history of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki's Faculty of Philosophy can be divided into three main periods:
- The first, the 'heroic', period, as noted by I. Chasiotis, is defined from the establishment of the Faculty (1926 - 1927) until the early 1950s. During this time, the Faculty of Philosophy aims to develop a distinct 'identity'.
- The second period, the development or 'maturity' phase, is bounded by post-1950 and ends in the mid-1970s. This period marks the completion of the development of the Faculty's educational and research functions.
- The third period, finally, is the period of restructuring or 'adulthood', beginning with the post-regime era and continuing to the present day.
In this study, we focus attention on a key part of the first period, the formative phase, which coincides with the interwar period (1926 - 1940) and is defined from the start of the Faculty's operation, during the academic year 1926 - 1927, until the outbreak of World War II in 1940.
Our choice is guided by the following facts: a) The interwar period represents, in general history and specifically in the history and historiography of education, a clearly delineated phase characterized by particular features, as the subsequent wartime, civil war, and postwar periods each have their own autonomy and contribution to the history of higher education in Greece, deserving special attention and study; and b) during the interwar period, the main educational, pedagogical, and research framework of Greece's second university was formed, initially consisting solely of the Faculty of Philosophy, and their unique 'identity', as reflected in scientific trends and behaviors of the 'first generation' of professors, in the curriculum, and among the students admitted during this period.
According to Ioannis Chasiotis, 'this period saw the formation of the core educational and research framework of the institution, as well as its distinctive ‘identity’, at least as reflected in the scientific and academic trends and behaviors of the first ‘generation’ of professors...'
