Staff Catalogue

STEFANOS KATSIKAS

STEFANOS KATSIKAS
(+357) 22892178
...
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Department of History and Archaeology
Eliades Building, Office 108 (1st floor)
9 Klimentos str.

CURRENT POSITION

  •  August 2023 to the present: Associate Professor (with indefinite tenure) of Modern and Contemporary History of Southeastern Europe (18th -21st centuries)

POSITIONS HELD

  • July 2019 - June 2023: Associate Director, Center for Hellenic Studies, University of Chicago
  • July 2023: Promoted to Senior Instructional Associate Professor in Modern Greek Studies, Center for Hellenic Studies, University of Chicago (did not accept the promotion to join the University of Cyprus as (tenured) Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary History)
  • July 2019-June 2023: Senior Lecturer in Modern Greek Studies, Center for Hellenic Studies and Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago
  • September 2018 - June 2019: Lecturer in Modern Greek, Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago
  • 2012-2018: Director of the Program in Modern Greek Studies, Lecturer (2012-2015), promoted to Research Associate Professor (2016-2018), Department of Linguistics (2012-2015), and School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics (SLCL), UIUC (2016-2018)
  • 2011-2012: 1.0 Lecturer (Lecturer B) in History, Department of History, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
  • 2010-2011: 1.0 Lecturer (Lecturer A) in History, Department of History, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
  • 2009-2010: 0.5 Lecturer in History, Department of History, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
  • 2006-2010: Visiting Lecturer, Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, University of Nottingham, UK
  • 2008-2009: Visiting Tutor, Department of History, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
  • 2002-2005: Teaching Assistant, School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), UK

Courtesy Appointments, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC): 2012-2018:

  • Center for Global Studies
  • Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (CSAMES)
  • European Union Center
  • Russian, East European and Eurasian Center (REEEC)

EDUCATION

  • 2006: PhD in Social Science (History), School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), UK

Ph.D. Dissertation Title: Foreign Policy Making in Democratizing States: The Case of Post-Communist Bulgaria’

  • 2000: MA in Southeast European Studies, School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), UK
  • 1998: BA in History (First Class, Hons: GPA: 8.64 out of 10; valedictorian of my class), Ionian University, Corfu, Greece

TAUGHT COURSES

  • HIST 750 Security, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy in Southeastern Europe (19th and 20th Centuries) (postgraduate course)
  • HIST 312 Nation States, Minorities and Human Rights in Southeastern Europe (19th and 20th Centuries) (final year undergraduate seminar, spring semester)
  • HIST 258 Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean in the Cold and Post-Cold War Periods (upper-level undergraduate course, in Greek, fall semester)
  • HIST 251 Introduction to the History of Contemporary Greece (1923 to the present) (upper-level undergraduate course, in Greek, spring semester)
  • HIST 212 Religion and Nation-building in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Southeastern Europe (upper-level undergraduate, in English, fall semester)
  • HIST 108 Introduction to Modern Greek History (first year undegraduate core/foundation course, fall semester)

MAILING ADDRESS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

 Department of History and Archaeology, University of Cyprus, P.O. BOX 20537, CY-1678, Nicosia, Cyprus

 

HONORED BY MARQUIS WHO'S WHO FOR OUTSTANDING SUCCESS AS AN ADMINISTRATOR AND EDUCATOR

My research interests lie in the field of modern and contemporary history of Southeastern Europe (18th-21st centuries) – diplomatic, political, social and cultural history – and include the study of topics such as:

  • nation-building
  • ethnic and religious minorities
  • minority-state relations
  • inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, particularly the coexistence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities
  • religious conversions in the age of nationalism
  • Muslim conversions to Orthodox Christianity in the 19th and early 20th centuries
  • State diplomacy and foreign policymaking in the Cold and post-Cold War periods
  • Post-conflict reconciliation and transitional justice in nascent democratic environments
 
Co-PI (along with Professor Kristin Fabbe, European University Institute) of the externally funded research project Transitional Justice in Greece
 
Series Editor of the Anthem Impact in Mediterranean History  (London, New York, Melbourne, New Delhi)
 
Member of the Editorial Board of the international peer-reviewed academic journal European History Quarterly 

BOOKS AUTHORED OR CO-AUTHORED

1.     Stefanos Katsikas, Proselytes of a New Nation: Muslim Conversions to Greek Orthodox Christianity (1821-1862) (Oxford University Press (OUP), September 2022 (See: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/proselytes-of-a-new-nation-9780197621752?cc=us&lang=en#)

Reviews: “Katsikas's impressive archival research sheds light on a neglected topic...In this original study, the author demonstrates how conversion to Christianity in the age of nationalism was a survival tactic and a means to acquire the attendant privileges of being a member of the victorious side in post-Ottoman Europe." - Marc David Baer, author of The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs

"This book represents considerable scholarship on the important question of conversion from Islam to Orthodox Christianity during and in the aftermath of the very violent period associated with the War of Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on a wealth of archival and other primary sources, Katsikas presents a clear and engaging analysis of the conditions under which Muslims became Orthodox Christians in this period of dramatic political and demographic change." - Benjamin Fortna, Director & Professor, School of Middle Eastern & North African Studies, University of Arizona

"Lost in the literature of nationalisms and 'ethnic awakenings', the fate of those individuals and communities converting to a new nation (and religion) has received little attention so far. Stephanos Katsikas successfully unpacks this aspect of modern Greek history and the fate of its first Muslim citizens providing an impressive array of legal, political and historical data to inform one of the most problematic aspects of nation-building in Europe" - Neophytos Loizides, Director of Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent

"This book is, without any doubt, a major contribution to the field of Balkan history and broadly, to modern European history. It is based on an unexplored cache of unique source material that is meticulously analyzed and convincingly laid out." - Maria Todorova, Gutgsell Professor of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"Katsikas' work lays an important foundation in the English language scholarship of post-independence Greece." - Alexander Billinis, The Hydramerican

"Katsikas's detailed analysis of these rare documents is an invaluable contribution not only to the study of ethnoreligious communities of Greece but also to the larger field of transitions to nation-states." - Mehmet Celik, Journal of Church and State

 

2.     Stefanos Katsikas, Islam and Nationalism in Modern Greece (1821-1941) (Oxford University Press (OUP), September 2021 (See: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/islam-and-nationalism-in-modern-greece-1821-1940-9780190652005?cc=us&lang=en&); translation in Modern Greek by Panagiota Kourmentala, Εθνικισμός και Ισλάμ στο Νεοελληνικό Κράτος (Thessaloniki: Epikentro, forthcoming spring 2024)

Reviews: ‘A copy of Katsikas’ Islam and Nationalism in Modern Greece 1821-1940 should be in the toolkit of every scholar of modern Greece because it is authoritative richly detailed…the book is deeply researched and comprehensive…This study will remain the seminal work on Muslims in modern Greece for some time to come.’ Nicholas Doumanis, Professor of History and the Illinois Chair in Hellenic Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago, in Journal of Religious History, vol. 47, issue 4, pp. 657-659

“As Greece commemorates the bicentenary of its War of Independence, this is a timely study of the complex minority issue that emerged. It is a thoroughly researched account of the fate of the Muslim minority incorporated into the new nation. It provides expert, well-judged analysis over a terrain covered in sensitivities and controversy. It opens the door for future researchers." - Kevin Featherstone, Elefterios Venizelos Professor (Emeritus) in Contemporary Greek Studies and European Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science

"An important and fascinating history of a neglected population and subject. Katsikas deftly traces the changing meanings of nationality, religion, and belonging in Greece's first century of existence and reveals that supposedly deep-rooted categorizations are in fact malleable and relatively recent." - K.E. Fleming, President and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, USA; Alexander S. Onassis Professor of Hellenic Culture and Civilization, New York University

"Appearing in the year of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, this courageous book complicates the rich history of Greek nationalism. Carving new research vistas, empirically rich and theoretically savvy, it offers a balanced picture of the unique and original minority governance of the Muslim community in Greece until the Second World War. A must-read for anyone interested in the history of the whole Balkan region and broadly on minority issues." - Maria Todorova, Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor (Emerita) of History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

‘Noting the under-researched nature of his topic, Katsikas offers the results of more than twenty years’ work in this volume.’ Daniel Pipes, Commentator on foreign policy and the Middle East; President of the Middle East Forum and publisher of the Middle East Quarterly journal Middle East Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 4 (Fall 2022)

"The book constitutes an important contribution to the field and should fare well both with an academic readership and the general audience as it offers a thoroughly researched and highly readable account of a most complex subject." - Dimitris Antoniou, Associate Director, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative and Lecturer in Hellenic Studies, Columbia University, History: Reviews of New Books

"Katsikas' work lays an important foundation in the English language scholarship of post-independence Greece by considering what happened to the "Ottoman" element in Greek society." - Alexander Billinis, The Hydramerican

 

3.     Stefanos Katsikas, Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria (London, New York, I.B Tauris/Macmillan, Academic Studies Series: Library of European Studies) December 2011

The book was awarded the 2011 Scouloudi publication award by the Institute of Historical Research, University of London (See: http://www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/awards/scouloudi)

 

BOOKS EDITED OR CO-EDITED

  1. Stefanos Katsikas (with Benjamin C. Fortna, Dimitris Kamouzis and Paraskevas Konortas), State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945, SOAS/Routledge Series on the Middle East         (London-New York: Routledge, 2012); second paperback edition (London-New York: Routledge, 2017)
  2. Stefanos Katsikas, Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities, Anthem Series on Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (London-New York-New Delhi: Anthem Press 2010); second paperback edition (London-New York-New Delhi: Anthem Press, 2011)
  3. Stefanos Katsikas, European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945), special issue of Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 29.4 (December 2009)

 

CHAPTERS IN BOOKS

1.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Mentions and Silences: Greek Historical Sources on Muslim Conversions to Orthodox Christianity during the Greek War of Independence,’ in Augusta Dimou, Theodora Dragostinova, and Veneta Ivanova (eds.), Reimagining the Balkans: How to Think and Teach a Region (Festschrift in honor of Maria N. Todorova) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023), 289-298

2.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Concepts of Self Identification during the Greek War of Independence: Romiós (oi) (Roman/s), Graikós/oi (Greek/s), Ellinas/es (Hellene/s),’ in Erytheia Revista de Estudios Bizantinos y Neogriegos (ed.), Periferias de la Revolución: Contextos Transnacionales de la Insurrección Griega de 1821/ Peripheries of the Revolution: The Greek 1821 Insurrection in Transnational Contexts (Madrid: Asociación Cultural Hispano-Helénica, Anejos de Erytheia, 2021), 21-54 (invited chapter)

3.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Life in the Rear: The Muslims of Greece during the Anatolian War (1919-1922),’ in Konstantinos Travlos (ed.), Salvation and Catastrophe: The Greek-Turkish War 1919-1922 (Landham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020), 231-272 (invited chapter)

4.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Transitional Justice after the Collapse of Dictatorship in Greece (1974-2000),’ in Nico Wouters (ed.), Transitional Justice and Memory in Europe (1945-2013) (Cambridge: Intersentia, 2014), 259-286 (invited chapter)

5.     Stefanos Katsikas, 'Millet Legacies in a National Environment: Political Elites and Muslim Communities in Greece, 1830s-1923,' in Benjamin C. Fortna, Stefanos Katsikas, Dimitris Kamouzis and Paraskevas Konortas (eds), State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945 (London-New York: Routledge, 2012), 47-72

6.     Stefanos Katsikas, 'A Hostage Minority: The Muslims of Greece, 1923-1941,' in Benjamin C. Fortna, Stefanos Katsikas, Dimitris Kamouzis and Paraskevas Konortas (eds), State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945 (London-New York: Routledge, 2012), 153-175

7.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Peter Siani-Davies), ‘Ο Καπνικός Νόμος του 1953: Πολιτικό μέτρο απομάκρυνσης της κομμουνιστικής απειλής από ένα εργατικό δυναμικό με έντονη συνδικαλιστική δράση;’ (= ‘The Tobacco Act of 1953: Political Measure to Remove the Communist Threat from a Labour Force with Strong Unionist Activity?’), in Vasilis Dalkavoukis, Eleni Paschaloudi, Ilias Skoulidas and Katerina Tsekou (eds.), Αφηγήσεις για τη δεκαετία του 1940 (= Narratives about the 1940s) (Athens: Epikentro, 2012), 213-228 (invited chapter)

8.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Peter Siani-Davies), ‘The Europeanization of Bulgarian Society: A Long-Lasting Political Project,’ co-authored in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), Bulgaria and Europe: Bulgaria and Europe (London-New York-New Delhi: Anthem Press, 2010), 1-22

9.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Negotiating Diplomacy in Post-Communist Bulgaria: Sofia’s Balkan Policy in the Post-Cold War Period,’ in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press, 2010), 129-54

10.  Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Epilogue,’ in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press, 2010), 193-196

11.  Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Introduction,’ in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945), special issue of Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 29.4 (December 2009), 435-442

12.  Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Conclusion: European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945),’ European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945), special issue of Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 29.4 (December 2009), 537-543

ARTICLES IN PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

1.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Sakis Dimitriadis), ‘Muslim Converts to Christian Orthodoxy during the Greek War of Independence, 1821-1832,’ European History Quarterly, 51, no. 3 (August 2021), 299-323

2.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Anna Krinaki), ‘Reflections on an “Ignominious Defeat”: Reappraising the Effects of the Greco-Ottoman War of 1897 on Greek Politics,’Journal of Modern Greek Studies, 38, no. 1 (May 2020), 109-130

3.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Anastasia Giannakidou, Brian Joseph, Ianthi Tsimpli, and Tim Whitmarsh), ‘Institutional Developments in Greek Linguistics,’ Journal of Greek Linguistics, 19 (2019), 215-226

4.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Bulgaria and Romania on the Edge,’ in Current History: A Journal of Contemporary World Affairs 113, no. 761 (March 2014), 117-122 (invited publication)

5.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Muslim Minority in Greek Historiography: A Distorted Story?’ European History Quarterly 42.3 (2012), 444-467

6.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘The Bulgarian Presidential Elections of 2011: Reflections on Process and Outcome,’ in Baltic Worlds, published online at http://balticoworlds.com/contributors/stefano-katsikas/ (invited publication)

7.     Stefanos Katsikas (with Peter Siani-Davies), ‘National Reconciliation After Civil War: The Case of Greece,’ Journal of Peace Research 46.4 (2009), 559-575 (invited publication)

8.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Millets in Nation States: The Case of Greek and Bulgarian Muslims, 1912-1923,’ Nationalities Papers 37.2 (2009), 177-201 (invited publication)

9.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘All Change: the Reform Effect of Image Modification within Bulgarian Political Parties on their Foreign Policy Agendas during the 1990s,’ Etudes Balkaniques 1 (2006), 57-78 (invited publication)

10.  Stefanos Katsikas, ‘A Comparative Overview of the Foreign Policy-making in Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia during the 1980s,’ Bulgarian Historical Review 3-4 (2006), 106-144 (invited publication)

11.  Stefanos Katsikas, ‘An Overview of Albania’s Foreign Policy-making during the 1980s,’ Slovo 16.2 (2004), 91-106

12.  Stefanos Katsikas (with S. Ploumides, S. Sklavenites, and A. Triantou), ‘Πραγματικότητες της καθημερινής ζωής στην Κέρκυρα κατά τη διάρκεια του Δευτέρου Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου και της Γερμανικής κατοχής μέσα από τα αρχεία του Ψυχιατρικού Νοσοκομείου Κέρκυρας’ (=‘Realities of Everyday Life in Corfu during the Second World War and the German Occupation through the Archives of Corfu’s Mental hospital’), Περί Ιστορίας (=About History) 1 (1996), 43-65

 

ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES

1.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Transitional Justice in Post-Second World War Greece,’ in Lavinia Stan and Nadya Nedelsky (eds.), Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming fall 2023 (invited publication)

2.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Transitional Justice in Cyprus,’ in Lavinia Stan and Nadya Nedelsky (eds.), Encyclopedia of Transitional Justice, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming fall 2023 (invited publication)

3.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Greece’, in The [Oxford] Encyclopedia of Islam and Law (Oxford Islamic Studies Online: http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t349/e0123?_hi=0&_pos=1#match) (invited publication)

 

BOOK REVIEWS

1.     Kornetis, Kostis, Children of the Dictatorship: Student Resistance, Cultural Politics and the “Long 1960” in Greece, Oxford and New York: Berghahn, 2013, 336p + 33 figures, in The Journal of Modern History 89. 1 (March 2017), 236-237

2.     Glavinas, Giannis, Οι μουσουλμανικοί πληθυσμοί στην Ελλάδα (1912-1923): Από την ενσωμάτωση στην ανταλλαγή (=Muslim Populations in Greece (1912-1923): From Integration to the [Population] Exchange), Thessaloniki: Antonis Stamoulis Publishing House, 2013, LXVIII +382p., Δελτίο του Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών (=Bulletin of Asia Minor Studies) 19 (2015), 419-424

3.     Bideleux Robert and Ian Jeffries, The Balkans: A Post-Communist History, London and New York: Routledge, 2007, xix + 620p. p/b, in Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 11.1 (2009), 117-119

4.   Giatzidis, Emil, An Introduction to Post-communist Bulgaria: Political, Economic and Social Transformations (Manchester University Press, 2002), in Europe-Asia Studies 56.1 (January 2004), 174-176

 

WORKING CHAPTERS IN EDITED BOOKS

1.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Introduction,’ in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Modern Greek History (New York: Oxford University Press), forthcoming fall 2025

2.     Stefanos Katsikas, ‘Post-Ottoman Muslim Communities,’ in Stefanos Katsikas (ed.,) The Oxford Handbook of Modern Greek History (New York: Oxford University Press), forthcoming fall 2025

 

WORKING BOOKS

1. Stefanos Katsikas (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Modern Greek History (New York: Oxford University Press), forthcoming fall 2025

2. Stefanos Katsikas and Kristin Fabbe, Transitional Justice in Interwar and Post-Second World War Greece (working title)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Co-PI (along with Professor Kristin Fabbe, European University Institute, EUI) of the externally funded research project Transtitional Justice in Greece

Series Editor of the book series Anthem Impact in Mediterranean History (London, New York, Melbourne, New Delhi)

Member of the Editorial Board of the international peer-reviewed journal European History Quarterly