Project Title 

'Reclaiming home and navigating contradictions': transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex responses to ethno-nationalist constructions of Greek national identity in public discourse.

Research Topic

Alex's doctoral project examines how Greek transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people connect with and shape their identities in relation to their Greekness, and how these processes are influenced by migration. Alex applies queer theory and transgender studies to shed light to power dynamics, homonormative national standards and mobility from and towards oppression. Identity formation and its relation to the nation, mobility, gender and sexuality are at the forefront of their project, as is the examination and critique of homonationalism within the Greek socio-political context. Alex's aim is to provide transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people with the platform to express their experiences and counter dominant narratives of cisheteronormativity as the national default, and examine how they navigate the various contradictions of their representations in public discourses. 

Supervisors

Professor Lilie Chouliaraki and Professor Myria Georgiou 

Biography 

Alex (any pronouns) started their academic journey at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece, where they completed a BSc (First Class Honours) in Educational and Social Policy, majoring in special education. Their bachelor's thesis focused on integrating sensory preferences into teaching basic life and social skills to children with severe to profound disabilities. Alex then continued their postgraduate studies at University College London (UCL), where they completed a MA (Distinction) in Human Rights in the UCL Department of Political Science. Their master's thesis focused on the analysis of religious and political discourses around Greek national identity, the representation of LGBTQIA+ identities and the wider implications for sexual and queer citizenship in contemporary Greece. Alongside their PhD journey, Alex is currently working as Research and Campaigns Assistant in the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, where they are focusing particularly on LGBTQIA+ rights, police violence and the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Overall, their main research interests relate to (homo)nationalism and national belonging, religiosity among LGBTQIA+ people, homonormativity, transgender studies, queer migration, sex workers' rights and, more widely, human rights.