Ilektra Kostopoulou
Senior University Lecturer, Federated History
323 Cullimore Hall (CULM)
About Me
Elektra Kostopoulou is a Greek-American historian, whose research and publications
address regional histories from the perspective of global queries, viewing them not merely as eccentric old curiosities, but as universal long-term interrogations. Dr Kostopoulou earned a PhD in History with a specialization in late/post Ottoman dynamics from Bosphorus University (Istanbul/Turkey) in 2010, becoming one of the first Greek citizens to complete a relevant doctoral degree at a Turkish state university, additionally earning the university’s annual doctoral dissertation prize. Having completed her previous undergraduate/graduate studies mostly in Greece and France, she was hitherto immersed in, as well as questioned, the Western-European scholarly traditions of Greek-Roman archaeology and history. Thus, her doctoral work and subsequent book project Of Minarets and Minotaurs:The Story of Autonomous Crete (1898-1913), has addressed regional autonomy as an example of the convoluted layers of western colonialism, dynastic mediterranean empires, and nationalism in critical discussion with the diverse trajectories of modern globalization. Following her postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University in 2011, she has moved to the US. She has joined the Federated Department of History in 2016 and has since expanded her teaching and research to
engage with the urgency for humanistic relevance in the age of STEM. Although her unusual academic path follows global trajectories, it is rooted in deeply-regional particularities, which have evolved to become an initially subconscious, yet always genuine, confrontation with the dangerous tropes of epistemological hegemony within the self-destructive limitations of structural authoritarianism.
address regional histories from the perspective of global queries, viewing them not merely as eccentric old curiosities, but as universal long-term interrogations. Dr Kostopoulou earned a PhD in History with a specialization in late/post Ottoman dynamics from Bosphorus University (Istanbul/Turkey) in 2010, becoming one of the first Greek citizens to complete a relevant doctoral degree at a Turkish state university, additionally earning the university’s annual doctoral dissertation prize. Having completed her previous undergraduate/graduate studies mostly in Greece and France, she was hitherto immersed in, as well as questioned, the Western-European scholarly traditions of Greek-Roman archaeology and history. Thus, her doctoral work and subsequent book project Of Minarets and Minotaurs:The Story of Autonomous Crete (1898-1913), has addressed regional autonomy as an example of the convoluted layers of western colonialism, dynastic mediterranean empires, and nationalism in critical discussion with the diverse trajectories of modern globalization. Following her postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University in 2011, she has moved to the US. She has joined the Federated Department of History in 2016 and has since expanded her teaching and research to
engage with the urgency for humanistic relevance in the age of STEM. Although her unusual academic path follows global trajectories, it is rooted in deeply-regional particularities, which have evolved to become an initially subconscious, yet always genuine, confrontation with the dangerous tropes of epistemological hegemony within the self-destructive limitations of structural authoritarianism.
Education
Ph.D.
; Bosphorus University
; History
; 2010
M.A. ; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ; History ; 2004
B.A. ; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ; History ; 2001
M.A. ; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ; History ; 2004
B.A. ; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ; History ; 2001
Office Hours
Wednesdays: 12:00-3:00 pm
2025 Fall Courses
HIST 390 - HISTL PROB THROUGH FILM
HIST 701C - MASTER'S THESIS
HIST 727 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 213 - THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY WORLD
HIST 702 - MASTER'S ESSAY
HSS 404 - HISTORY SEMINAR: 20TH-CENTURY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE AMERICAN SUPERPOWER
HIST 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
HIST 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 701C - MASTER'S THESIS
HIST 727 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 213 - THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY WORLD
HIST 702 - MASTER'S ESSAY
HSS 404 - HISTORY SEMINAR: 20TH-CENTURY INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE AMERICAN SUPERPOWER
HIST 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 701B - MASTER'S THESIS
HIST 725 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
HIST 726 - INDEPENDENT STUDY
Teaching Interests
Comparative/ International Law
Minorities and Population Movements
Digital Humanities
Ottoman History
Eastern Mediterranean History
World History
Minorities and Population Movements
Digital Humanities
Ottoman History
Eastern Mediterranean History
World History
Past Courses
HIST 213: 20TH CENTURY WORLD
HIST 213: THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY WORLD
HIST 325: ST: MIGRATION FROM SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST TO NEW JERSEY - HONORS
HIST 325: ST: SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST
HIST 364: AMERICAN LAW IN THE WORLD
HIST 367: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLMCY
HIST 390: HISTL PROB THROUGH FILM
HIST 390: HISTORICAL PROBLEMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY THROUGH FILM
HIST 653: TOPICS:EURO INTEL &CULT HIST
HSS 404: HIST SEM:
HSS 404: HIST SEM: MIGRNTS & REFUGEES OF MEDITERANEAN
HSS 404: HISTORY SEMINAR: MOVEMENT OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
HSS 404: HISTORY SEMINAR: MOVEMENT OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN - HONORS
HSS 404: HUMANITIES SENIOR SEMINAR - HISTORY
HIST 213: THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY WORLD
HIST 325: ST: MIGRATION FROM SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST TO NEW JERSEY - HONORS
HIST 325: ST: SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST
HIST 364: AMERICAN LAW IN THE WORLD
HIST 367: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DIPLMCY
HIST 390: HISTL PROB THROUGH FILM
HIST 390: HISTORICAL PROBLEMS OF THE 20TH CENTURY THROUGH FILM
HIST 653: TOPICS:EURO INTEL &CULT HIST
HSS 404: HIST SEM:
HSS 404: HIST SEM: MIGRNTS & REFUGEES OF MEDITERANEAN
HSS 404: HISTORY SEMINAR: MOVEMENT OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
HSS 404: HISTORY SEMINAR: MOVEMENT OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN - HONORS
HSS 404: HUMANITIES SENIOR SEMINAR - HISTORY
Research Interests
The Age of Modernity in the Context of Long Term Transformation
Humanities and STEM Pedagogy
History and Law (19th-21st Century)
Centralization and Decentralization in Modern Regional/Global Terms
Humanities and STEM Pedagogy
History and Law (19th-21st Century)
Centralization and Decentralization in Modern Regional/Global Terms