Alex Billinis

Alex Billinis is a Ph.D. candidate in Clemson University’s Digital History Program and a full-time Lecturer in the Political Science Department and Honors College. He coordinates the Dixon Fellows Program in the Clemson Honors College. His academic journey includes a BSFS from Georgetown University (1991), a JD from American University Washington College of Law (1997), and an MA in History from Clemson University (2022). His research focuses on U.S. History, particularly the Atlantic World and the cotton economy of the Southern United States, with a specific interest in Greek cotton merchants’ roles in 19th-century trade networks spanning the U.S., Europe, and the Mediterranean. Prior to academia, he worked in commercial real estate, legal/journalism, and international banking across the U.S. and Europe. Fluent in multiple languages, he is a dual U.S.-Greek citizen and has two teenage children.

• Education:
• Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS), Georgetown University, 1991
• Juris Doctor (JD), American University Washington College of Law, 1997
• Master of Arts in History, Clemson University, 2022

His research emphasizes the intersection of capitalism, transnational networks, and identity, as seen in his master’s thesis on the Greek merchant marine’s role in shaping Greek national identity. Current projects explore Greek involvement in the antebellum South’s cotton trade, linking economic systems with geopolitical dynamics.

No academic awards or publications are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.