Elia Petridou

Elia Petridou is an Assistant Professor (tenured) in the Department of Social Anthropology and History at the University of the Aegean, where she has taught since 2002. Her academic specialization centers on material culture anthropology with dual expertise in food and clothing systems.

Her educational trajectory includes:

• Bachelor's in Business Administration, Athens University of Economics and Business
• MSc in Social Anthropology, University of Edinburgh
• PhD in Social Anthropology, University College London (2001)

Dr. Petridou's research evolved from food studies in Greece—examining production, consumption, and EU policy intersections with ethnic identity and migration—to her current focus on clothing anthropology. Recent work investigates clothing through social theory, bodily movement, museum representation, and migration contexts, with emerging emphasis on humanitarian aid applications and circular economy models. She actively participates in the European Programme Fabric of my Life, which empowers refugee women through textile initiatives.

Her publication record reveals consistent thematic engagement with material culture, predominantly examining Greek societal contexts and Argentine tango phenomena. Key scholarly trends include identity-branding dynamics, globalization effects on cultural practices, and ethical dimensions of consumption, with increasing attention to sustainability frameworks in recent outputs.

Professionally, she serves as treasurer of the Hellenic Costume Society since 2013 and teaches comprehensive courses spanning undergraduate and graduate levels, including Clothing and Culture, Anthropology of Food, and Material Cultures and Ethnographies. Her multilingual capabilities (English, German, Spanish, with basic French and Arabic) facilitate transnational research collaborations.