Yiorgo Topalidis
Professional Profile
Dr. Topalidis received a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Florida in 2022. His research interests are emigration from the Ottoman Empire to the U.S. and White identity construction, contestation, and transgenerational memory transfer.
He is currently working on a manuscript exploring the social construction of Ottoman Greek migrant identity in an early-20th-century U.S. context.
Teaching
Courses Taught:
- Introduction to Sociology
- Race and Crime
- Race and Racism in the US
- Immigration: Global and Historical Perspectives
- Researching US Migration Ideologies
Research
Area of Research:
- Race and Ethnicity
- US and Global Migration
- Racial Disparities in Education
- Racial Disparities in Housing
Publications: Peer Reviewed Articles
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Topalidis, Yiorgo and Sharon W. Austin. (2023). Documenting Black Faculty Experiences in the "Stop-Woke" Era. For Special Issue of the Journal of Sociology of Race and Ethnicity – Navigating Critical Race Theory. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. https://doi.org/10.1177/23326492231201501
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Topalidis, Yiorgo. Forging an Anti-Racist Praxis: Housing Discrimination against Ottoman Greek Immigrants in Early-Twentieth-Century Portland and Seattle. Journal of Urban History. https://doi.org/10.1177/00961442221101042
Presentations at Professional Meetings:
- “There is no such thing as Ottoman Greeks!”: Mapping the Social Construction of Ottoman Greek Identity through Space and Time. Southern Sociological Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA. April 2024.
- Ottoman No More: “Oi Mikrasiatai Yper tōn Deinopathountōn Adelfōn tōn.” American School of Classical Studies, Athens, Greece. https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/events/details/ottoman-no-more-oi-mikrasiatai-yper-tn-deinopathountn-adelfon-ton, January 2024.
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Whiteness, Not White Supremacy: Lessons Learned from the Whitening Process of Ottoman Greek Immigrants. Yale University, MacMillan Center for Hellenic Studies, New Haven, CT. https://europeanstudies.macmillan.yale.edu/event/whiteness-not-white-supremacy-lessons-learned-whitening-process-ottoman-greek-migrants, April 2023.
Professional Activities:
- 2023 – 2026 Oral History Association, Emerging Scholars Committee Member
More Information
Education:
- Ph.D. Sociology, University of Florida
- M.A. History, Southern Connecticut State University
- M.S. Microbiology, University of Connecticut
- B.S. Biology, Southern Connecticut State University
Professional Awards and Honors:
- 2022 – 2024 Modern Greek Studies Association’s John O. Iatrides Prize for Best Dissertation in English (2022 – 2024).
- 2022 Modern Greek Studies Association Innovation Grant – Mapping Ottoman Greek Migration to the US
Office Hours (On Campus):
- Tuesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. - 11 a.m.