Yiorgo Topalidis
Professional Profile
Dr. Yiorgo Topalidis received a doctorate in Sociology from the University of Florida in 2022. Yiorgo’s research interests are emigration from the Ottoman Empire to the US and White identity construction, contestation, and transgenerational memory transfer. He is currently working on a monograph that explores the social construction of Ottoman Greek migrant identity in an early-20th-century U.S. context as a case study for decoupling Whiteness from White supremacist Whiteness.
Teaching
Courses Taught:
- Introduction to Sociology
- Race and Crime
- Race and Racism in the US
- Immigration: Global and Historical Perspectives
- Researching US Migration Ideologies
- Contemporary Social Problems
- Sociological Methods
- Urban Sociology
- The Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire
- Nation Building: The Hellenic Republic
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
Publications: Digital Research
Ottoman Greeks of the U.S. Digital History Project
Presentations at Professional Meetings:
2024
The Social Construction of Ottoman Greek Identity in an Early 20th-Century U.S. Context. Sixth International Oral History Conference, Volos, Greece.
2024
“There is no such thing as Ottoman Greeks!”: Lessons Learned from the Whitening Process of Ottoman Greek Immigrants in the US. Ottoman and Turkish Studies Association Conference – Northwestern University, Illinois.
2024
Philanthropic Activities of Ottoman Greek Mutual Aid Organizations: 1918 – 1929. Modern Greeks Studies Association Conference – Princeton, New Jersey
Professional Activities:
2023 – 2026 Oral History Association, Emerging Scholars Committee Member
More Information
Office Hours (On Campus):
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 11 a.m.-noon.