New Lecturer and Modern Greek program Director

Dear friends of Modern Greek Studies @ Illinois,

We are very excited to let you know that Dr Stefanos Katsikas, a historian of Modern Greece and the Balkans, will be our new Lecturer and Modern Greek Studies Director beginning in August 2012.

Dr Katsikas will join our program from Goldsmiths, University of London, where he has been Lecturer in History since 2009. Previous teaching appointments include University College London, and the University of Nottingham. He holds a BA in History from the Ionian University in Greece, an MA in Southeast European Studies and PhD in Social Science from University College London, UK. His research explores the interrelationship between democratization, post-conflict resolution and regional security in Southeastern Europe and is currently focusing on two projects, ‘Islam and Nationhood in Modern Greece (1832 to 1941), and ‘Transitional Justice after War and Dictatorship in Greece (1949-2000)’. He is the author of numerous articles on Modern Greek and Balkan history, editor of Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities (London, 2010), and co-editor of State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830-1945 (forthcoming in 2012). His recent book, Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria (London, 2011) received a Scouloudi Publication Award from the Institute of Historical Research, University of London.

Dr Katsikas' appointment is the first full-time position in Modern Greek Studies made by our University and represents a major step forward in our efforts to establish a Modern Greek program on a more permanent basis. We thank the College of LAS, the European Union Center, the Department of Linguistics and the Russian, Eurasian an Eastern European Center who worked with us to make this possible.

Dr Katsikas' important new areas of expertise and proven track record in community involvement significantly strengthen our program and we wish him well in his new role. Please join us in welcoming Dr Katsikas to the University of Illinois and to our program!

-- Modern Greek Studies University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 4080 Foreign Languages Building 707 S. Mathews Ave, MC-168 Urbana, Illinois 61801 http://www.moderngreek.illinois.edu