麻豆传媒

I am Professor of Modern European History at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. I am interested in all aspects of famines; birth control, abortion and fertility in historical populations; popular and modern Medicine in modern Greece; family history; women’s work; identities and experiences of exile of Pontic Greeks from the former USSR; and, more recently, experiences of being a refugee. My research is interdisciplinary, transcending the fields of Demography, Sociology, Human Geography and History. In all my work I have employed Oral History, tackling ‘difficult’ subjects, ranging from abortion, birth control and famine-memory in Greece to identity and exile in the Soviet Union. I am keen to extend the impact of my research to society, especially my research on family history. This is why I have created the offering detailed guidance on how to undertake family history with Greek sources. I have held the Stanley J. Seeger Visiting Fellowship in Hellenic Studies at Princeton University, the George Papaioannou Fellowship at The Gennadius Library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and the Lewis-Gibson Fellowship at Cambridge Centre for Greek Studies, Cambridge University. My research is published in elite peer reviewed journals, such as: Medical History, Population Studies, Journal of Refugee Studies, Journal of Contemporary History, Journal of the Social History of Medicine, Europe-Asia Studies, The History of the Family. An International Quarterly and Contemporary European History.

Areas of Expertise

Modern Greek History, Historical Demography, History of Medicine, Oral History, Abortion and Contraception, Famines, Migration, Memory, Family History, Pontic Greeks.

Qualifications

• BSc Mathematics (Athens, Greece)
• MSc Operational Research (Athens, Greece)
• MSc Demography (London School of Economics)
• PhD Geography (University of Liverpool)

Previous Positions

• Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, 麻豆传媒, 2009-2020
• Lecturer in Modern European History, School of Historical Studies, 麻豆传媒, 2005-9
• Visiting lecturer, MSc in Historical Demography, History Department, Ionian University, Greece, 2005
• Lecturer in Social Statistics, Department of Sociology, University of Crete, Greece, 2004
• Senior Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Southampton, 1999-2002
• Lecturer, Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton, 1995-98
• Research Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, 1993-95

Professional Memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, UK
• British Society of Population Studies, UK
• Modern Greek Studies Association, USA
• European Society of Historical Demography
• Society for Modern Greek Studies
• Greek Oral History Association (EPI)

Administrative Roles and Responsibilities

• Deputy Chair of the NU-Carers Advisory Group, 2020-
• Member of the University Ethics Committee, 2019-2022
• Head of History 2015-18
• Deputy Head of School HCA 2016-18
• PGR Selector, History
• PDR Reviewer, History
• Shortlisting Committees and Interview Panels for RA, Lecturers and Senior Lecturers in History 2015-18
• Shortlisting Committees and Interview Panels for Chairs in History 2015-2018
• Member of the Research Committee of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology 2017-18
• Member of the Executive Committee of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology 2015-18
• Chair of the Board of Examiners, History, 2006-7, 2015-18
• Library Representative 2014-15
• MOF Officer for the School of History, Classics and Archaeology 2009-15
• Degree Programme Director, History 2006-7
• Academic advisor and personal tutor for 30-40 students annually, 2005-
• Managed Research Assistants in 7 projects.

Languages

• Greek
• English
• Basic French
• Basic Russian

Research Interests

• Contraception, abortion and reproduction
• Famines
• Migration
• Memory
• Family History
• Medicine in Modern Greece
• Pontic Greeks

Reviews of my latest monograph

• Garrett, E. Review of Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020), by Violetta Hionidou. Continuity and Change, 36(2) (2021): 257-259. DOI:
• Alain Touwaide, Doody's Book Reviews, August 28, 2020
• Georges, Eugenia. Review of Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020), by Violetta Hionidou. Journal of Modern Greek Studies, 39(2) (2021): 469-473. 
• Theodorou, Vasiliki. Review of Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020), by Violetta Hionidou. European journal for the history of medicine and health, 79(2) (2022): 454–456.
• Bartosz Ogórek. Review of Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020), by Violetta Hionidou. Przeszłość Demograficzna Polski – Poland’s Demographic Past, 45 (2023): 195–99.
• Andrew, Hinde. Review of Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020), by Violetta Hionidou. Social History of Medicine, 2021.

Funded Research Projects

• Stanley J. Seeger Visiting Fellowship in Hellenic Studies, Princeton University, ‘Population movements in Occupied Greece: migration, displacement and their effects, 1941-1946’, £9,138.40, 
• ‘Greek Family History: Digital resources and Experiential Learning’, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, £9,751.92 (2016-9), 
• ‘Creation of a Chair, Research Hub and a Digital Archive in Oral History’, Research Investment Fund, 麻豆传媒, £665,313 (2015-7)
• ‘Inputting nineteenth century Greek nominal Census records’, School of HCA funding, £3,000 (2015).
• Wellcome Trust [082800/B/07/LS/HH (Strategic Award in History of Medicine)] awarded to the Northern Centre for the History of Medicine, £800 for the transcription of 11 interviews conducted in 2011 (2014)
• ‘Conscripts, heights and famines: anthropometric history in Modern Greece’, Faculty Research Fund, 麻豆传媒, £3,825 (2011)           
• ‘Household formation patterns and the welfare of the elderly in eighteenth and nineteenth century Kythira’, Faculty Research Fund, 麻豆传媒, £3,783 (2008)
• ‘Pontic Greeks in former USSR: The experience of exile and 'return to homeland' through an oral history approach’, British Academy small research grant, £4,900 (2007)
• ‘Public health and population dynamics during the 1941-42 Greek famine’, Wellcome Trust, £110,696 for three years, Personal post-doctoral Research Fellowship (advisor: Bernard Harris, University of Southampton) (1998-2001)
• ‘Household Structure of a Nineteenth-century Greek Urban Population: Comparisons over time and across space’, The Nuffield Foundation, £5,000 for three months (1996)
• ‘The Integration of Socio-economic and Demographic Development of Mediterranean Islands’, European Community, 94,757 ECU for 22 months, Human Capital and Mobility Personal Post-doctoral Research Fellowship, (Advisor: Robert Woods, University of Liverpool) (1994-1996)

Esteem Indicators

• Winner of the ESHD 2022 Tamara K. Hareven award for best book in Historical Demography/Family History for the monograph Abortion and Contraception in Modern Greece, 1830–1967: Medicine, Sexuality and Popular Culture (London: Palgrave Macmillan 2020) 
• Co-winner of the 2007 Edmund Keely book award, Modern Greek Studies Association, USA for the book Famine and Death in Occupied Greece, 1941-44. Cambridge Studies in Population, Economy, and Society in Past Times Series, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
• Member of the AHRC Peer Review College 2022-
• Council Member of the British School at Athens 2022-
• Member of the Editorial Board, Journal of Contemporary History,
• Member of the British School at Athens Committee for Society, Arts and Letters 2022- 
• Chair/Member of the Executive Committee of The Society for Modern Greek Studies 2020- 
• George Papaioannou Fellowship at American School of Classical Studies at Athens (2020)
• Visiting Research Fellow at Princeton University, (2019)  
• Assessor for the Greek Research Council ΓΓΕΤ
• Reviewer for over 15 Journals: Continuity and Change; Demography; Demographic Research; History of the Family; Journal of Biosocial Science; Journal of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies; Journal of Contemporary History; Journal of Family History; Journal of Modern Greek Studies; Journal of Population Research; Journal of Religious History; Journal of the History of Sexuality; Population Studies; Social History of Medicine; Social History; Southern European Society and Politics; War in History; AMHA - Acta Medico-Historica Adriatica, The Historical Journal.
• Book proposal reviewer: Berghahn Books, Blackwell, Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Harvard University Press, Palgrave Macmillan
• Research proposal reviewer: Irish Research Council, Wellcome Trust History of Medicine panel, National Science Center, Poland (PRELUDIUM project), ERC, AHRC
• External examiner (PhD: Volos University (2013), Royal Holloway (2025); Southampton University (2008-11))
• Invited speaker/public lectures (selection): ESSHC Belfast (2018), EFACIS conference A Coruna (2017), University of Crete (2016), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales Paris (2016), Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (2015), Mosaic Conference Budapest (2012), Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research Rostock (2010), University of Peloponnese, Greece (2010), Modern Greek Studies Seminars Oxford (2009), Greek Association Seminars Sydney Australia (2009), International Conference on Modern World Famines, University of Melbourne Australia (2009), Fondation des Treilles, Nice France (2003), Oxford (2003)
• Organiser of the Historical Demography strand, BSPS Conference, 1998, 2010 and 2011; Co-organiser of the Recovering Voice Conference with Jennifer Richards and Helen Shaddock, funded by NUHRI, 1^st of June 2017; Co-organiser of 麻豆传媒 European History Seminar seminars, 2018; Co-organiser of the Civil Wars workshop led by Professor Stathis Kalyvas 2018; co-organiser with Dr Eilidh Garrett of the online workshop, Abortion, contraception and family building practices across the First Demographic Transition: new views from Europe, June 2022, BSPS; co-organiser with Dr Dimitris Skleparis of the international conference Greece, Turkey and the past and present of forced migrations, September 2022, 麻豆传媒, supported by BSA, BIIA, GPSG, TPSG and The Society for Modern Greek Studies.

Teaching Roles

Degree Programme Director for History, 2006-7.

Undergraduate Teaching

• HIS1029: Varieties in History (Module Leader)
• HIS1103: History Lab II
• HIS2083: Hunger, disease and death: Famines in History (Module Leader)
• HIS2128: Modern Greece (with a field-trip to Athens) (Module Leader)
• HIS2304: Crafting History
• HIS2306: Famines in History (Module Leader)
• HIS2322: Diversities of Sexuality and Gender in History
• HIS3221: The history of birth control in the 19^th and 20^th centuries (Module Leader)
• HIS3008: Reading history
• HIS3020: Writing history
• HIS3101: Health and death: Mortality in the 19^th and 20^th centuries (Module Leader)
• POL1000: Study skills for politics and history
• HIS3030: History and Society
• HIS2240 Greece from Ancient times to the 21^st century: Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the past (Module Leader)
• Migration (Module Leader)
• Population Analysis I (Module Leader)
• Introduction to Demography
• Fertility, Biology and Behaviour
• Social Statistics (Module Leader)

Postgraduate Teaching

• HIS8061: The Practice of History (Module Leader)
• HSS8026: The History of Birth Control in the 19^th and 20^th centuries (Module Leader)
• HIS8052: Conflict in European History 
• HIS8053: Conflict in European History: case studies
• HIS8098: Research Skills and Dissertation Training
• HIS8107 Independent Study Project
• SHS8127 The Patient in History
• SHS8128 Diseases in History
• Historical Demography

PhD Supervision

• Hannah Reynolds (2022–)
• Rob Granger (2019–25)
• Michail Raftakis (Self-Funded, awarded 2019), Researcher, Department of Economics and Business, University of Sassari
• John Burke (Self-Funded, awarded 2015), Researcher, Commonwealth War Graves Commission

PhD Examinations

• 麻豆传媒 (Geography)
• 麻豆传媒 (History)
• 麻豆传媒 (History of Medicine)
• Volos, Greece (Historical Demography)
• Royal Holloway (Modern Greek History)

• Articles

  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Interdisciplinary History 2026. In Press.
  • Hionidou V. . Contemporary European History 2025, 34(2), 466-479.
  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Refugee Studies 2021, 34(1), 1101-1120.
  • Hionidou V. . Medical History 2016, 60(4), 492-513.
  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Contemporary History 2013, 48(4), 761-783.
  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Modern Greek Studies 2012, 30(1), 103-127.
  • Hionidou V. . Continuity and Change 2011, 26(1), 113-134.
  • Hionidou V. . The History of the Family 2011, 16(3), 217-234.
  • Hionidou V, Saunders D. . Europe-Asia Studies 2010, 62(9), 1479-1501.
  • Hionidou V. . Social History of Medicine 2009, 22(2), 361-385.
  • Hionidou V. . History of the Family 2005, 10(4), 473-489.
  • Hionidou V. . Food and Foodways 2004, 12(2-3), 81-106.
  • Hionidou V. . Population Studies 2002, 56(1), 65-80.
  • Hionidou V. . Annales de Demographie Historique 2002, 2002(2 no. 104), 51-77.
  • Hionidou V. . Continuity and Change 1999, 14(3), 403-427.
  • Hionidou V. . Population Studies 1998, 52(1), 67-83.
  • Hionidou V. . Greek Review of Social Research 1997, 92-93, 31-62.
  • Hionidou V. . Continuity and Change 1995, 10(2), 279-299.
  • Hionidou V. . International Journal of Population Geography 1995, 1(2), 125-146.
  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Family History 1995, 20(1), 67-102.

• Authored Books

  • Hionidou V. . Athens, Greece: Patakis Publications, 2020.
  • Hionidou V. . London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.
  • Hionidou V. . Athens, Greece: Hestia Publishers, 2011.
  • Hionidou V. . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

• Book Chapters

  • Hionidou V. . In: Hionidou V; Skleparis D, ed. Across the Aegean: A Century of Forced Migrations Between Greece and Turkey, 1922-2022. London: Routledge, 2026, pp.151-165.
  • Hionidou V, Skleparis D. . In: Hionidou, V; Skleparis, D, ed. Across the Aegean. A Century of Forced Migrations Between Greece and Turkey, 1922-2022. London: Routledge, 2026, pp.1-16.
  • Skleparis D, Hionidou V. . In: Hionidou V; Skleparis D, ed. Across the Aegean: A Century of Forced Migrations Between Greece and Turkey, 1922-2022. London: Routledge, 2026, pp.193-200.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Stratos Dordanas; Menelaos Charalambides, ed. «Η Μακρά νύχτα της κατοχής». Ανθρώπινες απώλειες και υλικές καταστροφές στην κατεχόμενη Ελλάδα(1941-1944) (The long night of the occupation. Human and material losses in Occupied Greece (1941-1944). Athens: Alexandreia, 2025, pp.97-120.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Filippo Focardi, Despoina Konstantinakou, ed. Greece and Italy after World War II: History, Perceptions, Memory. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2025. In Press.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Marguérite Corporaal & Ingrid de Zwarte, ed. Famines and the Making of Heritage. Abingdon: Routledge, 2024, pp.115-133.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Tönsmeyer T; Haslinger P, ed. Fighting Hunger, Dealing with Shortage. Everyday Life under Occupation in World War II Europe: A Source Edition. Leiden: Brill, 2021.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Alexandros Lamprou, ed. Πρόσφυγες από την Ελλάδα και τα Δωδεκάνησα στην Τουρκία, τη Μέση Ανατολή και την Αφρική στον Β Παγκόσμιο πόλεμο (Refugees from Greece and the Dodecanese to Turkey, the Middle East and Africa during World War Two). Athens: Epikentro, 2021, pp.59-84.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Παναγιώτα Μήνη, Άννα Σταυρακοπούλου, Κωνσταντίνα Γεωργιάδη, Ιουλία Πιπινιά, ed. Υπηρέτριες και υπηρέτες: ιστορικά υποκείμενα και καλλιτεχνικές αναπαραστάσεις στον ελληνόφωνο χώρο (19ος-21ος αιώνας) (Female and male servants: Historical subjects and artistic representations in the Greek-speaking world (19th-21st centuries)). Athens: Papazisis Publishers, 2020, pp.75-95.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Dordanas S; Papanastasiou N, ed. Ο «μακρύς» ελληνογερμανικός εικοστός αιώνας: Οι μαύρες σκιές στην ιστορία των διμερών σχέσεων (The ‘long’ Greek-German twentieth century: The black shadows in the history of the bilateral relationships). Thessaloniki: Epikentro, 2019, pp.199-226.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Tatjana Tönsmeyer, Peter Haslinger and Agnes Laba (eds), ed. Coping with Hunger and Shortage under German Occupation in World War II. Palgrave Macmillan, 2018, pp.203-222.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Fauve-Chamoux, A; Bolovan, I; Sogner, S, ed. A Global History of Historical Demography: Half a Century of Interdisciplinarity. Bern: Peter Lang, 2016, pp.291-300.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Sovic S; Thane P; Viazzo P, ed. The History of Families and Households: Comparative European Dimensions. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2016, pp.47-68.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Demertzis, N., Paschaloudi, E., Antoniou, G, ed. Εμφύλιος. Πολιτισμικό Τραύμα. Athens: Alexandreia, 2013, pp.289-322.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Head-König, A.L. in collaboration with P. Pozsgai, ed. Inheritance practices, marriage strategies and household formation in European rural societies. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, pp.261-282.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Richard Clogg, ed. Bearing Gifts to Greeks: Humanitarian aid to Greece in the 1940s. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp.14-38.
  • Hionidou V. Demographic dimensions in nineteenth century Greece. In: Kostas, K; Petmezas, S, ed. The Greek economy in the 19th century (1830-1914) (in Greek). Athens, Greece: Alexandreia, 2006.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Kreager, P; Schroeder-Butterfill, E, ed. Ageing Without Children: European and Asian Perspectives on Elderly Access to Support Networks. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2004, pp.244-267.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Dyson, T; O’Gráda, C, ed. Famine Demography: Perspectives from the Past and Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.181-203.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Corsini, CA; Viazzo, PP, ed. The Decline of Infant and Child Mortality: The European Experience, 1750-1990. Netherlands: Unicef, 1997, pp.155-172.
  • Hionidou V. . In: Gentileschi, ML; King, R, ed. Questioni di Popolazione in Europa: Una prospettiva Geographica. Bologna: Patron, 1996, pp.245-254.

• Edited Book

  • Hionidou V, Skleparis D, ed. . Abingdon: Routledge, 2026.

• Online Publication

  • Hionidou Violetta. Greece: History Repeating Itself?. 2012. Available at: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:xKLffD5MXaMJ:www.historyworkshop.org.uk/greece-history-repeating-itself/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk.

• Reviews

  • Hionidou V. . Journal of Modern Greek Studies 2018, 36(1), 226-232.
  • Hionidou V. . Cultural and Social History 2014, 11(1), 140-142.
  • Hionidou V. . Labour History Review 2010, 75(1), 132.
  • Hionidou V. . American Historical Review 2007, 112(5), 1644-1645.
  • Hionidou V. Black ’47 and beyond: The Great Irish famine in History, Economy, and Memory. By Cormac O’ Gráda. Population Studies 2000, 54(1), 123.
  • Hionidou V. A new social atlas of Britain. By D. Dorling. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A 1997, 160(1), 157-8.
  • Hionidou V. The making of the Modern Greek family: Marriage and exchange in nineteenth-century Athens. By P. Sant Cassia with C. Bada. History and Computing 1992, 4(3), 228-229.