Saffo Papantonopoulou

About Saffo Papantonopoulou

My research traces the transformation of various sexual epistemes in the Balkans and Middle East, with a focus on both male (homo)eroticism and the transgender woman's body. While my research is ethnographic, it is grounded in historical research on sexual pre/modernity in the Islamicate world. 

Selected Publications

"'Even A Freak Like You Would Be Safe in Tel Aviv': Transgender Subjects, Wounded Attachments, and the Zionist Economy of Gratitude" in Women's Studies Quarterly, Special Issue: Debt. Volume 42: 1 & 2. 278-293.

"Thrice A Stranger: Hellenism, Kemalism, Zionism," in Athens Institute for Education and Research paper series.

"When Are You Not An Anthropologist?" in Arizona Anthropologist.

Courses Taught

As instructor of record:

MENA/ANTHRO 389: Middle Eastern Ethnic and Religious Minorities

As TA:

ANTHRO 160A: Patterns in Prehistory/ World Archaeology

ANTHRO 150B: Many Ways of Being Human

MENA 160A: Middle Eastern Humanities

Areas of Study

Historical Anthropology - Gender and Sexuality - Transgender Studies - Colonialism and Imperialism - Nationalism - Historical Memory - Ottoman history - Greek-Turkish relations - Neoottomanism - Modernity - Temporality

Keywords: transgender, sexuality, temporality, moderity, nationalism, Balkans, Ottoman