Curriculum Vitae

George TOLIAS

PUBLICATIONS

George Tolias was born in Athens in 1959. He studied at the Sorbonne (Universite de Paris III and Paris IV, 1977-1982). In 1993 he received his doctorate (Sorbonne, Paris IV) and, in 2000, a Habilitation a diriger des recherches (Universite de Nice, Sophia Antipolis). He worked on research projects for the University of Crete (1989-1991), the Athens Technical University (1993-1995) and the Foundation for Hellenic Culture (1993-1995) as academic advisor. Since 1995 he has been working at the Institute for Neohellenic Research / NHRF, where he is currently a director of research. He is in charge of the research programme entitled 'Geographical Culture and History of Cartography', devoted to the historical study of perceptions and representations of space - textual and graphic - and its implications on cultural, social and political history. He is also member of the Institute's research programme 'Modern Greek Literature and History of Ideas'.

His work concentrates on the history of perceptions and representations of Greece and their impact on the construction of Modern Greek identity. His research interests evolved from a focus on philhellenism, early modern Oriental travellers and the notions of Modern Greek cultural identity to a broader concern with the role of geographical representations as social, political and cultural constructs. He has published books and articles on the history of perceptions of Greek space, the history of archaeology, Greek studies, the history of cartography, travel literature and geography.