Maria Velioti-Georgopoulos is Professor of «Social Anthropology and Rituals» in the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of the Peloponnese.
She studied History and Archaeology at the University of Athens, receiving a postgraduate scholarship by that University. She then obtained a Master’s and a PhD in Social Anthropology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris.
In the Department of Theatre Studies she teaches courses on "Ritual, Performance and Theatre: Anthropological Approaches", "Folk Theatre", "Puppet Theatre: Multicultural Traditions", and "Ritual and Ancient Drama: An Anthropological Reading". As a visiting professor she has taught at the Universities of Charles de Gaulle- Lille 3 and Strasbourg (France) as well as at the Aalto University-Helsinki (Finland), through the Erasmus programme. She is currently the Director of the Postgraduate Programme "M.A. in Theatre and Society: Theory, Staging and Didactics", where she teaches courses on “Anthropology, Ritual and Theatre: From Sacred to Secular” and on “Research Methodology with a focus on theatre and other performing arts”. She has also served as Vice-Dean at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Peloponnese.
Dr Velioti has done field research across Greece, especially in the Peloponnese and the Argolis region. She has worked as a researcher in the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation and in the General State Archives of Argolis. In 2017, she conducted field and archival research at “Theatre of the Sun” (“Théâtre du Soleil”) in Paris. She has led and participated in numerous research programmes, as well as planned and organized exhibitions and educational programmes in the Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation and other museums. She has, also, collaborated with the Archaeological Service for the permanent exhibition of the Byzantine Museum of Argolis.
Dr Velioti has spoken and served in noumerous academic committees in Greek and international scientific conferences. She is a member of the editorial board of the Department of Theatre Studies’ journal “Theatre Polis”, and previously served on the editorial board of the journal “Ethnographika” and was a reviewer for the international anthropological “Journal of Mediterranean Studies” and several Greek journals and collective volumes.
Her studies have been published in Greek and international journals, in an English-language encyclopedia, in proceedings of Greek and international conferences, in collective volumes and in her books.
She is a member of the Administrative Board of various scientific/cultural organizations, including the V. Papantoniou Foundation (formerly “Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation”-Nafplio), while previously she was a member of the Scientific Committee of the Museum of Greek Folk Art (Athens) and of the Administrative Board of the War Museum branch in Nafplio .
Dr Velioti’s research interests include Anthropology and Rituals, Secular/Political rituals, Puppet Theatre: anthropological approaches, Peloponnese, Historical Anthropology, Material Culture and Museums, Arvanites ethnic group.
