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Christiana Themistocleous

Christiana Themistocleous
  • BA Dissertation Coordinator
  • Departmental Study Abroad Coordinator

 

Areas of interest

Christiana's main interests fall within the area of sociolinguistics and multilingualism.


Her current research explores multilingualism in borderline communities affected by conflict. Focusing on the case of Cyprus, and in particular the Greek-Cypriot/Turkish-Cypriot divide, Christiana investigates how public spaces are socially constructed through the use of multilingual public signs. Using the Linguistic Landscape approach, she investigates identities and ideologies that relate to conflict, migration, displacement, tolerance and social cohesion. Also, using ethnographic approaches, she explores how social actors experience and perceive multilingual spaces.

In her previous work, Christiana studied the representation of multilingualism in the media, as well as social functions of code-switching, focusing on identity construction.

Postgraduate supervision

Christiana currently supervises/co-supervises five PhD students. She is happy to supervise PhD students interested in any aspect of sociolinguistics, multilingualism and language and media.


Teaching

Christiana teaches the following modules:

 

Undergraduate:

LS1ELS English Language in Society

LS2SLG Sociolinguistics

LS2LAG: Language and Gender
LS3DI: Dissertation

Research centres and groups

  • Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism
  • BAAL Multilingualism SIG

Research projects

Christiana’s most recent projects include:

  • Experiencing multilingual spaces in borderline communities affected by conflict: The case of Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots in Cyprus (British Academy/Leverhulme) (Primary Investigator)
  • Multilingualism and identity in Cyprus: Alternating and hybrid identity styles (Council for British Research in the Levant) (Co-Investigator)

 

 

 

Background

Before joining the University of Reading in 2010, Christiana worked for one year as a Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Manchester. Previously she worked as an English Language Teaching Assistant in Seville, Spain.


Read Christiana's research story


Outside of the University, Christiana is also:

  • External Examiner: BA English Language and Linguistics, University of Roehampton.

 

 

Academic qualifications

  • PhD Linguistics (University of Manchester)
  • MA Linguistics (University of Manchester)
  • BA (Hons) English Language and French (Anglia Ruskin University)
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)