Savvas Skoufaridis is a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for History researching how public discourse on male sexuality in Cyprus between 1939 and 1974 intersected with tensions between colonial rule and the construction of national identity. His academic interests include the social, ideological, and religious forces that have shaped sexual identities, social norms, individual subjectivities, and cultural boundaries, with particular attention to the ways institutional and non-institutional sexual discourses interact with colonialism and nation-building. The primary sources he examines include the press (both secular and ecclesiastical), oral testimonies, legislative provisions, and (rarely) literature.

More information about Savvas Skoufaridis

Research

This research investigates how public discourse on male sexuality in Cyprus between 1939 and 1974 was intertwined with the tensions between colonialism and the preservation of national identity. The research focuses on how British legal and administrative structures, Orthodox morality, and nationalist ideology  interacted to shape perceptions of male sexuality. It will further explore how colonial discourses on morality  and civilization influenced Cypriot society’s understanding of sexual behavior, masculinity, and deviation, as well as how these notions were rearticulated in the early post-colonial era.

Fields of interest

• History of Sexuality
• Gender History
• Social History
• Cultural History

Curriculum vitae

Savvas Skoufaridis holds a BA in History and Archaeology from the University of Cyprus (2023), where he graduated first in his class (both within the Department of History and Archaeology and the Faculty of Letters) with a GPA of 9.62/10. He completed his MA in Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Cyprus in 2025, achieving the same GPA (9.62/10). As part of his MA, he conducted and successfully defended his thesis, "The Position of Homosexual Men and the Perception of Their Sexuality in Cyprus (1925–1960)," for which he was awarded the grade 'Excellent'; the thesis is published on the University of Cyprus website. In 2024, he attended the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens as an Erasmus+ visiting graduate student (February–July 2024), participating in the postgraduate programme in Modern and Contemporary History and History of Art (Grade: 'Excellent').