Patricia Patricia Gerakopoulou

Patricia Gerakopoulou holds a Psychology degree and a PhD in Social Psychology from the Psychology Department of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Professor at the Digital Media and Communication Department of the Ionian University, she lectured on Social Psychology and Qualitative Research Methods at the University of Athens (Department of Communication and Media), the University of Ioannina (Department of Psychology) and the University of Crete (Department of Early Childhood Education). In parallel, since 2016 she has been an Adjunct Faculty member at the Hellenic Open University, and an external research collaborator at the National Center for Social Research. As a social research consultant, she collaborated with the Medical School of Athens, the National Technical University of Athens, as well as with academic and research institutions in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, by developing and implementing research proposals and projects funded by EU programs. In 2008, her book "Superman's Children: Life Narratives of Superhero Comics Fans" was published in Greece by Polytropon Editions. She has published articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals (as well as in the Greek electronic press), and she has participated with theoretical texts/chapters in collective books published in Greece and in the UK. She is a member of the Hellenic Psychological Society (Social Psychology division and Media Psychology and Technology division) and a trainee member of the Hellenic Society for Psychoanalytic Group Psychotherapy. Standing in the crossroad between Social Psychology, Media Psychology, Psychoanalysis, Critical Theory and Semiology, her theoretical interests focus on the construction and development of social identity in the context of postmodernity, fandom, and the systematic consumption of cultural products (comics, superheroes, television series, science fiction, digital games, etc.), as well as on psychosocial phenomena related to fans, followers, and media audiences in the digital age.