Georgia Aitaki

RESEARCH

My research is grounded in critical perspectives on popular culture, with a particular emphasis on television fiction, reality TV, documentary, animation, and cultural journalism. My current work focuses on contemporary streaming cultures and questions around (un)ethical entertainment. I have authored several articles and book chapters published in international peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, addressing topics such as labor pedagogies, feminist and queer nostalgia, noir television, commercial television production logics, and representations of societal crises, among others.

My doctoral dissertation, 'The Private Life of a Nation in Crisis: A Study on the Politics in/of Greek Television Fiction', offered in-depth analyses of how Greek television fiction since 1989 has reconstructed and negotiated moments of heightened societal tension. The dissertation underscored the significance of examining small, “introverted” television cultures and was nominated for the award for best dissertation in Media and Communication Studies by the Swedish Association for Media and Communication Research (FSMK).

I currently serve as a substitute member of the management team of the Centre for Geomedia Studies at Karlstad University. In the past, I served as Managing Editor for VIEW: Journal of European Television History & Culture.

ONGOING RESEARCH PROJECTS

From Pixels to Peace | 2025-2029

I am participating in the project “From Pixels to Peace: The Role of Visual Communication in Conflict Transformation”, a interdisciplinary initiative coordinated by Prof. Cornelia Bartner (Karlstad University) in partnership with swisspeace, University of Basel, and University of Lugano, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

Despite numerous peace initiatives, conflict, war, and violence continue to dominate both public discourse and academic research. Although scholarship increasingly acknowledges that peace and war often coexist as ways of managing conflict, peace itself remains largely invisible. Meanwhile, images of war and violence evoke powerful emotional responses, reinforcing simplistic, binary narratives that obscure the complexities of contemporary conflicts. Our project seeks to address this imbalance by investigating how peace can be visually communicated in more nuanced and compelling ways. Drawing on concepts such as “everyday peace” and the “local turn” in peacebuilding – which emphasize the significance of local perspectives – we examine visual representations of peace in contexts where it is partial, fragile, and continually negotiated.

For more information and updates on fieldwork and dissemination activities, visit our website.

Toward a (more) responsible media landscape: Ethical challenges and negotiations in Swedish journalism (2013-2023) | 2024-2025

I lead this research project, funded by the Anne-Marie och Gustaf Anders Stiftelse för medieforskning, which seeks to develop an in-depth understanding of the ethical negotiations taking place in (and shaping) Swedish media and journalistic practices. The project examines three key domains where such negotiations unfold: (a) media regulatory bodies, (b) cultural journalism, and (c) documentary film. We aim to produce an overview of how ethical evaluations occur within the Swedish media landscape, encompassing both formal and informal processes through which media professionals reflect on and assess content.

Focusing on the period 2013–2023, the project offers an updated account of how ethical tensions and breaches are articulated, conceptualized, and negotiated. In doing so, it contributes to a deeper understanding of the role media professionals play in upholding ethical standards, fostering accountability, and considering paths toward a (more) responsible media landscape.

I have taught a wide range of media and communication studies courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including media and communication theories, qualitative research methods, contemporary visual cultures, and television and film studies. I currently serve as Director of the Master’s Programme in Geomedia Studies: Media, Mobility and Spatial Planning, an interdisciplinary, international programme that brings together Media and Communication Studies and Human Geography within the broader framework of Geomedia Studies.

Originally from Greece, I moved to Sweden in 2013 to begin my PhD at the University of Gothenburg. Prior to that, I completed an MA in Film & Television Studies at the University of Glasgow and an MLitt in Literary & Cultural Studies at the University of Groningen. After defending my PhD thesis, I taught as a Lecturer at the University of Gothenburg, Örebro University, Stockholm University, and Jönköping University. In February 2022, I was appointed Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies at Karlstad University.

PhD Thesis

2018 The private life of a nation in crisis: A study on the politics in/of Greek television fiction, Doctoral dissertation, Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Gothenburg, ISBN: 978-91-88212-75-7

Recent peer-reviewed articles

2025 Van Belle, J., Aitaki, G., Jansson, M. (2025), ‘Audiovisual fiction and democracy. A systematic literature review.’ Nordicom Review, 46(S1), 55-83.

2025 ‘Stretching authenticity in times of restricted mobility: Transtextuality, place anchoring, and boredom in romance reality show 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined.’ Critical Studies in Television, 0(0). 

2025 Cotal San Martin, V. & Aitaki, G. ‘Everybody Hurts? Reality-Based Entertainment and Mediated Suffering in Sweatshop: Deadly Fashion’, International Journal of Communication, 19(21), 1037-1057. 

2024 ‘Becoming a Netflix nation: Extroversion, exportability, and visibility through a case study of Maestro in Blue’, NECSUS European Journal of Media Studies, 13(1), 242-265.

Recent book chapters

2025 Cotal San Martin, V. & Aitaki, G. ‘“No, there will never be a dictatorship again in Argentina”: Remembering the dictatorship (1976-1983) and empowering the child citizen in Argentinian animation’, in N. Brown (ed.) Radical Children’s Film and Television, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh University Press, 129-142.

2024 ‘Wanna be on top? Labor pedagogies and neoliberal ethics in Greece’s Next Top Model (GNTM)’, in Y. Mylonas and E. Psyllakou (eds.) Class, Culture, and the Media in Greece (Vol. 2), Palgrave MacMillan, 99-119.

2023 Chairetis, S. & Aitaki, G., ‘Repackaging the Past: Commodification, Nostalgia and Feminist/Queer Pleasures in Netflix Originals GLOW (2017-2019) and Hollywood (2020)’, in C. Adamou and S. Petridis (eds.) Television by Stream: Essays on Marketing, Content and Audience Worldwide, McFarland & Company, 175-191.

2021 Aitaki, G., Papadimitriou, L., and Tzioumakis, Y., ‘Locating and Localizing Media Industry Studies: The Case of Greece’, in P. McDonald (ed.), Routledge Companion to Media Industries, Routledge, 107-116.