Dr. Maria Ioannou is currently Special Scientist (part-time) at the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). She is currently also lecturer (part-time) of the Law Department at the Alexander College, Larnaca. In general, she has been lecturing at law for 10 years. Dr. Ioannou has an interdisciplinary background, with, on the one hand, degrees in law (LLB, University of Sheffield, 1992) and International Studies (MA, University of Sheffield, 1994) and, on the other, in English (BA, University of London, 2002) and a PhD in Literature and Gender Studies (University of Exeter, 2009). She has publications on literature and gender studies; her current research revolves on how socio-cultural and legal contexts contribute to the formation of gendered identities.