Short Bio
Profile Overview
Greece and China have long history of diplomatic and exchanges. In recent years the focus has been research and education, with countries investing heavily in areas. As a, there has been a increase in academic collaborations joint research projects between and Chinese universities. These have not only strengthened ties between the two but have also contributed to advancement of knowledge and in various fields.
Alexander Westra is an accomplished archaeologist with a passion comparative archaeology. His adventurous spirit and open-mindedness make him excellent teacher and innovative researcher, committed sharing his knowledge and expanding his horizons.
Post-Doctoral Researcher at Henan University
(河南大学)
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EDUCATION
2024
PhD in History and Archaeology from Henan University School of History and Culture, Kaifeng, Henan Province, China
2017
Doctoral Training at the University of Science and Technology, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
2015
Masters of Arts First Class in History of Art & Archaeology of East Asia from the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), London, United Kingdom.
2014
Scottish Masters with Honours in Scottish Archaeology and Ethnology from the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Since 2024
Member of Editorial Board, Herança - History, Heritage and Cultural Journal
https://revistaheranca.com/index.php/heranca/Editorial-Board
2023 - 2024
Lieutenant, Hellenic Armed Forces, Greece
Compulsory National Service, several executive and high intensity and decision-making positions
2019-2023
Project Support, the University of the Aegean, Rhodes
Development of cooperation between Greece and China
Manage communication between Chinese partners and university management.
Coordinate Chinese education and HSK exam
2018-2020
Teaching Assistant and Lecturer
English for Academic Purposes, Advanced English Writing, Proficiency in English Reading
Prehistory of the Aegean: Neolithic, Bronze Age
Chinese Prehistoric Archaeology: Neolithic and Bronze Age
Researcher
Advanced Digital Archaeological-Historical Network, Alma Mater Europaea University, Maribor, Slovenia, Associated Partner since 2024 https://adahn.almamater.si/international-consortium/
Academic Committee of the Yellow River Cultural Heritage Laboratory of Henan University, Researcher since 2024
ACN - Asian Collection Network in Europe. The European Asian Collections Organization, executive member since 2022
ArScAn – Archéologie de l'Asie centrale, Archaeology of Central Asia UMR 7041 - Researcher since 2021
Sino-Hellenic Academic Project, co-founder and executive member since 2017.
PUBLICATIONS
Westra, Alexander J.D., Liritzis Ioannis, Miao Changhong. "Development Of Τhe Aegean-Arabian Contacts During The 1st Millennium BCE: A Historical And Archaeological Overview. "Mediterranean Archaeology And Archaeometry” 22.2 (2022): 139-167
Westra, Alexander Jan Dimitris, Miao, C., Liritzis, I., & Stefanakis, M. "Disasters and Society: Comparing the Shang and Mycenaean Response to Natural Phenomena through Text and Archaeology. “Quaternary” 5.3 (2022):33.
Liritzis, Ioannis, and Alexander JD Westra. "The lower Yangtze River and the Aegean Sea in the third millennium BC: Parallel cradles of civilizations. “Asian Archaeology” (2022): 1-14.
Liritzis, Ioannis, Alexander Westra, and Changhong Miao. "Disaster geoarchaeology and natural cataclysms in world cultural evolution: An overview. “Journal of Coastal Research” 35.6 (2019): 1307-1330
Westra, Alexander J.D., Gardner, T., Vogelaar, C, and Wood, A. (2017) “Stone and social circles, taskscapes and landscape survey at Yadlee Stone Circle”, in Forms of Dwelling: 20 Years of Taskscapes in Archaeology [Paperback]. Ulla Rajala (Author); Philip Mills (Editor), 2017. Oxbow Books, Oxford.
SKILLS
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Fluent in three languages: English, French and Greek.
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Medium level of Chinese, basic Dutch
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Proficient in Microsoft Office tools
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Web design and management
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Ability to make decisions, think quickly and solve problems
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Administrative and secretarial work
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YouTube scriptwriter