Paraskevas Potiropoulos was born in Nikaia, Piraeus in 1967. After receiving his teacher’s degree from the Ralleio Pedagogical Academy of Piraeus in 1987, he then graduated from the Philosophy of Pedagogical Psychology department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1991, specializing in Psychology. He completed his Master’s Studies in the Department of Folklore and Social Anthropology of the Department of History and Archeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in 1998 with honors and master’s thesis: “From the “lost homelands” to his homeland Today: Nea Michaniona Thessaloniki”, supervisor: Eleonora Skouteri – Teacher. In 2007, he was awarded a PhD in Folklore from the University of Ioannina, with a grade of “excellent” and thesis topic: “Cultural identities in Pindos”, supervisor: Vassilis Nitsiakos. To complete his thesis, he received a scholarship from the State Scholarship Foundation (I.KY.) succeeding in the 2001 exams (Domestic Scholarship Program, Popular Culture specialization).
He worked as a researcher in programs of the Department of Folklore and Social Anthropology of the University of Athens. from 1992 to 1996 concerning ethnographic research in Nea Michaniona in Thessaloniki and in the area of Edessa and for the ethnographic documentation of the Folklore Museum in the city of Veria (organization and direction of research: Mr. E. Skouteri-Didaskalou, social anthropologist), as well also in the classification of archival material at the Study of Folklore and Social Anthropology of the Department of History and Archaeology, of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He served as a teacher from 1997 to 2009, substitute in 1997 and permanent since 1998.
At the Folklore Center of the Academy of Athens, he initially served as a seconded teacher from 2005 to 2008. In 2009, he was elected Tier 4 Researcher at the Research Center of Greek Folklore of the Academy of Athens, while in 2013, after being elected, he was promoted to Tier 3, where he serves until today. On-site ethnographic research and the documentation of ethnographic and folklore material is his main occupation at the Folklore Center.
His scientific interests and correspondingly his research work and related material publications focus on the organization of space and local identities, traditional structures and their transformation, the study of material culture and cultural technology, oral history, refugees borders and border areas, cultural policies, epistemology and research methodology, while part of his research activity concerns ethnographic documentation for the creation of ethnographic museum collections.