Crystal S. Rudds is an Assistant Professor of African American literature and culture in the Department of English at the University of Utah, specializing in twentieth-century American and African American fiction, urban life narratives, Black Feminisms, and black geography/ecology. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2016) and MFA in Creative Writing from Indiana University-Bloomington (2004). Her research explores intersections between literary analysis and community engagement, focusing on urban spatiality, public housing representation, and black interiority. She has published works analyzing Frank London Brown and Jasmon Drain's housing narratives, digital archiving practices, and pedagogical identity evolution. Key grant activities include: Gathering, Sewing, Giving: Chronopolitics and Black Women's Quilting (TRIC/Mellon Foundation, 2023) Utah Presidential Leadership Fellowship (2023) Recognitions: David D. Anderson Award for Midwestern Literary Studies (2023) Mary Blinn Poetry Prize (2022) University of Utah Fellowships (2022) Teaching activities feature: Experiential learning with archival documents Historic site visits Performance-based literary analysis Community-focused pedagogy
Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyUnited States
Emily C. Bartels is a Professor of English at Rutgers University specializing in early modern literature and culture, with particular expertise in Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean drama. She has served as director, and is now dean, of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English since 2010, a summer Master's program designed for K-12 English teachers. Professor Bartels received her BA from Yale University and both her MA and PhD from Harvard University. Her academic background positioned her to become a leading scholar in Renaissance literature studies. Her research examines questions of race, cross-cultural relations, gender, genre, and performance in early modern English drama. Professor Bartels is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Shakespeare's Othello and Christopher Marlowe's plays, analyzing how these texts represent cultural and racial difference. She has significantly contributed to postcolonial approaches to early modern literature, revealing how English drama engaged with global encounters and representations of the 'other' during the Renaissance period. Her scholarship demonstrates how early modern writers both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Professor Bartels' publications reveal a consistent scholarly trajectory examining racial and cultural representation in early modern England. Her work spans from detailed analyses of specific plays like Hamlet and Julius Caesar to broader studies of how England conceptualized Africa and non-Christian cultures during the Renaissance. A recurring theme throughout her career is the analysis of how early English drama both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Roma Gill Prize for Best Work on Christopher Marlowe (1993-94) for Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperialism, Alienation, and Marlowe Board of Trustees Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence (1993) School of Arts and Sciences Award for Distinguished Contributors to Undergraduate Education (2008 & 1993) Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching (2008) Solmsen Fellowship at the Institute of Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin (1995) Black Atlantic Project fellowship from the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis Professor Bartels has demonstrated exceptional commitment to both research and teaching excellence. She has developed innovative courses exploring the intersections of literature, history, and cultural studies, including undergraduate seminars on Othello and Hamlet, and graduate courses on Shakespeare Page and Stage. Her administrative role as dean of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English demonstrates her commitment to education beyond traditional university settings. Her fellowships from prestigious institutions indicate successful grant acquisition throughout her distinguished career. Professor Bartels has been actively involved with the Shakespeare Association of America and has collaborated with international scholars like Emma Smith of the University of Oxford. Her work has positioned her at the forefront of conversations about early modern literature, race studies, and postcolonial approaches to Renaissance drama, influencing how scholars understand the intersections of literature, race, and cultural identity in the early modern period.
University of California , Santa Barbara (UCSB)United States
Mary Bucholtz is a Professor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She holds affiliations with multiple departments including Anthropology, Feminist Studies, Spanish and Portuguese, the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, Comparative Literature, and Latin American and Iberian Studies. Her research integrates sociocultural linguistics with anthropological, gender, and social justice frameworks. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley (1997) Bucholtz's work examines how language shapes and is shaped by social identities, particularly among youth, through dimensions like race, gender, and cultural practices. She emphasizes community-centered research , linguistic activism , and interdisciplinary methodologies to address systemic inequalities. Recent publications explore affective agency in Latinx youth, educational equity, and antiracist linguistics. Her collaborative projects often involve partnerships with educational institutions and youth communities in California, focusing on translanguaging , Black language justice , and raciolinguistic ideologies . Grants from the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, and Wenner-Gren Foundation support her research. She co-edited the open-access volumes Decolonizing Linguistics and Inclusion in Linguistics (Oxford University Press, 2024), alongside authoring White Kids: Language, Race, and Styles of Youth Identity (Cambridge, 2011) and Talking College: Making Space for Black Language Practices in Higher Education (Teachers College Press, 2022).
Alaina Lemon is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). She serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies in Anthropology and holds affiliations with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES), the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, and the Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History. Her research focuses on socio-cultural anthropology, performance studies, and visual culture, with expertise in Russia, the Romani diaspora, and post-Socialist states. Education: BA in Anthropology (University of Wisconsin, 1987), MA (University of Chicago, 1988), and PhD (University of Chicago, 1996). Notable awards include the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize (2001), Heldt Book Prize (2001), and a 2023 visiting scholar position at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). Her work bridges historical and contemporary issues, exploring themes like phatic labor, media infrastructures, and affective politics. Recent projects include editing the documentary Tremors (2023) and researching Soviet-era moral projects through studies of Moscow’s Metro and canine-human interactions. Lemon’s interdisciplinary approach integrates performance studies, linguistic anthropology, and critical race theory to analyze cultural dynamics in transitional societies. Grants include a 2019-2024 University of Michigan Office of Research grant for film collaboration and a 2002-2003 International Research and Exchanges Board fellowship. She has authored influential books such as Between Two Fires (2000) and Technologies for Intuition (2017), and her films document Romani experiences and urban cultural phenomena.
Jennifer Gómez Menjívar is Professor and Director of the M.A. in Media Industries and Critical Cultural Studies at the University of North Texas. Her research examines historical and ethno-linguistic movements influencing text production, circulation, and reception across print media, screen cultures, and digital communities. With over 18 years of teaching experience, she previously held positions at international organizations including the UNECE and UNDP. Her scholarly interests span media linguistics, film adaptation, digital activism, hemispheric animation histories, Indigenous sovereignty media, and Spanish-language media. Her publications demonstrate interdisciplinary work bridging media studies, cultural history, and postcolonial theory. Her extensive publication record includes books such as Tropical Tongues: Language Ideologies, Endangerment, and Minority Languages in Belize (2018) and Black in Print: Plotting the Coordinates of Blackness in Central America (2023), as well as co-edited volumes on Indigenous technology and hemispheric Blackness. She received a Senior Research Fellowship at Freie University Berlin for her upcoming work on Indigenous sovereignty media. Gómez Menjívar teaches courses including Introduction to Graduate Studies in Media Arts, Women in Film, and Global Media. She also mentors students in critical media analysis and serves as faculty advisor for media research projects.
Charles Athanasopoulos is an Assistant Professor of African American and African Studies & English at The Ohio State University. His research focuses on intersections of Black rhetorics, media, and culture, with expertise in The Black Radical Tradition, Rhetorical Theory, and Cultural Critique. He earned his Ph.D. in Rhetoric & Communication from the University of Pittsburgh. His work analyzes racial progress, public symbols, and post/Ferguson America through lenses of iconoclasm and critical race theory. Education: Ph.D., Rhetoric & Communication, University of Pittsburgh. Research interests span Black American and Diasporic Cinema, Afro-Caribbean and Greek-Roma identity critiques. He has published in venues like Lateral: The Journal of the Cultural Studies Association and Western Journal of Communication. His 2024 book Black Iconoclasm explores dismantling racial symbols in public discourse. Recent articles address Fanonian thought, anti-racist campus rhetoric, and transnational Blackness studies. His publications critically engage with visual activism, film analysis, and decolonial theories. Current projects include studies on sonic rhetorics in Black women’s music and global race discourses in Mediterranean contexts.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityUnited States
Justin Russell Greene serves as an Advanced Instructor in the Department of English within Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. With over 15 years of teaching experience across multiple institutions, he currently teaches courses in film, literature, and writing at Virginia Tech, where he has been employed since 2019. His academic journey spans various teaching positions at Virginia Tech, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and several community colleges. Greene earned his BA, MA, and PhD in English and Media, Art, and Text from Virginia Commonwealth University. His educational background reflects his interdisciplinary approach that bridges traditional literary studies with contemporary media and cultural analysis. He has also completed professional development certifications in Anti-Racist Teaching and Foundations of Online Teaching at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the intersections of cinema, media, and cultural studies, with particular attention to authorship, celebrity, and gender performance. Greene examines how authors and celebrities construct their identities across various media platforms, exploring topics ranging from Quentin Tarantino's cinematic masculinity to Roxane Gay's digital presence. His work often analyzes the performative aspects of identity in contemporary culture, particularly through fashion, social media, and visual storytelling. Greene's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on authorial identity construction across media platforms. His publications reveal a trajectory from examining literary authors' fashion choices to analyzing digital performances of identity on social media, and more recently to cinematic studies of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Jordan Peele. The evolution of his work reflects broader cultural shifts toward digital and visual media while maintaining a consistent theoretical framework centered on performance and identity construction. Joyce Gentry Smoot Award (2025) for Excellence in Teaching by an Instructor As an educator, Greene has served as a reader on graduate student capstones and has been actively involved in curriculum development and pedagogical innovation. He has participated in numerous professional development activities focused on writing instruction, anti-racist pedagogy, and the integration of AI in teaching. His teaching philosophy emphasizes building student confidence in writing abilities, recognizing diverse student backgrounds, and providing individualized feedback to help students develop their unique voices. Greene is currently working on projects examining Jordan Peele's Nope (2022) regarding point-of-view and gore, as well as speculative adaptations in contemporary US media. His research interests continue to evolve with cultural trends while maintaining his core focus on performance, identity, and media representation.
Matthew Valnes serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Musicology in the Department of Musicology & Ethnomusicology at the University of Maryland School of Music, appointed in Spring 2022. His academic work centers on the intersections of music, identity, and social structures within Black American musical traditions. Education: Ph.D. in Musicology, University of Pennsylvania (2012) Valnes specializes in African American popular musics with concentrated expertise in jazz and funk traditions, particularly examining how post-1965 Black popular music constructs race, gender, and sexuality through what he terms a 'post-civil rights era Black popular music aesthetic.' His research methodology combines critical race theory, gender studies, and performance analysis to interrogate sonic expressions of identity. Valnes actively contributes to public scholarship through commentary on Musiqology.com and the Switched on Pop podcast, bridging academic research with broader cultural discourse. Professional engagement includes presentations at the Society for American Music, Society for Music Theory, Experience Music Project, and Dayton Funk Symposium. His scholarly publications appear in African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal, American Music, and Journal of Popular Music Studies.
James Wilson is the Executive Officer of the Theatre and Performance program at The Graduate Center, CUNY, and holds a Professorship in both Theatre and Africana Studies. He also teaches English at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and is an affiliate faculty member in the Africana Studies Certificate Program. His research focuses on African American theatre, gender/sexuality studies, musical theatre history, and applied theatre pedagogy. Wilson earned his Ph.D. in Theatre from The Graduate Center, CUNY. His notable works include Failure, Fascism, and Teachers in American Theatre (2023) and Bulldaggers, Pansies, and Chocolate Babies (2010), which explore teacher representations and Harlem Renaissance performances respectively. His recent essays analyze queer performance in musical theatre, historical teacher portrayals in drama, and the intersections of race/gender in early 20th-century performance. He co-edits the Journal of American Drama and Theatre and is a Drama Desk voting member. Current projects include studying representations of teachers in performance and examining queer pedagogical frameworks in theatre history.
Dotun Ayobade is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies and Black Studies at Northwestern University. His research focuses on how embodied popular culture shapes community, justice, and activism in postcolonial West Africa, particularly examining the interplay of aesthetics and social performance in Nigeria. He holds a joint appointment across disciplines and has taught at the University of Texas at Austin and Brown University prior to Northwestern. His academic interests include African/Black Performance Theory, African Popular Culture, and the intersection of performance with postcolonial politics. He is currently completing a book on Nigeria’s Afrobeat Queens, analyzing their role in Fela Kuti’s music subculture, under contract with Indiana University Press. This work has earned him prestigious awards, including the University of Texas Continuing Fellowship and Brown University’s Salomon Award. His scholarly contributions span peer-reviewed journals like Dance Research Journal and Journal of African Cultural Studies , with articles exploring topics such as sonic embodiment in Nigerian music and the spatial poetics of protest. He also engages with public discourse through platforms like Africa is a Country , addressing issues like neoliberalism and cultural netizenship. Ayobade’s work bridges performance ethnography, gender studies, and postcolonial theory, emphasizing the agency of marginalized voices in shaping cultural narratives. His research integrates interdisciplinary methods to unpack how performance mediates between individual creativity and collective socio-political realities in Africa and its diasporas.
Allyson Nadia Field is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies and affiliated with The College at the University of Chicago. She is also an Affiliated Faculty member at the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. Ph.D., Harvard University Her research explores African American cinema, silent film, and archival studies. She focuses on how cinema shapes race and gender representation, particularly in nontheatrical and nonextant films. Her work bridges film form, media theory, and cultural analysis. Field’s recent publications examine archival rediscovery, speculative methodologies in film history, and the legacy of early Black filmmakers. She co-edited projects on the L.A. Rebellion and nontheatrical film, emphasizing Black feminist curation and institutional critique. 2024-2025 NEH Public Scholars Grant 2020-2021 ACLS/Burkhardt Fellowship 2019 Academy Film Scholar 2021 National Film Preservation Board appointee She has organized major exhibitions, including the 2023 Sojourner Truth Festival of the Arts, and currently co-edits a collection on the visual afterlives of slavery. Her teaching includes courses on silent cinema, experimental film, and archival theory.
Kihana Miraya Ross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Black Studies at Northwestern University, affiliated with the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. She holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from UC Berkeley in Social and Cultural Studies of Education, African American Studies, and Sociology. Her research focuses on antiblackness in education, Black educational fugitivity, and educational reparations, employing critical ethnography and participatory design methods. Her book project examines the afterlife of school segregation and strategies for Black educational futurities. She co-directed the documentary Stolen School , exploring the closure of Evanston’s Foster School and its lasting impacts. Ross has received major grants from the Spencer Foundation and fellowships from the Ford Foundation. Education: Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Studies of Education (UC Berkeley, 2016) M.A. in Social and Cultural Studies of Education (UC Berkeley, 2011) B.A. in African American Studies, Sociology, and Education (UC Berkeley, 2002) Key Projects: Spencer Foundation-funded research on Evanston’s educational reparations Documentary Stolen School (2023) Awards: 2021 Spencer Foundation Large Grant 2017 Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Ross’s work bridges historical analysis and contemporary activism, advocating for systemic change through frameworks like Black fugitivity. She collaborates with community organizations like Shorefront Legacy Center and mentors interdisciplinary projects on race, education, and spatial justice.
Juan Eduardo Wolf is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Oregon's School of Music and Dance. He holds a PhD in Folklore and Ethnomusicology from Indiana University (2013), alongside degrees in Chemical Engineering and Art Studio from prestigious institutions. His research focuses on music-dance traditions of Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, exploring decolonial methodologies and cultural equity. He directs the Latin American Studies Program and coordinates the World Music Series, which hosts global music performances. His awards include grants from UO's Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies (2018) and Global Oregon (2018). Wolf teaches courses like Decolonizing Music, Music in World Cultures, and directs World Music Ensembles focusing on Andean and Puerto Rican traditions. His research examines how marginalized groups use music-dance to resist colonial legacies, with fieldwork in Chile, Puerto Rico, and Bolivia. He is a core faculty member in Folklore and Public Culture Programs and advises on Latinx Studies initiatives. Notable publications include Styling Blackness in Chile (2019), analyzing Afro-Chilean music-dance, and Un Tumbe Ch’ixi (2021), integrating Afro-descendant ideas into Andean methodologies. His work challenges colonial frameworks and advocates for socially just music science practices. He performs as a percussionist/guitarist in global ensembles and mentors students through experiential learning.
Aida Levy-Hussen is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan's LSA (Literature, Science, and the Arts) College. Her research focuses on African American literature, trauma studies, gender and sexuality studies, and 20th-century American literature. She holds an A.B. from Harvard University (2003) and a Ph.D. from Emory University (2009). Levy-Hussen's work interrogates the intersections of race, memory, and cultural expression. She examines how African American writers engage with historical trauma, particularly slavery's legacies, and explores themes like boredom, affect, and narrative form in contemporary works. Her recent scholarship includes analyses of Ishmael Reed’s postmodern historiography and Spike Lee’s satirical film Bamboozled . She currently teaches courses on African American literature, Toni Morrison, and narrative theory. Her office is located in 3232 Angell Hall, with regular appointment-based office hours. No scientific awards are explicitly mentioned, but her prolific publication record reflects sustained academic impact in literary studies. Levy-Hussen’s writing emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, blending literary criticism with cultural theory, psychoanalysis, and historical analysis. Her book How to Read African American Literature (2016) provides a transformative framework for interpreting post-civil rights fiction.
Tavia Nyong'o serves as the William Lampson Professor at Yale University with cross-disciplinary appointments across American Studies, Black Studies, Performance Studies, and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies. His scholarly practice interrogates the intersections of race, sexuality, and aesthetics through Black queer performance and speculative frameworks. Central to Nyong'o's research is the exploration of affective historiography and the re-examination of 'race' within performance and aesthetics. His work critically engages with racial and sexual dissidence in art, the performative dimensions of museum practice, and Black speculative thought at the precipice of planetary crisis. He actively reframes theoretical binaries between afropessimism and afrofuturism to illuminate Black futurity. His publication trajectory reveals a sustained investigation into Black cultural production, evolving from historical analyses of racial memory in 'The Amalgamation Waltz' (2009) to the queer dramaturgy of Black life in 'Afro-Fabulations' (2018), and culminating in the apocalyptic speculations of 'Black Apocalypse' (2025). These works collectively traverse cultural history, contemporary art criticism, and critical race/gender theory. His scientific recognition includes: Guggenheim Fellow (2024) Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellowship American Society for Theatre Research Fellowship Ford Foundation Fellowship Jacob K. Javits Fellowship British Marshall Foundation Fellowship Nyong'o co-founded the Practicing Refusal Collective and contributes to the Sojourner Project—a transnational Black Studies academy addressing anti-Black violence and Black futurity. As curator at Park Avenue Armory and editor-at-large of 'Social Text', he bridges academic scholarship with public intellectual engagement through editorial leadership of 'Sexual Cultures' book series and multiple journal editorial boards.
