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Dr Stella Bolaki is Reader in American Literature and Medical Humanities at the School of English, University of Kent, and Co-Director of the Centre for Health and Medical Humanities. She has been a faculty member since 2011, after holding positions at the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh, where she also held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH). Her educational background includes a BA from Athens and an MSc and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. BA, Athens MSc, University of Edinburgh PhD, University of Edinburgh Stella’s research spans interdisciplinary fields including contemporary American literature, medical humanities, disability studies, and Black feminist theory. Her work critically examines narratives of illness, chronic conditions, self-care, and the intersection of art and health. She has pioneered research on artists’ books as tools for wellbeing, testimony, and community engagement, particularly in contexts of trauma and social injustice. Her recent publications and projects reveal a consistent focus on expanding narrative forms in medical humanities—moving beyond traditional literary modes to include photography, performance, film, and digital storytelling. Themes of inequality, mental health, climate anxiety, and embodiment recur across her work, especially in her ongoing monograph on self-care. Fellow of the Higher Education Academy Wellcome Trust funding recipient British Academy funding recipient Research England grant awardee Kent’s AHRC Impact Acceleration Account funding Stella supervises doctoral research across a wide range of interdisciplinary topics and has co-supervised a CHASE-funded project on health zines. She contributes to teaching in American literature and medical humanities at the Kent and Medway Medical School. Her professional service includes editorial roles for Contemporary Cultural Studies in Illness, Health and Medicine and the Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies , and leadership in the Eastern Arc Medical and Health Humanities Network and the Kent Medical Humanities Network. She leads public-facing research through creative workshops, exhibitions, and events such as ‘Artists’ Books and the Medical Humanities’ and ‘Mending the Psyche: Art as Reparation’, often in collaboration with NHS partners and community organizations.

• American Literature
• Medical Humanities
• Critical Medical Humanities
• +13 more

Lara Choksey is a Lecturer in Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures in English (1800–present) at University College London, where she is also a Faculty Associate at the Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation. Her research bridges literature, science and technology studies, and political philosophy, focusing on how genomic and biotechnological narratives shape conceptions of human identity and temporality. Education BA in English, University of Leeds (2010) MA in Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths College (2011) PhD in English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick (2017) Choksey’s work interrogates the intersections of colonialism, postcolonialism, and scientific discourse. Her book Narrative in the Age of the Genome: Genetic Worlds (2021) explores how DNA sequencing technologies influence speculative fiction and bioethical frameworks, earning a shortlisting for the British Society for Literature and Science Book Prize. She is a series editor for Bloomsbury's Explorations in Science and Literature . Recent publications engage ecological collapse, racialized environments, and welfare systems, reflecting her interest in transnational narratives and material histories. She has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Exeter's Wellcome Centre for Cultures and Environments of Health (2018–21) and the University of Warwick's Institute of Advanced Study (2017–18). Scientific Awards Shortlisted, British Society for Literature and Science Book Prize (2021) As a supervisor, Choksey guides PhD projects on James Baldwin and visual culture, pandemic fiction in American literature, and Brian Catling's novels. Her professional activities include media engagements on colonialism, soil science, and agricultural history, alongside talks on AI’s colonial legacies and decolonizing literary canons.

• Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures
• Literature and Science
• Political Philosophy
• +5 more

Dr. Jonathan Skinner is a Reader (equivalent to Associate Professor) in English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick's Faculty of Arts, where he researches and teaches ecocriticism, contemporary poetry, and creative writing. He founded and edits the journal ecopoetics , exploring intersections between writing and ecology. His research examines: Ecopoetic theory and environmental literature Intersections of sound studies and ethnopoetics North American avant-garde poetry (Olson, Kyger, Eigner) Translation and transnational poetics Third Landscape theory and urban wildness He leads a research network facilitating cross-cultural poetry exchanges along avian migration routes. Skinner's publications predominantly explore ecocritical frameworks through poetry analysis, with recent work examining climate change poetics, multispecies communication, and Anthropocene aesthetics. His scholarship connects literary studies with environmental science, acoustics, and landscape theory. He currently supervises five PhD students researching multispecies poetics and environmental literature through AHRC-funded projects, and has successfully supervised two doctoral candidates studying deindustrialization and extractive urbanism. Previously supervised MA theses span modernist poetry, ecocriticism, and creative writing.

• Ecocriticism
• Contemporary Poetry
• Environmental Studies
• +4 more

Harry Warwick is a Teaching Professor in Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Literature at the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick. His research focuses on British and American speculative literature and cinema, environmental and energy humanities, and critical theory. Education: BA, University of Southampton MA, University of Southampton PhD, University of Southampton His scholarship examines speculative fiction and film through lenses of energy infrastructure, capitalist enclosure, and utopian/dystopian social worlds. Recent publications analyze Battersea Power Station's symbolism, Marxian interpretations of "cognitive estrangement," and critiques of neoliberalism in media. Scientific Awards: Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship in English Warwick's 2023 monograph Dystopia and Dispossession in the Hollywood Science-Fiction Film, 1979-2017 investigates enclosure theory in sci-fi aesthetics, while his ongoing project A Second Modernity explores energy futures in speculative culture.

• British Speculative Literature
• American Speculative Literature
• Environmental Humanities
• +3 more

María del Pilar Blanco is a Professor of Spanish American and Comparative Literature at the University of Oxford, where she is also a Fellow and Tutor at Trinity College and Associate Lecturer at Worcester College. Her research intersects Spanish American literature with comparative frameworks, focusing on literature and science, spectrality, landscape, and transnational literary exchanges. Research explores popular science writing in late 19th-early 20th century Spanish American periodicals Current book project: Modernist Laboratories: Science and the Poetics of Progress in Fin-de-Siècle Spanish America (Oxford University Press) Supervision interests: literature/science intersections, spectrality, comparative projects on hemispheric American literature Key awards include the British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2017-18) and the Ray and Pat Browne Award (2010). Her publications span spectral theory, modernist studies, Latinx literature, and scientific modernity in Latin America.

• Spanish American Literature
• Comparative Literature
• Literature and Science
• +5 more

Professor Kiera Vaclavik is a Professor at Queen Mary University of London, affiliated with the Department of Comparative Literature and Culture within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. She serves as Director of the Centre for Childhood Cultures. With a PhD from the same institution, her research focuses on children’s literature, material culture, adaptation studies, and fashion’s intersection with literature. Her work bridges disciplines such as postcolonial studies and museum studies, emphasizing global and comparative approaches. Her research explores how stories adapt across media and borders, with a particular focus on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, children’s creativity, and well-being. Notable projects include the AHRC-funded The Alice Sound collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra and the V&A Museum of Childhood exhibition The Alice Look . She has secured funding from organizations like the British Academy and Medical Research Council. Professor Vaclavik has supervised over 14 PhD students, addressing topics ranging from child migration to speculative fiction. Her awards include a REF2021 Impact Case Study and recognition for public engagement. Her publications span monographs, journal articles, and book chapters, with a focus on children’s literature’s cultural and historical dimensions. Her work extends beyond academia through collaborations with institutions like Liberty, Fevered Sleep, and the London Symphony Orchestra, emphasizing creative and public impact. She regularly engages with media and public lectures, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and community outreach.

• Children’s Literature
• Material Culture of Childhood
• Adaptation Studies
• +7 more

Luke Cooper is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he is affiliated with the Conflict and Civicness Research Group. He serves as Director of PeaceRep’s Ukraine programme, leading interdisciplinary research teams across six global institutions and a broader network of scholars in Ukraine and the region. His academic work sits at the intersection of historical sociology, political theory, and international relations. His research interests include nationalism, authoritarianism, democracy, uneven and combined development, conflict, and systemic societal transformation. Dr Cooper’s work combines theoretical innovation with empirical analysis, drawing on both historical and contemporary case studies to examine processes of social and political change. His recent publications explore themes such as the global threat of authoritarian contagion, the historical evolution of national identity in the British Atlantic, and the political imaginaries in science fiction literature. These works reflect a consistent engagement with macro-historical processes and structural transformations in global politics. Authoritarian Contagion; the Global Threat to Democracy (2021) Imagined communities: from subjecthood to nationality in the British Atlantic (2022) Worlds beyond capitalism: images of uneven and combined development in Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy (2021) Dr Cooper has been involved in significant policy advocacy and public engagement, co-founding the campaign group Another Europe Is Possible and co-hosting the Another Europe podcast. He has led projects on Brexit impacts and international solidarity with Ukraine. He previously served as a visiting fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna and has taught at Anglia Ruskin University, Richmond American University London, and the University of Sussex. He leads multiple funded research initiatives, including PeaceRep’s Ukraine programme, which conducts evidence-based policy analysis on Ukraine’s war economy and investigates the broader phenomenon of global fragmentation beyond traditional geopolitics. His work emphasizes transnational interconnections in the defense of national sovereignty. Dr Cooper completed his PhD in International Relations at the University of Sussex, holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from LSE, and a BA in Political Studies from the University of Leeds.

• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Nationalism
• Authoritarianism
• +12 more

Dr Stephen Butler is a Lecturer in English (Modern Fiction) at the School of Arts & Humanities , Ulster University, Coleraine campus. His research spans modern fiction, folk horror, witchcraft studies, and Freudian theory, with a focus on interdisciplinary applications in digital humanities and cultural critique. Affiliation: Ulster University, Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Contact: s.butler@ulster.ac.uk | +442870124539 His research explores intersections between contemporary British/Irish crime fiction and globalization, the psychological dimensions of Banville’s work, and folk horror motifs in digital media like The Witcher 3 . Projects include a creative collaboration on the 1711 Islandmagee witch trials. Recent publications analyze speculative fiction’s role in decolonization discourse, the legacy of Alan Moore and William Burroughs in subverting genre norms, and the Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Literature as an editorial co-editor. Activities include organizing the 'Books Beyond Boundaries' conference (2022) and a collaborative screening/Q&A event for 'The Witch Film' (2022). His work aligns with UN SDGs in cultural preservation and critical discourse.

• Modern Fiction
• British and Irish Literature
• Folk Horror
• +7 more

Rachele Dini is a Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at Coventry University’s CAS School of Social Sciences & Humanities. Her research focuses on intersections between gender, waste studies, domestic space, nostalgia, and advertising history. She holds a PhD from University College London (UCL), an MA from King’s College London, and a BA from the University of Cambridge. Her key works include Consumerism, Waste, and Re-use in Twentieth-Century Fiction (2016) and “All-Electric Narratives” (2021), the latter winning the 2023 Emily Toth Award. She leads the British Academy/Leverhulme-funded project Cleaning through Crisis , analyzing domestic hygiene advertising during socio-political upheavals. Dini also chairs the British Association for American Studies’ Publications Committee and founded the International Literary Waste Studies Network. Her research engages with mid-20th century modernism, postmillennial nostalgia, and queer/feminist reappropriations of domestic practices. She has been featured on BBC Radio and Swiss print media, and her work critiques politico-commercial narratives in literature and advertising.

• Literary and Cultural Studies
• Gender and Sexuality Studies
• Waste Studies
• +5 more

Jane Elliott is a Professor of Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory at King's College London's Faculty of Arts & Humanities, Department of English. She joined King's in 2011 after serving as a lecturer at the University of York (2005-2011) and postdoctoral fellow at Brown University's Pembroke Center (2003-2005). Elliott holds a BA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and MA/PhD from Rutgers University. Current affiliation: King's College London Previous roles: University of York, Brown University Her research explores the intersection of contemporary literature, cultural theory, and neoliberal political economy, with a focus on vernacular theory, political subjectivity, and survival narratives. She has contributed extensively to feminist theory, particularly through analyses of second-wave feminism's legacy and neoliberal personhood in North America and Britain. Recent publications examine speculative time, punitive futurity, and the reimagining of sovereignty in 21st-century aesthetics. Her 2018 monograph The Microeconomic Mode received the British Association for Contemporary Literary Studies' Monograph Prize. Elliott co-convenes King's MA in Contemporary Literature, Culture and Theory and teaches modules on vernacular theory and political violence. Key research areas: Neoliberalism, feminist theory, political aesthetics Major grants: Wellcome Trust project on anorexia nervosa as a reading disorder (2015-2018) She has supervised 7 research projects and maintains active collaborations in critical theory, cultural studies, and political economy.

• Contemporary Literature
• Cultural Theory
• Political Theory
• +4 more

Rhys Steven Jones is a Teaching Fellow in Film Studies at the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds, where he teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules in film studies, screen theory, and world cinema. Previously, he served as Programme Director for the MA Contemporary Literature and Culture at Birkbeck and as a lecturer in Film Studies at Liverpool Screen School, Liverpool John Moores University. His research engages with critical and cultural theory, particularly through the lenses of Marxism, queer theory, and racial capitalism. His work focuses on socio-cultural abjection, theories of disgust, social reproduction, and their intersections with gender, race, and political economy. He draws from diverse cinematic traditions—including queer world cinema, post-millennial representations of waste, speculative film, and post-war European and American cinema—to explore affective and ideological structures in contemporary media. His research spans theoretical and literary texts, including engagements with Afro-pessimism, postmodernism, and Dogme 95, with a current monograph in progress analyzing abjection in global cinema through formal and theoretical critique. Though no articles are currently visible due to technical limitations, his recent contributions include a forthcoming article on abjection in world cinema in LIT: Literature Interpretation Theory and a published entry on 'Racial Capitalism' in The Year’s Work in Critical and Cultural Theory . Scientific Awards: No awards mentioned. He advises undergraduate and postgraduate students on final year projects, dissertations, and independent research. While no formal grants are listed, his scholarly output suggests active engagement in interdisciplinary humanities research. He has previously led postgraduate programs, indicating leadership in curriculum development and academic mentoring. There is no mention of labs or research teams, but his collaborative publishing and interdisciplinary focus suggest integration within broader critical theory and film studies networks.

• Film Theory
• Media Studies
• Contemporary Literary Studies
• +17 more

Joe Sutliff Sanders is a University Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD from the University of Kentucky and has held roles as a junior high school English teacher in Japan and a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Luxembourg. His research focuses on children’s literature’s intersections with form, genre, and ideology, particularly examining how texts like picture books, comics, and speculative fiction address difference and marginalization. Key research interests include animation, children’s nonfiction, comic books, gender studies, and librarianship. He co-leads the Children’s Literature Research Centre and has published extensively on graphic novels, nonfiction, and classic girlhood narratives. Sanders currently serves as Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching and coordinates the first-year Humanities Paper, alongside teaching courses in children’s literature and research methods. His work has been recognized with awards for articles and edited volumes, including the Children’s Literature Association’s Best Article Award (2015) and a runner-up award for his 2008 article on orphan girl novels. Sanders actively contributes to professional networks, serving on editorial boards for journals like Children’s Literature in Education and Extrapolation , and judges the Young Adult Fiction Festival at the American Library in Paris. Recent projects include an open-access collection on comic books and the Global South, a book on comic history and library gatekeeping, and articles exploring children’s nonfiction, Chinese graphic novels, and autism representation in comics. His teaching and research emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to understanding how literary forms shape cultural narratives.

• Children's Literature
• Graphic Novels
• Speculative Literatures
• +4 more

Dr. Kerstin Oloff is an Associate Professor in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, specializing in postcolonial studies, environmental humanities, and feminist theory within Latin American and Caribbean contexts. She has authored Ecology of the Zombie (2023) and co-edited volumes such as World-Ecology and the Global Food System (2021). Her research bridges Gothic aesthetics, eco-criticism, and socio-political critique, focusing on works from Mexico, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Dr. Oloff has organized interdisciplinary events including the 'Ecologies and the Arts' research group (since 2014), the 'World-Ecology Network' conference (2016), and currently directs the Centre for Culture and Ecology. Her work addresses themes like energy humanities, anti-extractivism, and the intersection of gender with ecological crises. She teaches courses on Caribbean ecocriticism, Cuban cinema, and postcolonial debates. Her publications span peer-reviewed journals ( Journal of Postcolonial Writing , Green Letters ), edited collections, and book reviews. She frequently engages with speculative fiction and Gothic traditions to explore socio-ecological degradation and global systems of power.

• Environmental Humanities
• Postcolonial Studies
• Caribbean Studies
• +4 more

Mark Bould is a Professor of Film and Literature at the Faculty of Arts, Creative Industries, and Education (ACE) at the University of the West of England. His research spans science fiction film, literature, and television, with a focus on the Anthropocene and climate destabilization, film noir, Afrofuturism, African speculative fiction, Marxism, and monstrosity. Expertise in science fiction and political cinema Recipient of the 2019 IAFFA Distinguished Scholarship Award and the 2016 SFRA Pilgrim Lifetime Achievement Award Founding co-editor of the Science Fiction Film and Television journal (2007–2017) Co-editor and author of numerous influential works in science fiction studies Bould’s recent publications engage with climate change narratives, speculative epistemologies, and transnational genre cinema. His work bridges critical theory with popular media, emphasizing intersections between science fiction and socio-political discourse. Bould serves as advisory editor for multiple journals and book series, including Science Fiction Film and Television , Comparative Literature and Culture , and the Transmedia monograph series. His teaching focuses on spectacle/action narrative, indie cinema, and professional writing about film.

• Science Fiction Film
• Science Fiction Literature
• Science Fiction Television
• +9 more

Dr. Maria Sledmere is a Senior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the University of Strathclyde, appointed in 2022. She holds a Doctorate of Fine Art in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow, an MLitt in Modernities, and a BA in English Literature. Her interdisciplinary research explores climate emergency, technology, sleep ecology, and post-internet culture through creative-critical methods. Sledmere directs SPAM Press, supporting experimental literature, and co-founded the A+E Collective (2018-2024), addressing climate change through art. Her practice includes poetry collections like Cinders (Krupskaya) and collaborations with musicians/artists. Current projects include Project Somnolence , examining sleep experiences through poetry and workshops. Teaching spans undergraduate/postgraduate levels, focusing on ecopoetics, experimental writing, and contemporary literature. She supervises PhDs in American poetry, ecocriticism, and digital publishing. Recent articles (2024-2025) exhibit trends in eco-art, digital literature, and poetic responses to consumer culture, often employing hybrid forms. Awards include Best Scottish Poem (2020) and shortlists for Saltire Poetry Book of the Year (2022) and ASLE-uki Prize (2023). Sledmere engages communities through workshops (StAnza Festival, Glasgow Science Festival) and digital platforms like her Brilliant Vibrating Interface project.

• Ecopoetics
• Post-Internet Literature
• Dream Studies
• +2 more