Lillie Padilla is an Assistant Professor of Spanish Linguistics at Sam Houston State University's Department of World Languages and Cultures. Holding a Ph.D. and M.A. in Spanish Linguistics from Arizona State University alongside a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ghana, her research explores interdisciplinary connections between: Afro-Latinx representation in educational materials Discourse analysis and language ideologies Sociolinguistic studies in Equatorial Guinea Critical race theory applications in language teaching Her work focuses on Spanish subject pronoun expression patterns in multilingual contexts and curriculum development for inclusive pedagogy. Recent publications examine: Representation gaps in Spanish language textbooks Methodological challenges in Equatorial Guinea research Critical discourse analysis of Netflix's Elite series Intersectional representation of Afro-Latinx women Scientific achievements include: Finalist for American Association of Linguistics 2025 award for co-edited volume Representation, Inclusion and Social Justice in World Language Teaching Padilla's research continues to shape conversations about linguistic diversity and marginalized voices in language education through both empirical studies and theoretical frameworks.
Jonathan Rosa is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education, Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and, by courtesy, Departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature at Stanford University. He serves as Director of Stanford's Program in Chicanx-Latinx Studies and has held leadership positions including President of the Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists of the American Anthropological Association. Dr. Rosa's educational background includes: Ph.D. in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2010) M.A. in Sociocultural and Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Chicago (2006) B.A. in Linguistics and Educational Studies from Swarthmore College (2003) Dr. Rosa's research examines the co-naturalization of language and race as a key feature of modern governance, tracking colonially structured interrelations among racial marginalization, linguistic stigmatization, and institutional inequity. His scholarship centers on raciolinguistic ideologies, Latinx studies, and educational justice, with a community-based approach that develops tools for challenging systemic vulnerability. He investigates how race and language are jointly defined across historical, geopolitical, and institutional contexts, with particular focus on Latinx communities and educational settings. His recent publications demonstrate a consistent thematic focus on decolonizing linguistic and educational frameworks, challenging standard language ideologies, and examining the intersections of race, language, and power. The work spans multiple disciplines including sociolinguistics, anthropology, education, and critical race studies, increasingly emphasizing undoing raciolinguistics and addressing coloniality in language education and assessment practices. Dr. Rosa has received numerous prestigious awards for his scholarship: Distinguished Summer Scholar, Banks Center for Educational Justice, University of Washington College of Education (2024) Outstanding Book of the Year Award for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," American Association of Teaching and Curriculum (2022) First Book Award for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," American Association for Applied Linguistics (2021) Prose Award for Excellence in Language & Linguistics for "Looking like a Language, Sounding like a Race," Association of American Publishers (2020) Charles A. Ferguson Award for Outstanding Scholarship, Center for Applied Linguistics (2018) Dr. Rosa actively mentors doctoral students across multiple programs, serving as primary advisor for students researching race, ethnicity, language, and education. His research has been supported by major grants from the National Science Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and Ford Foundation. He collaborates extensively with community organizations, particularly in Chicago, to develop educational approaches grounded in decolonial praxis, focusing on how scholarship can serve as a platform for social transformation. Dr. Rosa co-directed Stanford's Center for Global Ethnography (2021-2023) and directed Stanford's Program in Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies (2020-2023). He serves on multiple editorial boards including Current Anthropology and Equity & Excellence in Education, and has held leadership positions in professional organizations including President of the Association of Latina/o and Latinx Anthropologists (2020-2022).
Claire Bowern is Professor of Linguistics at Yale University specializing in historical linguistics, language documentation, and Australian Indigenous languages. Her research employs computational phylogenetics to study language evolution and supports language revitalization through digital archives and fieldwork methodologies. Recent publications address: Phylogenetic signal in lexical evolution across language families Digital infrastructure for endangered language documentation (FLEx software analysis) Decolonizing linguistics pedagogy and research practices Her work consistently integrates linguistic, anthropological, and computational approaches to analyze language diversity and change. She contributes to global databases including Grambank and D-PLACE, examining links between linguistic, cultural, and environmental patterns.
University of California, Los AngelesUnited States
H. Samy Alim is a Professor and David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair in the Division of Social Sciences at UCLA, holding a joint appointment in the Department of Anthropology. He serves as Associate Director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and leads the UCLA Hip Hop Initiative. Alim’s research focuses on Hip Hop Culture, Black Language, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, with over 25 years of scholarship in these areas. His work bridges academia and activism, emphasizing Hip Hop’s transformative role in global social justice movements. Alim earned his PhD in Anthropology from Stanford University (2003), following MA (2002) and BA (1999) degrees. His academic contributions include twelve authored/edited books, such as Freedom Moves (2023) and Articulate While Black (2012). His research spans Hip Hop’s linguistic innovations, racialized language politics, and its pedagogical potential in education. Key projects include ethnographic studies in Cape Town, South Africa, and collaborative initiatives like the UC Press Hip Hop Studies Book Series. He co-edits the Oxford Handbook of Language and Race and directs the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Language. Alim has engaged with global Hip Hop artists (e.g., Chuck D of Public Enemy) to co-produce knowledge, emphasizing Hip Hop as a site of theorizing and activism. His teaching and research highlight intersections of language, race, and power, advocating for pedagogies that sustain cultural identities while fostering equity. Collaborations with organizations like Heal the Hood in South Africa reflect his commitment to community-driven scholarship.
Ramsey McGlazer is an Associate Professor specializing in twentieth-century European and Latin American literature, film, and critical theory. His research engages with poetry, politics-aesthetics intersections, critical carceral studies, and feminist/queer/psychoanalytic frameworks. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Critical Theory from UC Berkeley (2015) and previously taught at the University of St Andrews and Brown University’s Pembroke Center. McGlazer’s work interrogates modernist critiques of progress, radical psychiatry movements, and the interplay between aesthetic practices and institutional critique. His acclaimed monograph Old Schools: Modernism, Education, and the Critique of Progress (2020) won the American Association for Italian Studies First Book Prize. Current projects include The Clinic and its Double , exploring mid-century radical psychiatry and avant-garde art. He serves as Senior Editor of Critical Times and Coeditor of Italian Culture , and has translated key works like Rita Segato’s The War Against Women . McGlazer’s writing appears in venues such as Los Angeles Review of Books and n+1 . Research interests span Surrealist provocations, Brazilian artist Lygia Clark’s propositions, and transnational feminist solidarities. His scholarship bridges literary analysis with critical engagements in carceral studies, postcolonial theory, and decolonial thought.
Maile Arvin is a Kanaka Maoli feminist scholar and Assistant Professor at the Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research and teaching focus on Indigenous relationships to land, histories of race and settler colonialism in Hawaiʻi, Oceania, and the United States. Previously, she was faculty in History and Gender Studies at the University of Utah and founding director of the Center for Pasifika Indigenous Knowledges. PhD in Ethnic Studies, University of California San Diego (2013) MA in Ethnic Studies, University of California San Diego (2009) BA in English, Swarthmore College (2005) Her research examines: Colonial production of racial categories, particularly Polynesians as an 'almost white race' in historical social science History of incarceration of Native Hawaiian children in government institutions (1865–1960s) Intersection of settler colonialism and Indigenous feminisms Critique of eugenics and genomic studies in the Pacific Community-engaged memorialization projects in Hawaiʻi Recent scholarly trends include analyses of Indigenous sovereignty, critiques of settler colonial whiteness, and interdisciplinary studies of race-gender dynamics. Arvin's publications explore Polynesian racialization, decolonial feminism, and the socioeconomic impacts of colonial institutions. NEH Chair's Grant for Nā Lei Poina ʻOle ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant Arvin leads Nā Lei Poina ʻOle (Beloved Children Never Forgotten), a community history project about reformatories and industrial schools in Hawaiʻi. In collaboration with Kawela Farrant and the North Shore Community Land Trust, this project uses archival and oral histories to confront the legacy of child incarceration. She also critiques the nonprofit-industrial complex's role in limiting Indigenous sovereignty.
David Glovsky serves as Assistant Professor of History and African and African American Studies within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, focusing on 19th-20th century West Africa with regional expertise in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. His research examines borderlands through lenses of mobility, citizenship, and alternative geographies, challenging state-imposed borders with community-driven spatial narratives. His educational foundation includes a B.A. in History and Human Geography from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in African History from Michigan State University. Prior academic appointments include the Department of Africana Studies at University at Albany and the Department of History at Boston University, following Peace Corps service in southern Senegal that redirected his career from sports media into academia. Glovsky's research program centers on social justice-oriented historical narratives of marginalized West African communities, particularly Fulbe populations. His work synthesizes oral histories and archival research across six nations to analyze how borderland residents construct fluid geographies that transcend colonial/postcolonial boundaries. Key themes include migration as resistance , gendered border experiences , and Islam's role in transnational community formation , with methodological innovation in spatial history and decolonial approaches. Analysis of his nine recent publications (2019-2023) reveals consistent engagement with West African borderland resilience , demonstrating how communities maintain cross-border networks despite state fragmentation. His work bridges historical scholarship and contemporary migration debates , employing interdisciplinary frameworks from anthropology, geography, and postcolonial theory to document alternative spatial organizations that challenge Western cartographic traditions. ACLS Fellowship supporting book project Borderlanders: Popular Geographies, Mobility, and Belonging in West Africa Glovsky actively mentors graduate students interested in African history, emphasizing pathways for underrepresented scholars into U.S. academia. His research has received competitive external funding including the ACLS Fellowship, while his collaborative work on the NEH ‘Ajamī Project advanced accessibility of Pulaar manuscripts through digitization and multilingual translation. He maintains strong community ties with West African scholars and institutions, particularly in Senegambia. Though not leading a formal laboratory, Glovsky collaborates with international research teams across West Africa on borderland studies and manuscript preservation, working closely with scholars in Kolda (Senegal), Dakar, and Guinea-Bissau to document community histories through participatory methodologies.
Salikoko S. Mufwene is the Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. He holds additional appointments on the Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, and African Studies. His research integrates ecological perspectives into evolutionary linguistics, focusing on language contact, creole genesis, language endangerment, and the impact of colonization and globalization on linguistic diversity. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1979) Key Themes: Language evolution, creole languages, population structure, decolonial linguistics, language policy Mufwene’s work emphasizes the role of population dynamics in language change, drawing parallels with biological evolution. His recent articles examine topics such as the cultural-artifact nature of language, the ecological drivers of creole hybridization, and the decolonization of linguistic paradigms. He has also contributed extensively to debates on language endangerment and multilingualism in super-diverse societies. Scientific Awards: Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2018) Fellow, American Philosophical Society (2022) Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) Collège de France lectures (2003, 2023-24) Summer Institute of the Linguistic Society of America (1999, 2005, 2015, 2017)
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.
Marisol De La Cadena is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis, with affiliations in Science and Technology Studies (STS). Her work bridges anthropology, political theory, and environmental thought, focusing on ontological divergence and multispecies relations in Latin America, particularly in Peru and Colombia. Department: Department of Anthropology School: College of Letters and Science University: University of California, Davis Email: mdelac@ucdavis.edu Office: Young Hall 315 Her research centers on the intersection of modern politics and non-modern or ahistorical ontologies, especially through what she calls "ontological openings." Drawing from deep ethnographic engagement with Quechua-speaking interlocutors in the Andes, she explores how earth-beings, humans, and nonhumans co-constitute worlds that exceed Western categories. Her theoretical contributions challenge conventional boundaries between nature and culture, history and timelessness, and politics and cosmology. Her recent fieldwork in Colombia examines human-cow relations on cattle ranches and in veterinary schools, situating these practices within broader ecological crises and post-conflict transitions. Her publications reveal a consistent interest in how ethnographic concepts function as both empirical observations and theoretical tools. The body of her work, including key articles like "Uncommoning Nature" and "Runa: Human but not only," reflects a deep commitment to rethinking anthropological method and theory. Her research trends emphasize ontological politics, multispecies ethnography, and the decolonization of knowledge, contributing significantly to contemporary debates in STS and anthropology. Her scientific honors include: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (2008) Lewis H. Morgan Lecture Series Invited Speaker, University of Rochester (2011) Invited Researcher, Center for Advanced Studies, Norwegian Academy of Sciences (2015) Guest Speaker, Mellon-Sawyer Seminar, University of Cape Town (2010) She has been principal investigator on several major grants, including the John E. Sawyer Mellon-Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures (2012–2016), a Wenner-Gren Conference Support Grant (2009–2010), and multiple research fellowships from the Guggenheim, Wenner-Gren, and American Philosophical Societies. These grants have enabled collaborative, transdisciplinary research on cosmopolitics, indigeneity, and the anthropology of worlds. She is affiliated with research initiatives such as the Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures and contributes to global academic networks in anthropology and STS. Her work fosters dialogue between indigenous thought, continental philosophy, and ethnographic practice, creating spaces for alternative modes of knowing and being.
Inés Valdez is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. Her research bridges critical race and feminist theory with analyses of migration, transnationalism, empire, and racial capitalism. She has held fellowships from the Humboldt Stiftung, Global Arts & Humanities Society of Fellows, and the Princeton University Center for Human Values. Her 2023 book Democracy and Empire rethinks popular sovereignty through the Black radical tradition, winning the T.V. Paul Best Book Award. Earlier work includes Transnational Cosmopolitanism (2019), which redefines cosmopolitanism through global structures of domination. Her scholarship critiques empire's entanglement with democratic systems, emphasizing ecological responsibility and transnational solidarity. Recent publications explore anti-imperial sovereignty, Du Bois's ecological critiques, and Latinx political thought. She has contributed to journals like Contemporary Political Theory and Review of Politics , and her blog post Undoing Empire's Hold on Democracy (2024) addresses contemporary political crises. Valdez co-authored influential articles on migration politics and Kantian philosophy's racial dimensions. Her work integrates political theory with anticolonial praxis, advocating for transformative frameworks that challenge global hierarchies. She advises on transnational solidarity strategies and serves as a leading voice in decolonial and critical race studies.
Jiwon Min serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Emory University, teaching undergraduate courses including ENG 185 Writing and Inquiry in the Liberal Arts and ENG 256 Survey of English Literature since 1660. Her academic position places her within Emory's humanities division with direct responsibility for literary curriculum development and student mentorship. Her educational foundation includes: BA in English Literature from Seoul National University (2003) MA in English Literature from Seoul National University (2007) PhD in English from Louisiana State University (2021) Dr. Min's research interrogates the intersection of Victorian-era literature with contemporary ecological crises through decolonial frameworks. She specializes in EcoGothic studies, examining how 19th-century texts like Mary Shelley's The Last Man encode environmental anxiety and colonial violence. Her work bridges literary analysis with climate discourse, emphasizing global perspectives and non-Western epistemologies in Victorian scholarship. Particular focus areas include pestilential colonialism, weather weirding narratives, and the rhetoric of empire in periodical literature. Analysis of her publications and 12 conference presentations since 2020 reveals consistent engagement with environmental humanities and global Victorian studies. Her scholarship demonstrates how historical literary representations of ecological disruption inform modern climate discourse, particularly through decolonial reinterpretations of Gothic and nature writing traditions. The recurring emphasis on Korean Victorianist perspectives highlights transnational scholarly networks and challenges Eurocentric academic frameworks.
Carlos Jáuregui is Professor of Spanish at the University of Notre Dame, with concurrent appointments in Anthropology and faculty fellowships at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Institute of Latino Studies. His research focuses on colonial Latin American cultural studies, biopolitics, and visual culture, bridging literary analysis with historical anthropology. Education includes: Ph.D. Hispanic Languages and Literatures, University of Pittsburgh (2001) Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh (2000) M.A. Spanish American Literature, West Virginia University (1997) Law Degree, Universidad Externado de Colombia (1993) Research explores colonial power dynamics through frameworks like biopolitics and postcolonial theory, examining how historical narratives conceal violence while invoking spectral 'returns' of suppressed alterity. Recent work analyzes visual sovereignty in revolutionary iconography (e.g., Emiliano Zapata) and theological justifications of Spanish colonialism. Publications consistently engage with paradoxes of memory, resistance, and representation across 500 years of Latin American cultural production. Awards highlight transnational recognition: 2024 Emiliano Zapata Catedra distinction 2023 Dolores Huerta Book Award Premio Casa de las Américas (2005) Multiple Fulbright and NEH fellowships Advising includes doctoral students now faculty at University of Florida, Concordia College, Carleton College, and Furman University. Current book projects examine colonial renegades in Yucatán and monumental forgetting of Hernán Cortés in Mexico (1524-2024).
Anupama Rao is Professor of History and MESAAS (Institute for Comparative Literature and Society) at Columbia University, with affiliations in Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Human Rights. She is based at Barnard College, where she holds office hours and engages in interdisciplinary teaching and research. Her educational background includes a B.A. with honors from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from the Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History at the University of Michigan. Rao’s research spans South Asian history and anthropology , gender and sexuality studies , caste and race , social theory , comparative urbanism , and colonial genealogies of human rights . She is known for her groundbreaking work on anti-caste thought, particularly the political philosophy of B. R. Ambedkar, and for theorizing caste subalternity in modern India. Her scholarship critically examines the intersections of caste, gender, urban space, and political subjectivity. Her recent and ongoing publications reflect a deep engagement with global racisms, Cold War humanism, and justice futures. Key themes across her articles include Dalit aesthetics, subaltern urbanism, affirmative action, and the transnational dimensions of caste. Her work shows a consistent trend toward interdisciplinary, postcolonial, and decolonial frameworks that challenge Western-centric epistemologies. Fellow-in-Residence, National Humanities Center (2008–2009) Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford (2010–2011) Fellow, REWORK, Humboldt University, Berlin (2014–2015) Global Humanities Institute Awardee, CHCI (2023) Rao has served as Senior Editor of Comparative Studies in South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (2012–2021), President of the Society for the Advancement of the History of South Asia (SAHSA), and member of the South Asia Council of the Association for Asian Studies. She is Principal Investigator for the Mellon-funded Global Humanities Institute project Global Racisms, Cold War Humanism, and Just Futures (2022–2024) and co-directs Geographies of Injustice at Columbia’s Center for the Study of Social Difference. She has secured major research grants from the ACLS, NEH, SSRC, and Mellon Foundation. She advises and mentors graduate students, though specific names are not listed in the text. Rao directs the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and convenes the Ambedkar Initiative, fostering interdisciplinary research and public engagement on caste, race, and justice. She leads and participates in multiple research collectives, including the Geographies of Injustice project and the Asian Spatialities initiative. She is deeply involved in institutional leadership through her roles at the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society and the Ambedkar Initiative, both of which serve as hubs for critical humanities research.
Cristina Bacchilega is a retired Professor and former Graduate Director in the Department of English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, affiliated with the College of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature. Her research focuses on fairy tales, folklore, and their intersections with gender, colonialism, and translation. She co-edited journals like Marvels & Tales and held roles such as Department Chair (2001-2007) and Acting Graduate Program Director. Her work includes books like Legendary Hawaiʻi and the Politics of Place and Postmodern Fairy Tales: Gender and Narrative Strategies . Education: BA, University of Rome (Italy); MA and PhD, State University of New York at Binghamton. Her research interests span fairy-tale studies, folklore, gender studies, and decolonial narratives. Recent projects explore Hawaiian mo‘olelo in translation and the cognitive potential of wonder in contemporary adaptations. She co-organized international conferences on storytelling in conflict zones and co-edited special journal issues on these topics. Awards: Fulbright Fellowship (2016) IAFA Distinguished Scholarship Award (2016) Guggenheim Fellowship (2001) Her advising and grants include SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship reviews and Fulbright applications. She collaborates on projects like An Ocean of Wonder (2024) and a forthcoming book on fairy tales and justice (2025). She also engages in Hawaiian language revitalization efforts.
