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Larissa FleischmannView profile

Researcher

• Critical Migration and Border Research
• Human-Environment Relationships in the Capitalocene
• More-than-Human Political Geographies
• +3 more

Larissa Fleischmann is a Scientific Team Leader at the European Centre of Just Transition Research and Impact-Driven Transfer (JTC) at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU Halle-Wittenberg). Her research spans critical migration and border studies , more-than-human political geographies , and biosecurity , with a regional focus on Eastern Germany, Europe , and Sub-Saharan Africa . She has been affiliated with MLU Halle-Wittenberg since 2018 and previously worked at the University of Konstanz. Education : Doctorate in Social Sciences (Dr. rer. soc.), University of Konstanz (2018) Master’s in Human Geography, University of Glasgow (2014) B.Sc. in Geography, University of Bayreuth (2013) B.A. in Geographical Development Studies of Africa, University of Bayreuth (2013) Research Projects : Animals, Power and Space (2021–present): Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), explores biosecurity practices (fencing, zoning, mapping, killing) for African Swine Fever (ASF) through a more-than-human lens. The Contested Solidarities of Refugee Support (2014–2018): Analyzed refugee volunteering during the 2015 European crisis, focusing on power and political ambiguity. Key Publications : Contested Solidarity (2020, open access monograph) Guest Editorial in Political Geography (2023) Peer-reviewed articles in journals like sub/urban , Environment and Planning E , and Preventive Veterinary Medicine Scientific Awards : 2021 Promotion Prize, Migration and Ethnic Minorities Section of the German Sociological Association Teaching and Mentorship : Co-leads courses in Human Geography at MLU Halle-Wittenberg Contributed to workshops on more-than-human borderlands and biosecurity Labs/Teams : Lead of Innovation Team A6 "Demographic Change and Migration" at JTC Collaborates with institutions across Europe and Southern Africa

Helena GrehanView profile

Professor

• Performance Studies
• Theatre Studies
• Ethics and Responsibility in Contemporary Art
• +5 more

Professor Helena Grehan is Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Research Fellow at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Edith Cowan University. Since joining WAAPA in February 2024, she brings more than two decades of leadership in theatre and performance studies, ethics, and digital cultural heritage. Education Doctor of Philosophy (Theatre Studies), Murdoch University, 1999 Research Interests Professor Grehan’s scholarship interrogates how contemporary performance, installation and digital arts negotiate ethics and responsibility . Through critical frameworks spanning climate disaster preparedness, post-digitisation futures for vulnerable HASS collections, and the politics of spectatorship, her work connects creative practice with urgent societal challenges. Recent projects explore how extreme weather events reshape artistic practice and how digital technologies can safeguard—and re-imagine—cultural heritage. Publications & Trends Across 2021–2024, Grehan’s output has clustered around four inter-related themes: climate futures, cyber-physical aesthetics, listening ethics, and activist dramaturgy. Book chapters and journal articles repeatedly deploy performative methodologies to examine how art mediates ecological crisis, political refusal, and community resilience, signalling a scholarly trajectory that merges critical theory with applied creative research. Awards & Recognition Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2023) Australasian Drama Studies Association Joanne Tompkins Prize for Editing (2021) Murdoch University Vice Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished and Sustained Achievement in Research (2019) Marlis Thiersch Research Award (2011) Rob Jordan Book Prize (2010) Murdoch University Vice Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2008) Doctoral Supervision & Grants Grehan has successfully supervised over 20 HDR candidates to completion and currently leads three doctoral projects as principal supervisor, alongside one as associate supervisor. She is Chief Investigator on the ARC Linkage project Life after Digitisation: Future-proofing WA's Vulnerable Cultural Heritage (AUD $1.13 M, 2022–2027), collaborating across performing arts, information science and climate humanities. Labs & Teams At WAAPA she anchors a growing research cluster on Performance, Climate & Digital Futures , convening interdisciplinary teams across performance, design, screen, and digital humanities to prototype new models of creative practice and cultural preservation.

James William SantosView profile

Research Fellow

• Sociological Theory
• Genealogical studies
• Social movements
• +2 more

Dr. James William Santos is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Max-Weber-Kolleg (University of Erfurt). His research bridges sociological theory, genealogical analysis, and critical studies of social movements with interdisciplinary applications to AI ethics and political theory. Research Focus : Conceptualizing social movements as 'individuated forms of life' and 'resonant subjects,' analyzing their interplay with structural power relations. Current work explores decolonial frameworks through immanent critique. Key Publications : Contributions to AI ethics governance (2023, 2024), decolonial sociological theory (2023), and critical analyses of penitentiary systems (2017). Interdisciplinary Engagement : Co-editor of Ecological Issues in Interdisciplinary Perspective (2023), with book chapters on biopolitics (2015) and media studies (2020).

Pieter VerdegemView profile

Associate Professor

• Political Economy of Media
• Artificial Intelligence
• Data and Society
• +5 more

Pieter Verdegem serves as Reader in Technology and Society at the University of Westminster's School of Media and Communication and is a core member of the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI). A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, he teaches foundational undergraduate and postgraduate modules while leading critical research at the intersection of digital technologies and societal structures. His academic journey includes a PhD in Communication Sciences from Ghent University, followed by an Assistant Professorship in New Media and ICT at Ghent University (2012-2016) and a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Uppsala University (2011-2012). These experiences established his expertise in media political economy before his current focus on AI and data society. Verdegem's research investigates power dynamics in digital ecosystems through two interconnected strands: the political economy of media/communications and AI/data's societal impacts. He champions critical perspectives on digital capitalism, as evidenced by his book Understanding Data, Culture and Society and edited volume AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives . His work consistently challenges techno-solutionist narratives while exploring commons-based alternatives to Big Tech dominance. Recent publications reveal a decisive pivot toward participatory methodologies and Global South perspectives in critical AI studies. His 2024 co-authored work on South-North approaches to AI interrogation and 2022 critique of 'AI Capitalism' demonstrate growing emphasis on decolonial frameworks and community-led alternatives to dominant platform paradigms. Recognition includes: Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) Verdegem actively supervises 12 doctoral researchers across themes including generative AI in news media, persuasive technology auditing, digital divides in Cuba, and AI's impact on investigative journalism. His research is currently funded by a British Academy award (2025) examining AI's impact on public information trust and an Alan Turing Institute grant (2023) supporting university network initiatives. As leader of CAMRI's Communication, Technology and Society research theme, he fosters interdisciplinary collaboration with scholars from Brazil, India, and Europe. His recent engagement activities—including a 2022 FEPS Foundation talk on 'ethical AI in a geopolitical world'—highlight his commitment to translating critical scholarship into policy debates on digital sovereignty and algorithmic justice.

• Socially Responsible Design
• Community-Led Design
• Collaborative Design
• +4 more

Dr. Mariana Fonseca Braga is a design researcher and educator at the School of Arts, Media and Creative Technologies, University of Salford, affiliated with the Design Against Crime Solution Research Centre. Her work focuses on socially responsible design practices that contribute to building respectful, just and sustainable worlds through community-centered approaches that address health and wellbeing challenges. Her research interests include: Socially Responsible Design Community-Led Design Collaborative Design Transdisciplinary Design Research Public Health Innovation Community Empowerment Health and Wellbeing Dr. Fonseca Braga utilizes design principles to identify and analyze communities' tacit knowledge, challenges, and strategies for addressing health and wellbeing problems. Her work spans multiple continents, with projects in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on developing solutions that respect the diversity of disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. She emphasizes that community-based resources in health and wellbeing are often poorly documented despite their significant contribution to preventing and tackling health challenges. Her recent publications (2022-2025) demonstrate a consistent focus on community empowerment, equitable policy design, and the role of design in addressing complex public health challenges. She has explored topics ranging from community-led governance and pluriversal design frameworks to practical applications like the Healthier Fleetwood program that helped residents break through loneliness and reconnect with community life. Her work bridges theory and practice, offering concrete methodologies for implementing community-centered design approaches in diverse cultural contexts. Dr. Fonseca Braga's research has addressed critical issues including community empowerment during the COVID-19 pandemic (particularly in Brazilian informal settlements), antimicrobial resistance across One Health contexts, water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa, and conflict intersections in Southeast Asian forest management. Her transdisciplinary approach involves working with local communities alongside stakeholders from private, not-for-profit, and public sectors, as well as experts from diverse knowledge areas.

• International Law
• Criminology
• Human Rights
• +7 more

Dr. Olufemi Ojo Ilesanmi is a Lecturer in Law at Robert Gordon University's School of Law & Social Sciences, bringing a unique interdisciplinary perspective shaped by his background in International Law, Public Theology, and Ethics of Communication. His academic journey includes a PhD in Law from the University of Aberdeen, an LLM in International Law from the University of Westminster, and an MTh in Theology and Ethics of Communication from New College, University of Edinburgh. His research centers on universalist/relativist debates in Criminology, International Relations & Law, with particular emphasis on human rights frameworks across different cultural contexts. Dr. Ilesanmi has developed significant expertise in African jurisprudence, decolonial legal theory, and the intersection of religious traditions with human rights. His work spans multiple disciplines including international law, criminology, cybersecurity law, and restorative justice. Dr. Ilesanmi's recent publications reveal a consistent focus on challenging Western legal hegemony while exploring how indigenous knowledge systems can enrich global legal discourse. His work on reparations for historical injustices, the localization of human rights in Africa, and the application of Ubuntu philosophy in restorative justice demonstrates his commitment to creating more inclusive legal frameworks. Notable recognitions include: Review of monograph by Lord Hodge (Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court) Emerald Literati Award for 'Outstanding Reviewer' (2010-2011) Henry Miller Award from New College, University of Edinburgh External Examiner for Law Subjects at London South Bank University (2019-2023) As Director of Studies for multiple PhD candidates and convenor of the Forum for the Study of Jurisprudence and Value Inquiry, Dr. Ilesanmi has established himself as a significant contributor to legal scholarship with a distinctive global perspective. His teaching portfolio spans Legal Theory, Criminology, Roman Law, and International Human Rights, reflecting his broad expertise and commitment to interdisciplinary legal education. Dr. Ilesanmi also maintains international connections through his role as Visiting Lecturer at ESC Graduate School of Management in France and through his convening of cross-cultural academic conversations that bring together scholars from diverse legal traditions to examine fundamental questions of jurisprudence and value inquiry.

Natália da Silva PerezView profile

Assistant Professor

• Early Modern Women's History
• Colonial History
• Transimperial History
• +7 more

Natália da Silva Perez serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Humanities, specifically within the SAXO-Institute focusing on History, while maintaining an external appointment as Assistant Professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam since December 2022. Her institutional affiliations span both Danish and Dutch academic contexts through the Racialized Motherhood project (2023-2028), a collaboration funded by Denmark's Independent Research Fund Sapere Aude grant. Her research centers on transnational and comparative cultural history from 1600-1900, with dual methodological strands: Historical analysis of women's experiences across social strata, examining interactions with families, communities, and authorities Digital humanities innovation through natural language processing tools adapted for multilingual historical documents, specifically addressing algorithmic bias mitigation Current projects analyze early newspaper representations of motherhood across colonial contexts using data-driven comparative methods. Her publication portfolio reveals consistent thematic development across three interconnected domains: Privacy Studies : Exploring knowledge production boundaries in early modern contexts Colonial Intersectionality : Analyzing race, gender, and legal autonomy across Atlantic networks Digital Methodologies : Developing NLP frameworks for historical text analysis with low-resource language adaptation Recent outputs demonstrate increasing methodological sophistication in blending traditional historical analysis with computational approaches. Her scientific recognition includes: Sapere Aude grant for Racialized Motherhood project (2023-2028) Leadership of international research networks including Privacy & Colonialism and Free Womb Laws Roundtable initiatives Perez actively supervises PhD, master's, and bachelor's students in women's history, intersectionality, and digital humanities methodologies, while organizing significant academic events like the Practices of Privacy conference series. Her collaborative work spans institutions across Europe, with particular strength in Dutch-Brazilian historical connections through her analysis of figures like Juliana from Recife. She directs research teams exploring algorithmic bias in historical text analysis and transnational motherhood representations, working within Copenhagen's digital humanities infrastructure while maintaining Rotterdam connections through the Racialized Motherhood project.