Find Academic Supervisors

Sophie VolppView profile

Professor

• Chinese Literature
• Early Modern Chinese Literature
• Comparative Literature
• +3 more

Sophie Volpp is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on Chinese literature from the 16th to 19th centuries, with particular emphasis on theatricality, material culture, and literary objects. She is the author of *Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China* (2011) and *The Substance of Fiction: Literary Objects in China, 1550-1775* (2022). Her current projects include a book on the National Peiping Library’s preservation efforts during the Sino-Japanese War and an analysis of referents in *The Story of the Stone*. Her scholarly work bridges literary analysis and cultural history, examining themes such as gender, power, and spectacle in late-imperial China. She has translated works by pre-modern women poets and dramatists, contributing to gender-centric scholarship in East Asian studies. Her publications span journal articles and edited volumes, addressing topics like Qing-era theatrical design, material circulation in classical novels, and cross-cultural influences in literary production. Her research has been published in venues such as *Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies* and *Journal of Asian Studies*.

Beth PiatoteView profile

Associate Professor

• Native American Literature
• Indigenous Studies
• Legal Studies
• +4 more

Beth Piatote is an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a PhD in Modern Thought and Literature from Stanford University and is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Nez Perce). Her work bridges scholarly and creative realms, focusing on Indigenous literature, law, language revitalization, and cultural studies. Education: PhD in Modern Thought and Literature (Stanford University). Research interests include Native American legal systems, Nez Perce language preservation, global Indigenous literatures, and creative writing. She co-founded and chairs Berkeley’s Designated Emphasis in Indigenous Language Revitalization and directs the Arts Research Center, where she leads the Indigenous Poetics Lab. Her publications include Domestic Subjects: Gender, Citizenship, and Law in Native American Literature (2013) and the short story collection The Beadworkers (2019), which received multiple literary recognitions. Her plays Antíkoni and Tricksters, Unite! explore Indigenous narratives through performance. Awards include MLA honorable mentions, PEN/Bingham Prize longlistings, and a 2020 Playwrights Retreat win. Current projects involve a scholarly monograph on sensory representations of Indigenous law and creative works in poetry and essays.

David BammanView profile

Associate Professor

• Natural Language Processing
• Cultural Analytics
• Computational Social Science
• +3 more

David Bamman is an Associate Professor in the School of Information at UC Berkeley, specializing in applying Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning to cultural and social science questions. He leads research in born-literary NLP, computational humanities, and cultural analytics, with affiliated roles in EECS, Linguistics, and Computational Precision Health. Bamman holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon (Ph.D., 2015), Boston University (M.A., 2006), and University of Wisconsin-Madison (B.A., 1998). His work is supported by NEH, NSF, and industry grants. Educations: Ph.D. in Computer Science (2015), Carnegie Mellon University M.A. in Applied Linguistics (2006), Boston University B.A. in Classics (1998), University of Wisconsin-Madison Research Interests: NLP for underserved domains (e.g., literature, social media), coreference resolution, cultural analytics, and computational methods for studying literature and culture. Projects include LitBank and BookNLP datasets. Grants & Awards: Hellman Fellow (2019), Amazon Research Award (2017), NSF CAREER Award, and NEH funding. Teaching: Courses include Natural Language Processing (Info 159/259), Computational Humanities (INFO 190), and Applied NLP (INFO 256). His research group explores topics like racial representation in high school literature, Hollywood diversity metrics, and the sociocultural implications of LLMs. Bamman advises multiple PhD students and collaborates on datasets like CMU Book Summaries and 11K Latin Books.

Andrea SelleriView profile

Assistant Professor

• Literary History
• Nineteenth-Century British Literature
• Literary Criticism
• +3 more

Andrea Selleri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English Literature at Bilkent University, where he joined in September 2020. He holds a BA and MA from the University of Trieste and a PhD from the University of Warwick. His research focuses on the intersections between British literature, criticism, and philosophy in the long nineteenth century, with particular attention to authorship, aesthetics, and interdisciplinary approaches. Dr. Selleri has published extensively on Victorian literature and its philosophical contexts, including a monograph exploring the evolution of authorship concepts and co-editing Literary Studies and the Philosophy of Literature (Palgrave, 2016). His recent work includes a three-volume critical edition, Literature and Philosophy in Nineteenth-Century British Culture (Routledge, 2024), which compiles annotated primary sources. At Bilkent, he teaches courses such as ELIT 246 (Drama and Performance) , ELIT 366 (Victorian Literature) , and ELIT 458 (Literature and Philosophy in Nineteenth-Century British Culture) . He coordinates the Philosophy and Literature Colloquia series and serves as a review editor for the Journal of Victorian Culture . His research interests span literary history, modern literatures in English, French, Spanish, and Italian, and the philosophy of literature. Current projects include studies on free will in Victorian fiction and the legacy of Romantic authorship in formalist aesthetics.

Laurie ShannonView profile

Professor

• Early Modern Literature
• Gender & Sexuality Studies
• Environmental Humanities
• +5 more

Laurie Shannon is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English at Northwestern University, with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She studies English literature and culture in the long sixteenth century, focusing on the history of ideas in language, stakeholdership, embodiment, and cross-species relations. She serves as convener of The Anne Lister Society and is collaborating with Oxford University Press on a scholarly edition of Anne Lister’s Journal. Education: J.D., Harvard Law School; Ph.D., University of Chicago Shannon’s research explores the political imagination in early modern literature, particularly through friendship (Sovereign Amity: Figures of Friendship in Shakespearean Contexts) and animal studies (The Accommodated Animal: Cosmopolity in Shakespearean Locales). Her current monograph, 'Frailty’s Name: Shakespeare and the Natural History of Human Being,' examines human negative exceptionalism in Renaissance thought and its implications for climate crisis ethics. Her publications span Shakespeare studies, queer theory, environmental humanities, and textual editing. Notable awards include the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Teaching Award, and Dean’s Award for Graduate Mentoring. She has held NEH, ACLS, and Guggenheim fellowships. Scientific Awards: Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, Dean's Award for Graduate Mentoring, NEH Fellowship, ACLS Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship Shannon contributes to the Anne Lister Diary Transcription Project and has served as English Department Chair at Northwestern. Her recent articles focus on Shakespeare’s engagement with natural history, queer cosmology, and animal sovereignty, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach.

Blair HoxbyView profile

Professor

• Early Modern Literature
• Tragedy and Tragic Theory
• Milton Studies
• +7 more

Blair Hoxby is Professor of English at Stanford University's School of Humanities and Sciences, where he has taught since 2007. Previously, he served as Associate Professor of History and Literature at Harvard University (2005-2007) and Associate Professor of English at Yale University (2003-2005), where he began as Assistant Professor in 1998. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. in English from Yale University (1998), an M.Phil. in English Studies from the University of Oxford (1990), and an A.B. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University (1988). Hoxby's research focuses on literature and culture from 1500 to 1800, with particular emphasis on tragedy theory, Milton studies, and the intersection of literature and economics. His notable works include What Was Tragedy? Theory and the Early Modern Canon (2015) and Mammon's Music: Literature and Economics in the Age of Milton (2002). He argues that early modern tragedy differed significantly from contemporary understandings of the genre, with passions rather than deeds or character serving as the keys to early modern tragic performance. Hoxby's recent scholarly output reveals a consistent engagement with early modern theatrical practices, particularly tragedy and opera. His work demonstrates sophisticated interdisciplinary approaches, connecting literary analysis with historical context, economic theory, and performance studies. He has made significant contributions to understanding how commercial culture shaped literary production and how theatrical conventions evolved across national boundaries in Europe. Scientific Awards and Honors Internal Fellow, Stanford Humanities Center (2009-2010) Morse Fellowship, Juilliard School (2001-2002) Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Prize, Yale University (2001) John Addison Porter Prize, Yale University (1999) Rhodes Scholarship, University of Oxford (1988-1990) Hoxby has supervised numerous doctoral students and served in various administrative roles at Stanford, including Director of Undergraduate Studies (2011-2014) and Director of Graduate Admissions (2008-2011). His teaching portfolio includes courses on English poetry from the Renaissance to Romanticism, tragedy and tragic theory from Aristotle to the present, theater history, and performance theory. Currently, he teaches courses such as Court Theater from Shakespeare to Mozart and Introduction to English II: From Milton to the Romantics . Hoxby maintains active scholarly engagement through committee memberships, including the Executive Committee of the Milton Society of America (2009-2013) and service as a referee for major academic presses including Oxford University Press and the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Chi-Ming YangView profile

Professor

• Literary and visual culture of race and empire
• East-West cultural exchanges
• Transatlantic/transpacific exchanges
• +12 more

Chi-Ming Yang is a Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, where she has established herself as a leading scholar in literary and visual culture studies with a focus on race, empire, and East-West cultural exchanges. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges British, American, Asian, and Latin American studies while examining historical periods from the early modern era through the 18th century to contemporary contexts. Educational Background: Ph.D. in English from Cornell University B.A. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University with emphases in Spanish, Chinese, and English Professor Yang's research interrogates the intersections of race, visual culture, and imperial histories through multiple disciplinary lenses. Her work explores how objects, images, and texts function within global networks of power and representation, with particular attention to transpacific and transatlantic connections. She has developed significant expertise in chinoiserie, material culture, and the visual dimensions of racial formation across historical periods. Her recent publications demonstrate a growing interest in ecological perspectives on race and empire, particularly evident in her 2021 article 'The Song of the Rice Bird,' which innovatively examines plantation slavery through avian migration patterns. Her scholarship consistently bridges historical analysis with contemporary concerns about representation, power, and cultural exchange. Professional Recognition: 2022 Best Advisor Award in English, Sponsored by the English Undergraduate Advisory Board Professor Yang maintains an active advising role, having chaired doctoral dissertations including Jacob Myers' 'Noxious Life: Figuring Vermin in the Natural Histories of the Anglophone Caribbean' (2025) and Cassidy Holahan's 'Dramatizing the Novel: Transmedial Exchange in the Long Eighteenth Century' (2023). She regularly participates in departmental workshops and events, including the 2024 conversation with Sharon Holland exploring Black feminist perspectives on animal life in relation to Octavia E. Butler's work. Her teaching portfolio reflects her interdisciplinary approach, with recent courses including 'Science Fictions of Octavia E. Butler,' 'Orientalisms,' '18th-Century British Poetry,' and 'Arts of Abolition and Liberation,' demonstrating her commitment to connecting historical scholarship with contemporary social justice concerns.

• Medieval and Early Modern Literature
• 16th and 17th Century Theatre
• Stuart and Caroline Court Masque
• +7 more

Lynn S. Meskill is a Professor at Toulouse Jean-Jaurès University, affiliated with the Center for Anglophone Studies (CAS). Her academic work bridges literature, history of ideas, and translation, with a strong focus on early modern British culture. She teaches Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Translation. Her research interests include: 16th and 17th Century Theatre Stuart and Caroline Court Masque History of the Book History of Ideas Translation Studies Authorship in Early Modernity Ben Jonson and Shakespearean Drama Her publications reveal a deep engagement with themes of authorship, fame, religious symbolism, and cultural representation in Renaissance literature. She frequently explores the intersections of performance, politics, and print culture, particularly in court masques and tragedies. Her work often combines literary analysis with intellectual and cultural history. Her scholarly contributions include a monograph on Ben Jonson and numerous articles in leading journals such as Huntington Library Quarterly and English Studies . She has also contributed chapters to authoritative handbooks and translated significant works in print culture. She has supervised doctoral research and holds an HDR (Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches), qualifying her to direct research in France. While no specific grants are listed, her involvement in structured research axes at CAS suggests active participation in collaborative projects. Lynn S. Meskill is a core member of the Center for Anglophone Studies (CAS), contributing to its seminars, research programs (such as AXIS 1–3), and academic events. The center fosters interdisciplinary research in Anglophone cultures, and she plays a vital role in its scholarly community.

Helen AbbottView profile

Professor

• French Literature
• Musicology
• Digital Humanities
• +6 more

Professor Helen Abbott is a Professor of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham, serving as Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Arts and Law. Her research focuses on the intersection of French poetry, music, and digital methods, particularly the work of Baudelaire. She has led major grants, including the AHRC-funded Baudelaire Song Project (2015-2019), exploring musical adaptations of Baudelaire's poetry. Abbott holds a BA from Cambridge, MA and PhD from King’s College London. She has supervised numerous PhD students and authored books such as Baudelaire in Song: 1880-1930 (2017). Awards include AHRC Standard Grant (£594,000) and an Early Career Fellowship. Her work bridges academia and practice, collaborating with musicians and digital researchers. She advises on doctoral programs and cultural initiatives, emphasizing interdisciplinary and public engagement.

Alison LandsbergView profile

Professor

• Memory Studies
• Cultural Studies
• Film Studies
• +7 more

Alison Landsberg is a Professor at George Mason University, affiliated with the Department of History and Art History and the Cultural Studies PhD program. Her research focuses on the politics of memory, affective engagements with the past, visual culture, and the intersections of race, aesthetics, and history. A leading scholar in memory studies, she explores how mass media and popular culture shape historical consciousness and political subjectivity. Her seminal works include *Prosthetic Memory* (2004) and *Engaging the Past* (2015), which analyze how mediated experiences of history foster empathy and progressive politics. Landsberg’s interdisciplinary work bridges film studies, cultural theory, and historiography. She examines how audiovisual media—from films to immersive digital exhibits—produce alternative historical narratives that challenge traditional academic historiography. Her current project, *Impossible Histories*, critiques conventional ‘historicism’ and explores counterhegemonic modes of historical representation. Her teaching spans courses on historical cinema, visual culture, and the politics of memory. She has advised over 20 doctoral students, many of whom explore topics like public history, digital memory, and cultural activism. Landsberg is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and has contributed to NPR’s *On the Media* and *The American Scholar* on topics ranging from racial representation to post-postracial America. Landsberg’s research emphasizes the urgency of rethinking historical engagement in an era of fragmented media and contested identities. Her work underscores the ethical and political stakes of how societies remember—and forget—the past.

Kyung-Ho ChaView profile

Assistant Professor

• Literature and Science
• Evolutionary Biology
• Walter Benjamin Studies
• +2 more

Kyung-Ho Cha serves as Junior Professor of Modern German Literature at the University of Bayreuth's Faculty of Languages & Literature within the Department of New German Literature. His academic journey includes studies at Bonn, Oxford, and Columbia University, followed by doctoral work at Technical University Berlin completed in 2010. His research centers on three interconnected domains: literature-science intersections with focus on evolutionary biology and Walter Benjamin's writings; literary representations of migration; and human rights discourse in contemporary literature. This tripartite framework informs his critical analysis of authors like Elfriede Jelinek and Fatih Akin. Cha's publications reveal consistent engagement with transnational themes, particularly examining German-Turkish cultural dynamics, refugee narratives, and ethical dimensions of literary representation. His work demonstrates methodological rigor in bridging literary analysis with philosophical and scientific discourse. German National Merit Foundation Fellowship DAAD Fellowship ICI Berlin Institute Fellowship DFG Fellowship Volkswagen-Foundation Support Harvard Mahindra Humanities Center Fellowship (2011-2012) Cha has directed significant research projects including the DFG-funded 'Seelenwanderung und literarische Kommunikation' at Freie Universität Berlin and contributed to the DFG Graduiertenkolleg 'Körper-Inszenierungen'. His editorial work on human rights literature demonstrates leadership in establishing interdisciplinary scholarly dialogues. Current research continues to explore migration narratives within the 'Future Migration' initiative at Bayreuth.

Wang NingView profile

Professor

• Cosmopolitanism and World Literature
• Translation Studies
• Northrop Frye and Mythology
• +5 more

Wang Ning is a distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature with affiliations at Tsinghua University (part-time) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. His career spans prestigious roles including Zhiyuan Chair Professor (2009–present) and Changjiang Distinguished Professor (2013–present). Born in 1955, he holds academic qualifications from institutions in China, Europe, and North America. Research interests focus on cosmopolitanism, translation studies, Northrop Frye's mythopoeia, cultural studies, and Chinese-Western comparative literature. He has secured over ten grants since 1991 aimed at introducing European theory to China and has conducted research across Europe, North America, and Australia as a visiting professor/research fellow. Key achievements include the Changjiang Scholars Award (2013), membership in Académé de la Latinité (2010), and fellowships at Cambridge and Gottingen Universities. He co-founded Chinese editions of New Literary History and Critical Inquiry , advancing transnational literary discourse. Wang has delivered keynote lectures globally and led initiatives to bridge Chinese and Western literary traditions. His work emphasizes global literary dynamics, translation’s role in cultural exchange, and reinterpreting modern Chinese literature within global contexts.

Mike GilesView profile

Professor

• Monte Carlo Methods
• Multilevel Monte Carlo Methods
• Scientical Computing
• +5 more

Mike Giles is a Professor of Numerical Analysis at the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute and serves as Head of the Numerical Analysis Group. He is also a Professorial Fellow at Balliol College and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). His academic career spans computational mathematics, scientific computing, and computational finance. Professor Giles' research primarily focuses on Monte Carlo methods, with particular emphasis on the development and numerical analysis of multilevel Monte Carlo methods over the past 15 years. His work has significant applications in computational finance, uncertainty quantification, and solving stochastic differential equations. He has also made substantial contributions to high-performance computing, especially in the exploitation of many-core GPUs for scientific computing applications. His research bridges theoretical numerical analysis with practical computational implementations. Analysis of his publication record reveals a consistent trajectory of innovation in Monte Carlo methodology, evolving from foundational work on path simulation to sophisticated multilevel techniques that dramatically improve computational efficiency. His research spans multiple disciplines including numerical analysis, computational finance, and high-performance computing, with a clear focus on developing practical algorithms that address real-world computational challenges in science and finance. Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) Professor Giles actively teaches courses in numerical methods for the MSc in Mathematical and Computational Finance and is a leading educator in GPU programming, organizing an annual intensive course on CUDA Programming on NVIDIA GPUs. He has been instrumental in establishing JADE, Oxford's GPU supercomputer facility, which supports research in machine learning and scientific computing. His leadership extends to the Numerical Analysis Group at Oxford and the Mathematical and Computational Finance Group, where he fosters interdisciplinary research connecting mathematics, finance, and computer science. Through his educational initiatives and research leadership, Giles has significantly influenced both academic research and practical applications of advanced computational methods.

• Ancient History
• Classics
• Late Antiquity
• +7 more

Dr. Fabian Schulz is a Senior Researcher in Ancient History at the University of Tübingen, where he works in the Department of History within the Faculty of Humanities. He leads a prestigious Junior Research Group under the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG), titled 'Power and Influence: Influencing Emperors between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.' His academic profile also includes association with the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 923 'Threatened Order - Societies under Stress' and active participation in the 'Tübingen Theosophy' research group. Previously, he contributed to the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities project on John Malalas' Chronicle and the University of Tübingen's DFG project 'East and West 400-600 AD.' Dr. Schulz earned his PhD in Classics from Freie Universität Berlin (2006-2010), where he also served as a teaching assistant. During his doctoral studies, he was a Pensionnaire étranger at the École Normale Supérieure Paris. Prior to that, he completed an MA equivalent degree in Classics at Freie Universität Berlin, with time spent as a visiting student at the University of Oxford (1999-2005). His early career included teaching Latin and Greek at a grammar school in Lübeck (2006). His research specializes in power structures and influence mechanisms in ancient societies, with particular focus on how advisors shaped imperial decisions in Late Antiquity. He has made significant contributions to understanding councils of elders in Archaic Greece (especially the Spartan Gerousie), Byzantine chronography (particularly John Malalas' works), and the complex dynamics between Eastern and Western Roman empires during the 5th and 6th centuries. His methodological innovation lies in applying modern sociological models of interpersonal influence to historical analysis of ancient political culture, bridging literary representation with political reality in pre-modern monarchical states. Young researchers award for 'Ratgeber, Experten, Manipulatoren: Einfluss als Machtfaktor und Diskursobjekt in der Antike' As principal investigator of his Emmy Noether project, Dr. Schulz has secured substantial research funding from the German Research Foundation. His collaborative work includes multiple edited volumes on Late Antique history and Byzantine chronography, reflecting his strong international scholarly network. He currently serves as a deputizing member (non-professorial academic staff) on the faculty board of Humanities at the University of Tübingen. His research often intersects with contemporary concerns about power dynamics, political influence, and historical memory, as evidenced by his work on video game representations of ancient history. Dr. Schulz is an active contributor to the online commentary project on John Malalas' chronicle, specifically editing sections of Book XVIII. His work frequently involves detailed textual criticism and analysis of historical sources, with particular attention to how narratives are transmitted and reinterpreted across different cultural contexts. His scholarly approach combines philological precision with broader historical and sociological perspectives.

Andreas StoehrView profile

Professor

• Orchestral Conducting
• Opera Performance
• Historical Music Performance Practice
• +3 more

Andreas Stoehr is a renowned Austrian conductor and professor at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna, leading the conducting department and symphony orchestra since 2013. His career spans prestigious engagements including the Paris Opéra Comique, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and St. Gallen Theatre, focusing on operatic repertoire from Monteverdi to modernism. He is celebrated for reviving neglected works like Meyerbeer’s Emma di Resburgo and Gluck’s Ezio , emphasizing historical performance practices. His research explores stylistic transitions in music history, blending baroque precision with modern innovation. Education: Trained at Vienna's former Conservatory (now University of Music and Performing Arts), studying piano under Alfred Kremela, conducting with Gennadij Rozhdestvenskij, and musicology at the University of Vienna. Key mentors included David Lutz (accompaniment) and Reinhard Schwarz (conducting). Research Interests: Explores interdisciplinary connections between diverse musical eras, such as Bach’s influence on Schoenberg, and advocates for vocal-orchestral balance in historical repertoires. Projects include CD recordings of Amanda Maier-Röntgen and Andrea Tarrodi’s works, nominated for Swedish Grammis. Awards: Grammy nomination (2016) for Amanda Maier-Röntgen’s Violin Concerto recording. Recognized for innovative stagings of operas like Berg’s Wozzeck and Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande . Teaching & Leadership: As professor and symphony orchestra director, Stoehr mentors young conductors. Notable collaborations include the Langenlois Castle Festival (2012–2019) and interdisciplinary projects like Heart and Mouth, and Deed and Life blending Bach with sociological texts. His teaching emphasizes 21st-century conductorship as collaborative architecture, prioritizing emotional engagement over technical authoritarianism. Labs/Ensembles: Leads the MUK Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with ensembles like the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège. His work bridges academic research with performance practice through projects like the Styriarte Festival’s Schubert revival.