Tanya Trussler is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. Her research examines structural determinants of violent crime, policing practices, crime prevention strategies, and public perceptions of criminal justice systems. Research explores police-community relations across different contexts, including recent projects on rural versus urban policing perceptions in Alberta and religious influences on policing in Pacific Island countries. Methodologically specializes in survey research and comparative analysis. Recipient of multiple research grants including from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and British Columbia's Crime Reduction Research program. Actively presents findings at major conferences including Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Fabio Franceschi is an Associate Professor of Ecclesiastical Law, European Ecclesiastical Law, and Law and Religion at the Faculty of Law, Sapienza University of Rome. He teaches courses including Diritto Ecclesiastico (Ecclesiastical Law), Diritto Ecclesiastico Europeo (European Ecclesiastical Law), and Law and Religion. His institutional affiliation is with the Department of Legal and Economic Studies at Sapienza University of Rome. Franceschi's research interests focus on ecclesiastical law and the relationship between law and religion in contemporary society, the history of relations between State and Church in Italy (particularly in pre- and post-unification periods), canon law, and intercultural law. His work examines religious freedom, secularism, religious confessions, and the legal frameworks governing religious institutions in increasingly multicultural and multireligious societies. His publication record includes over 60 academic works in Italian and English, with his most notable contribution being the 'Compendium of Ecclesiastical Law,' which has gone through multiple editions. His recent scholarship addresses contemporary issues such as religious freedom in MENA countries, end-of-life decisions from religious perspectives, and the financial operations of religious institutions. Franceschi is actively involved in research groups including 'DiReSom (Law and Religion in Multicultural Societies)' and the executive committee of the interdisciplinary research center 'ORFECT - Observatory on Religious Freedom in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.' He also coordinates the research group 'Tradizioni religiose, diritti umani e diritto interculturale' (Religious Traditions, Human Rights and Intercultural Law). He serves on the scientific committee of the legal journal 'SudEuropa. Quadrimestrale di civiltà e cultura europea' and the editorial board of 'Il Diritto ecclesiastico.' His teaching materials for attending students are available on the university's E-Learning platform, and he maintains regular office hours for student consultations.
Professor Dan Meagher is a Chair in Law at Deakin University's Faculty of Business and Law, where he leads research in constitutional law and statutory interpretation. He serves as Director of Research at Deakin Law School and actively contributes to legal scholarship through publications, editorial work, and supervision of doctoral candidates. Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales Master of Laws, Monash University Bachelor of Economics, Monash University Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Monash University His research focuses on constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and human rights protections. He explores the principle of legality, responsible government norms, and the interplay between common law and statutory frameworks, often advocating for enhanced rights protections through judicial interpretation. Professor Meagher's scholarly output highlights trends in Australian constitutionalism, including proportionality in secondary legislation, non-discrimination principles, and the evolution of common law rights. His work bridges doctrinal analysis with practical implications for legislative drafting and judicial review. Elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law Comments Editor for the Public Law Review Director of Research at Deakin Law School He supervises doctoral research on topics like human rights protection and legislative drafting models. His professional activities include co-editing major legal texts and contributing to debates on constitutional evolution and judicial interpretation.
Isaac Osei-Tutu serves as a Research Fellow at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS), University of Bayreuth, where his work bridges religious studies, business ethics, and African socio-economic contexts through interdisciplinary research. His research centers on Business and Corporate Ethics, Economics of Religion, Christianity in Africa, and Pentecostal/Charismatic movements, with a current focus on Ghanaian Neo-Pentecostal churches. He investigates the ethical frameworks within religious-economic enterprises like International Central Gospel Church and Lighthouse Chapel International, analyzing how prosperity gospel theology influences entrepreneurial structures and ethical conduct through mixed-methods approaches combining ethnography, interviews, and quantitative assessment of honesty, persistency, and consistency. Scientific Awards: No awards listed in provided source material Advising and Grants: No student advisement details or grant information specified
Kenneth Pomeranz is the University Professor of Modern Chinese History at the University of Chicago in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations (EALC). Previously taught at the University of California, Irvine , his research spans late Imperial and twentieth-century China , comparative world history , and global economic systems . Research Focus: Reciprocal influences between state, society, and economy; origins of the world economy through mutual regional influences; comparative studies of labor, family organization, and economic history. Current Projects: A history of Chinese political economy from the seventeenth century to the present; a book titled Why Is China So Big? exploring China's political unity despite its vast size. Scientific Awards and Fellowships: John K. Fairbank Prize (twice) World History Association Book Prize (shared) Guggenheim Fellowship American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow Publications: Key works include The Great Divergence , The Making of a Hinterland , and The World that Trade Created . His articles address topics such as labor-intensive industrialization, global environmental history, and Qing state-building.
Hans Beck serves as Professor of Greek History at the University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität) since 2018, with an additional appointment as Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Arts at McGill University. His academic career includes previous positions as Professor of Ancient History and Director of Classical Studies at McGill University (2005-2018), Heisenberg Fellow at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (2004-2005), and Research Assistant at the University of Cologne (1997-2004). Beck earned his academic training through doctoral studies at the Universities of Erlangen, Canterbury, and Cambridge (1989-1996), followed by a fellowship at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, DC (2001-2002). His educational background reflects a strong international foundation in classical studies. His research spans multiple interconnected fields within ancient history, with particular emphasis on the history and culture of ancient Greece, historical geography of Greece, environmental studies of the ancient Greek world, political culture of the Roman Republic, and ancient historiography. Beck's work consistently explores themes of localism, federalism, and political structures across ancient societies, with notable contributions to understanding Greek city-states, regional identities, and comparative political systems. His approach often bridges geographical, historical, and cultural perspectives to examine how ancient communities organized themselves politically and maintained regional identities within larger frameworks. Analyzing his recent publications reveals a sustained focus on local political structures within broader contexts, particularly examining how Greek city-states maintained autonomy while participating in federal leagues. His work increasingly incorporates comparative approaches, connecting Greek political structures with those of Rome and even ancient China, reflecting his editorial work on cross-cultural studies. Beck demonstrates particular expertise in analyzing how physical landscapes shaped political organization and how religious practices reinforced regional identities. Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2018) Anneliese Maier Research Award from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2014) Heisenberg Fellowship from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (2004) Doctoral scholarship from German Academic Exchange Service (1995) Doctoral scholarship from Hanns Seidel Foundation (1994) Beck has supervised numerous doctoral students including Jordan Christopher (2022), Chandra Giroux (2021), Wentian Fu (2020), Rebecca Robinson (2017), Alex McAuley (2015), and François Gauthier (2015), covering diverse topics from ancient Qin and Macedon to cult practices in ancient empires. His academic leadership extends to directing research projects B3-49 'Belonging in/to Lakonia' and B3-40 'Localism and Religion in Ancient Greece' within the Excellence Cluster focusing on 'Religious Diversity and Legal-Political Unity.' As head of the project 'Belonging in/to Lakonia' and 'Localism and Religion in Ancient Greece,' Beck leads interdisciplinary research teams examining archaeological and historical evidence from the Sanctuary of Apollo at Amyklai and its surroundings. His work integrates textual analysis with material culture studies, creating comprehensive approaches to understanding ancient regional identities and religious practices. Beck's leadership in these projects demonstrates his commitment to bridging traditional disciplinary boundaries in classical studies.
Engseng Ho is a Professor of Cultural Anthropology and former Professor of History at Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences since 2008. His work focuses on Arab/Muslim diasporas across the Indian Ocean, global transregional dynamics, and historical interactions between empires and local societies. Education: PhD (2000), MA (1990) in Anthropology from University of Chicago; BA (1986) from Stanford University. Research interests include mobility studies, transregional legal frameworks, and the intersection of Islam with imperial and postcolonial contexts. Notable projects involve Inter-Asia collaborations and studies on China-Africa relations, oil economies, and Malay sovereignty. Recent grants include funding from the National Science Foundation for research on refugees, Azerbaijan's oil-driven geopolitics, and a global religion dissertation fellowship program. Teaching spans courses on imperialism, mobility, global culture, and anthropological theory. His expertise spans Africa, India, Indonesia, and Yemen.
Katherine Lemons is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University's Faculty of Arts. Her research focuses on Islamic family law adjudication in India, examining its implications for understanding Muslim gender and kin relations, secularism, minority politics, and legal pluralism in postcolonial contexts. She has established herself as a leading scholar in the anthropology of law with her groundbreaking work on Muslim divorce practices and their relationship to Indian secularism. Dr. Lemons earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2010. Her academic journey has centered on the intersections of religion, law, and gender in South Asian contexts, with particular attention to how religious legal systems operate within secular states. Her research interests span multiple interconnected fields including the anthropology of law, Islamic legal studies, secularism theory, feminist anthropology, and South Asian studies. Lemons approaches these topics through careful ethnographic work in India, particularly examining how Muslim communities navigate family law disputes through non-state Islamic institutions. Her work challenges conventional understandings of the relationship between religious and secular law, arguing that Muslim divorce practices in India represent a critical site for understanding the complexities of secular governance in postcolonial contexts. She investigates how legal pluralism functions in practice, how religious legal authority is established adjacent to secular states, and how gender relations are shaped through these intersecting legal regimes. Dr. Lemons' scholarly output reveals a consistent focus on the tensions between religious legal traditions and modern secular governance, with particular attention to how marginalized communities navigate these complex legal landscapes. Her work demonstrates how legal practices often blur the boundaries between religious and secular domains, challenging simplistic understandings of secularism. She has made significant contributions to understanding how Islamic law functions in non-Muslim majority contexts, both in India and more recently in her research on sharia courts in Ontario. Michelle Z. Rosaldo Prize from the Association for Feminist Anthropology, American Anthropological Association (Honorable Mention) Critical Anthropology Book Prize from the Association for Political and Legal Anthropology (Honourable Mention) South Asian Muslim Studies Association Book Award (Honourable Mention) As an academic mentor, Dr. Lemons advises graduate students working at the intersections of anthropology, law, and religious studies. Her research has been supported by various academic grants that have enabled extensive fieldwork in India and Canada. She is currently developing two major research projects: "Traveling for Justice," which examines transnational dimensions of Islamic legal knowledge, and "Adjacent to the State," an ethnographic study of sharia courts in Ontario. Dr. Lemons is affiliated with several research centers at McGill University that focus on South Asian studies, legal anthropology, and religious studies. Her work connects with broader scholarly communities through collaborations with researchers studying legal pluralism, secularism, and Islamic jurisprudence across multiple national contexts.
Ram Cnaan is a Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean for Research at the University of Pennsylvania, affiliated with The Weitzman School of Design. He chairs the Doctoral Program in Social Welfare and directs the Program for Religion and Social Policy Research. His work focuses on faith-based social services, congregational welfare provision, and nonprofit management. Cnaan has authored influential books like The Invisible Caring Hand and serves on seven academic journal editorial boards. His research explores volunteerism dynamics, including pandemic impacts on donor retention, cross-national civic participation, and episodic volunteering at religious events. He investigates social entrepreneurship in public sectors and evaluates faith-based organizations' roles in reentry programs for ex-prisoners. Cnaan's recent studies address CSR innovations, donor-advised funds strategies, and prosocial behavior in diverse cultural contexts. Notable contributions include pioneering national studies on congregational social service provision and analyzing Israeli-Palestinian Muslim collaboration in aid work. His work bridges academic research with practical policy solutions for urban quality-of-life challenges.
Professor Helen Steward holds the position of Professor of Philosophy of Mind and Action at the University of Leeds, within the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science. She serves as Director of Recruitment and Admissions. Her expertise spans free will, action theory, metaphysics of mind, causation, and animality, with recent work on plant agency, determinism, and two-way power theories. She is currently writing a book on causation and has previously authored A Metaphysics for Freedom (OUP), arguing for an incompatibilist view linking determinism with free action across humans and animals. Education: D.Phil: 'Events, States and Processes: the Ontology of Mind' B.Phil in Philosophy BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics Her research explores the metaphysical underpinnings of agency and perception, emphasizing biological and evolutionary perspectives on human-animal relations. She is affiliated with the Centre for Theoretical Philosophy and holds memberships in the British Philosophical Association, Mind Association, and Aristotelian Society.
Purnima Dhavan is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Washington's College of Arts & Sciences, holding the Giovanni and Amne Costigan Endowed Professorship. She specializes in early modern South Asia (1500-1800), focusing on religious and cultural identity, Mughal institutions, and literary networks. Her research integrates interdisciplinary methods, with adjunct affiliations in Near Eastern Languages and the Jackson School's South Asia Center. Education: PhD in South Asian History from the University of Virginia (2003), MA (1998), and BA (1996) from the University of Michigan. She has taught at multiple institutions, including the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University and Bowdoin College. Research Interests: Mughal literary culture, Sikh warrior traditions, gender in pre-colonial societies, and environmental history. Notable works include her book *When Sparrows Became Hawks* (2011) on Sikh militarization and a forthcoming project on literary associations in Mughal urban centers. Publications span peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, emphasizing pre-colonial South Asia’s intellectual and socio-political dynamics. Awards include the Howard Keller Chair and NEH fellowships. Service: Extensive contributions to academic governance at UW, including roles in the Faculty Senate, departmental leadership, and national professional organizations like the American Historical Association and Association of Asian Studies. Languages: Native Hindi speaker, advanced Urdu/Persian/Punjabi, and proficient in Spanish.
Donald R. Davis, Jr. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. With a PhD from the same institution, he has established himself as a leading scholar in Hindu law and Dharmaśāstra studies. His work bridges religious studies, legal history, and South Asian studies, making significant contributions to our understanding of law and religion in medieval India. Davis earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin, where he has built his academic career. His scholarly journey has been deeply rooted in the study of Sanskrit legal traditions and their intersection with religious practice. Professor Davis's primary research concerns the interaction of law and religion in medieval India. He examines both historical evidence for law and legal practice through inscriptions and regional language documents, as well as the Dharmaśāstra tradition as a system of religious law and jurisprudence. His work situates Sanskrit normative texts within historical contexts while exploring their conceptual frameworks. He maintains the Resource Library for Dharmaśāstra Studies and has published extensively on Hindu law, including books such as The Spirit of Hindu Law (2010) and The Dharma of Business (2017). Davis's recent publications demonstrate a continued focus on the intersection of law, religion, and ethics in Hindu tradition. His work explores caste, conservatism, marital ethics, and the historical development of legal thought in India. He frequently draws comparative connections between Hindu legal traditions and other religious legal systems, contributing to broader conversations in legal anthropology and comparative religious law. Professor Davis actively supervises graduate students interested in Dharmaśāstra traditions and their relevance to law, religion, history, politics, and economics in India. He encourages students with broader interests in comparative religious law (Jewish law, Islamic law, Roman law, etc.) and works with those studying various aspects of Hinduism and classical religions in India, particularly in normative and "mainstream" areas such as Vedānta, Pūrva-Mīmāṃsā, Epics, and Purāṇas.
Elizabeth Bernstein is a Professor of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Professor of Sociology at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she has been a faculty member since September 2002. Her work bridges sociological theory with feminist analysis, focusing on the intersections of gender, sexuality, and political economy. Bernstein directs significant research initiatives including the Gender Justice and Neoliberal Transformations Working Group, a transnational collaboration among thirteen scholars examining gender justice in contemporary global contexts. She is currently developing a new book project titled "Imagining Immunity: Precarious Bodies and the Governance of Gendered Dis-ease," which explores immunological metaphors in understanding bodily risk and suffering. B.A., University of California, Berkeley M.A., University of California, Berkeley Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley Professor Bernstein's research focuses on the political economy of the body, gender, and sexuality, with particular attention to sexual commerce, sex trafficking, and neoliberal governance. Her work employs ethnographic methods to examine how intimate relations become sites of economic exchange and political regulation. She investigates how concepts of authenticity, freedom, and rights are mobilized in debates about sexual commerce and trafficking. Bernstein's scholarship critically engages with feminist theory, carceral politics, and transnational governance frameworks, challenging conventional approaches to sex work and trafficking that often reinforce punitive systems rather than advancing gender justice. Analysis of Bernstein's scholarly output reveals a consistent trajectory examining the intersections of gender, sexuality, and political economy within neoliberal frameworks. Her work demonstrates increasing attention to transnational governance mechanisms and their impact on intimate relations and bodily autonomy. A notable trend is her critical examination of how anti-trafficking campaigns often employ carceral logic that undermines feminist goals of gender justice. Her scholarship consistently challenges binary frameworks that position sex work solely as exploitation or liberation, instead analyzing the complex economic, political, and social dynamics that shape sexual commerce globally. Bernstein's research has received significant recognition through prestigious awards including: Distinguished Book Award, American Sociological Association, Sociology of Sexualities Section (2020) for "Brokered Subjects" Honorable Mention, Society for the Study of Social Problems Global Division Book Award (2019) Norbert Elias Prize, Norbert Elias Foundation (2009) Distinguished Book Award, American Sociological Association, Sex and Gender Section (2009) Her work has also been supported by major funding organizations including the Institute for Advanced Study, National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, AAUW, and Mellon Foundation. As a principal investigator along with Janet Jakobsen for the Gender Justice and Neoliberal Transformations Working Group, Bernstein leads a significant collaborative research initiative sponsored by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Her grant portfolio demonstrates sustained support from major research institutions, reflecting the significance of her work in gender studies and sociology. While specific student advisees aren't listed in the available materials, her role as a full professor at Barnard College indicates extensive mentorship of undergraduate and likely graduate students in Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies and Sociology. Bernstein co-leads the Gender Justice and Neoliberal Transformations Working Group, a collaboration among thirteen scholars working transnationally on questions of gender justice. This initiative represents a significant research collective examining how neoliberal policies reshape gender relations globally. Her work with the Barnard Center for Research on Women provides institutional support for this transnational feminist research network, facilitating scholarly exchange and collaborative publication projects that advance critical perspectives on gender, sexuality, and political economy.
Tithi Bhattacharya is a Full Professor in the Department of History at Purdue University. She holds a PhD from the University of London and is renowned for her work in South Asian history, Transnational Gender, Colonialism, and Global History. Bhattacharya is the author of influential books including Ghostly Past, Capitalist Presence (Duke, 2024) and The Sentinels of Culture (Oxford, 2005), and co-author of the widely translated Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto (Verso, 2019). Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of London. This foundational training has equipped her to critically engage with colonial and postcolonial histories, Marxist theory, and feminist praxis. Bhattacharya's research interests span Social Reproduction Theory, Marxist feminism, and the intersections of class, gender, and colonialism. She examines how capitalism relies on the social reproduction of labor, particularly through gendered and racialized exploitation. Her work also addresses Islamophobia and the politics of fear in colonial and contemporary contexts, as seen in her book Ghostly Past, Capitalist Presence . Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on Social Reproduction Theory as a framework for understanding global capitalism and feminist resistance. Her articles frequently address the BRICS nations, anti-colonial movements, and the development of a feminism that centers the 99%. The multilingual nature of her work (appearing in over 30 languages) underscores its international impact. While specific scientific awards are not mentioned in the provided text, Bhattacharya's work has been published in prestigious journals such as the Journal of Asian Studies and South Asia Research , and she serves on the editorial boards of Studies on Asia and Spectre . Information regarding her advising of students and grant activities is not provided in the current text. Similarly, details about labs or research teams are absent.
Benjamin Arold is a University Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. His academic career spans theoretical and applied research in labor economics, education economics, and AI-driven policy analysis. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at ETH Zurich and visiting roles at Harvard University and Princeton University. Education: Ph.D. in Economics, LMU Munich His research bridges economic theory with empirical applications, focusing on: Long-term impacts of school curricula on student outcomes AI and NLP applications in labor economics Economics of religion and its societal implications Recent Article Trends: His work highlights intersections between education policy and technological innovation, including meta-analyses of private schooling effects, charter school performance evaluations, and computational methods for analyzing educational interventions. Scientific Awards: Prize for Best Dissertation (2021/2022) - German Economic Association Fürther Ludwig Erhard Prize (2023) Teaching: He teaches advanced courses on NLP in economics at Princeton University and Basel University, with a focus on computational methods for non-standard data.
