Sharese King is the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago, where she has taught since 2018. She earned her Ph.D. and Master's in Linguistics from Stanford University, focusing on language variation across African American communities. Her research bridges sociolinguistics, critical race theory, and phonetics to examine how African American speech is constructed, racialized, and socially evaluated. Education: Ph.D., Linguistics, Stanford University (2018) M.A., Linguistics, Stanford University Research Interests: Sociolinguistics Language Variation & Change African American Language Critical Race Theory Phonetic and experimental analysis Dialect and judicial systems Notable Contributions: Interdisciplinary studies on raciolinguistics and courtroom bias Analysis of /s/ articulation in intersectional contexts Reconceptualization of AAVE as AAL to emphasize linguistic diversity Fieldwork in Bakersfield, Rochester, and Chicago Publications in American Speech , Journal of Sociolinguistics , Language , and Nature Scientific Awards: Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship Neubauer Family Assistant Professorship Labs & Projects: Co-founder of the Chicagoland Language Project
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.
Amanda Phillips is an Associate Professor at Georgetown University, affiliated with the Departments of English, Film and Media Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and American Studies. Their research focuses on feminist and queer theory in digital media, with a particular emphasis on critical game studies and digital humanities. Selected publications include Gamer Trouble: Feminist Confrontations in Digital Culture and co-editing the Queer/Trans/Digital book series. Their scholarship appears in journals such as ROMchip , Feminist Media Histories , and Games and Culture . Research Interests: Digital media and gender politics Queer theory in gaming contexts Decolonial and anti-racist digital humanities Critical analysis of game mechanics Digital labor and precarity Affective histories of gaming Scientific Awards: Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellow Academic Leadership: Former chair of the American Studies Association Digital Humanities Caucus Co-founder of the #transformDH Collective Editorial work on special issues of Game Studies and Antares: Letras e Humanidades Previous Institutions: IMMERSe Postdoctoral Fellow at University of California, Davis Ph.D. recipient from University of California, Santa Barbara with emphasis in Feminist Studies
Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyUnited States
Emily C. Bartels is a Professor of English at Rutgers University specializing in early modern literature and culture, with particular expertise in Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean drama. She has served as director, and is now dean, of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English since 2010, a summer Master's program designed for K-12 English teachers. Professor Bartels received her BA from Yale University and both her MA and PhD from Harvard University. Her academic background positioned her to become a leading scholar in Renaissance literature studies. Her research examines questions of race, cross-cultural relations, gender, genre, and performance in early modern English drama. Professor Bartels is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Shakespeare's Othello and Christopher Marlowe's plays, analyzing how these texts represent cultural and racial difference. She has significantly contributed to postcolonial approaches to early modern literature, revealing how English drama engaged with global encounters and representations of the 'other' during the Renaissance period. Her scholarship demonstrates how early modern writers both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Professor Bartels' publications reveal a consistent scholarly trajectory examining racial and cultural representation in early modern England. Her work spans from detailed analyses of specific plays like Hamlet and Julius Caesar to broader studies of how England conceptualized Africa and non-Christian cultures during the Renaissance. A recurring theme throughout her career is the analysis of how early English drama both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Roma Gill Prize for Best Work on Christopher Marlowe (1993-94) for Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperialism, Alienation, and Marlowe Board of Trustees Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence (1993) School of Arts and Sciences Award for Distinguished Contributors to Undergraduate Education (2008 & 1993) Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching (2008) Solmsen Fellowship at the Institute of Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin (1995) Black Atlantic Project fellowship from the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis Professor Bartels has demonstrated exceptional commitment to both research and teaching excellence. She has developed innovative courses exploring the intersections of literature, history, and cultural studies, including undergraduate seminars on Othello and Hamlet, and graduate courses on Shakespeare Page and Stage. Her administrative role as dean of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English demonstrates her commitment to education beyond traditional university settings. Her fellowships from prestigious institutions indicate successful grant acquisition throughout her distinguished career. Professor Bartels has been actively involved with the Shakespeare Association of America and has collaborated with international scholars like Emma Smith of the University of Oxford. Her work has positioned her at the forefront of conversations about early modern literature, race studies, and postcolonial approaches to Renaissance drama, influencing how scholars understand the intersections of literature, race, and cultural identity in the early modern period.
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.
Alaina Lemon is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). She serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies in Anthropology and holds affiliations with the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREES), the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia, and the Interdepartmental Program in Anthropology and History. Her research focuses on socio-cultural anthropology, performance studies, and visual culture, with expertise in Russia, the Romani diaspora, and post-Socialist states. Education: BA in Anthropology (University of Wisconsin, 1987), MA (University of Chicago, 1988), and PhD (University of Chicago, 1996). Notable awards include the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize (2001), Heldt Book Prize (2001), and a 2023 visiting scholar position at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). Her work bridges historical and contemporary issues, exploring themes like phatic labor, media infrastructures, and affective politics. Recent projects include editing the documentary Tremors (2023) and researching Soviet-era moral projects through studies of Moscow’s Metro and canine-human interactions. Lemon’s interdisciplinary approach integrates performance studies, linguistic anthropology, and critical race theory to analyze cultural dynamics in transitional societies. Grants include a 2019-2024 University of Michigan Office of Research grant for film collaboration and a 2002-2003 International Research and Exchanges Board fellowship. She has authored influential books such as Between Two Fires (2000) and Technologies for Intuition (2017), and her films document Romani experiences and urban cultural phenomena.
David Stradling is the Zane L. Miller Professor of Urban History and Interim Director of the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Cincinnati. He has held academic positions since 1999, progressing from Assistant Professor to his current full professorship. His research focuses on urban and environmental history, with notable works including Where the River Burned and The Nature of New York . Stradling earned his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1996) following degrees from Colgate University. His research interests span urban development, environmental policy, and Cincinnati's historical narrative. He co-authored a global history of dredging and has explored topics like climate justice, sustainability frameworks, and the interplay between cities and natural systems. Stradling actively participates in interdisciplinary projects, including a 2024 NSF-funded conference connecting Earth and health scientists. His scholarship emphasizes historical analysis of environmental challenges, from air quality regulation to modern sustainability strategies. Recent work addresses urban resilience, equitable development, and the moral dimensions of environmental decision-making. Stradling’s academic leadership includes roles in faculty governance and institutional reform initiatives.
Kevin M. Kruse is Professor of History at Princeton University and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Specializing in 20th-century U.S. political, social, and urban history, his research examines conflicts over race, rights, and religion. Kruse earned his B.A. from UNC Chapel Hill and Ph.D. from Cornell University, joining Princeton after positions at the University of Virginia. His scholarship explores the civil rights movement, religious nationalism, suburbanization, and modern conservatism. Recent books analyze the corporate invention of Christian America and historical myths in American political discourse. Current projects include studies of civil rights lawyer John Doar and 'law and order' politics in New York City. Honored as a Guggenheim Fellow and Smithsonian Innovator, Kruse has received the Francis B. Simkins Award and Best Book in Urban Politics award. He teaches courses on civil rights, suburban history, and modern U.S. politics, and advises graduate students in 20th-century U.S. history. Kruse frequently engages public discourse through media appearances and collaborative projects with documentary filmmakers.
Leo J. Garofalo is the Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Professor of History at Connecticut College, where he joined in 2002. He coordinates the Social Justice and Sustainability Pathway and co-directs the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program. His scholarship focuses on colonial Latin America with emphasis on racial dynamics and cultural exchange. Education: B.A. in History and Hispanic Studies from Brown University M.A. from Boston College Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin at Madison Research Focus: Garofalo investigates the intersection of African and Indigenous cultures in colonial Peru, examining how marketplaces, taverns, and religious practices shaped Afro-Andean identities. His current work traces West African diaspora routes to the Andes and analyzes Afro-Iberian influences on witchcraft traditions. He utilizes Inquisition records and Spanish imperial archives to reconstruct transatlantic cultural networks. Awards: Virginia Eason Weinmann '51 Professorship (endowed chair) Social Science Research Council Grant Fulbright-Hays Research Grant Academic Leadership: Garofalo has organized campus events featuring Afro-Peruvian performers (Negrura Peruana) and activists like former Colombian Governor Luis Murillo. In 2010, he co-led a Study Away Teach Away program in Oaxaca, Mexico, examining immigration and indigenous rights movements.
Monica Trieu is an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University, where she focuses on the intersection of race, ethnicity, and immigration with particular emphasis on children of immigrants. Her scholarly work bridges sociology and Asian American studies through critical examination of identity formation and systemic inequalities. Education: Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Irvine (Asian American Studies emphasis) Master's in Sociology, University of California, Irvine Research Focus: Professor Trieu's expertise spans International Migration, Post-1960s Immigrants and Refugees, 1.5 and Second-Generation Identity, Transnational Ties, and Historical/Contemporary Asian American Experiences. Her scholarship critically analyzes internalized racism, regional identity formation (particularly in the Midwest), and the psychological impacts of anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. She employs intersectional frameworks to explore how refugee experiences, cultural adaptation, and transnational connections shape ethnic identity among Southeast Asian Americans and other immigrant communities. Publication Trends: Her 2013-2024 publications reveal evolving engagement with contemporary crises—from pandemic-induced mental health challenges and anti-Asian violence to structural invisibility of Midwest Asian American communities. While maintaining core focus on identity negotiation among second-generation immigrants, her recent work expands into comparative analyses of Asian American/Latina/o transnational patterns and refugee resettlement experiences, demonstrating methodological versatility across ethnographic, survey, and media analysis approaches. Professional Impact: As author of Identity Construction among Chinese-Vietnamese Americans: Being, Becoming, and Belonging (2009) and publications in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and Journal of Asian American Studies , Trieu has established herself as a key voice in Midwest Asian American scholarship. Her research directly informs institutional responses to rising anti-Asian sentiment and contributes foundational frameworks for understanding regional ethnic identity formation beyond coastal enclaves.
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.
Ken Mello is an Associate Professor of Religion at Southwestern University, specializing in Native American and Indigenous religious studies. His expertise includes contemporary Indigenous identity, sacred space, gender/sexuality studies, and non-textual religious traditions. He employs an 'integrated approach' combining interdisciplinary methods (history, anthropology, sociology) and direct community engagement to teach and research indigenous traditions. Education: PhD from UC Santa Barbara (2003), MAs from University of Arizona (1996) and Colgate University (1994), BA from Colgate (1992). His research focuses on urban Native American religious identity, religion-place intersections, and future projects include material culture revival, Native American music, and religion-sports connections. Courses cross-list with Environmental Studies, Feminist Studies, Race/Ethnicity Studies, and LABS to foster interdisciplinary learning.
Sunny Xiang is an Associate Professor of English at Yale University, where she teaches and conducts research at the intersection of literature, race, war, and empire. Her work critically examines U.S. military empire in Asia and the Pacific, particularly through aesthetic, cultural, and documentary forms from the mid-twentieth century. She is affiliated with the Department of English in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale. Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley B.A., Northwestern University Her research focuses on the cultural genealogies of American empire, with an emphasis on how war and militarism shape perception, knowledge, and everyday life. Key areas include Cold War aesthetics, Asian American studies, Pacific studies, critical militarization studies, and feminist science studies. She is particularly interested in how literary and cultural forms reveal the intimate, quotidian, and often invisible operations of empire. Her publications span journals such as ASAP/Journal , Radical History Review , PMLA , and Public Books . Her first book, Tonal Intelligence: The Aesthetics of Asian Inscrutability During the Long Cold War (Columbia University Press, 2020), explores the visual and narrative trope of Oriental inscrutability in relation to U.S. intelligence operations. Her current project, Chemical Apophenia: Air Conspiracies and Skin Connections in the Toxic Tropics , investigates how WWII military science in the Pacific generated new paradigms for detecting toxicity. The articles reflect a consistent engagement with themes of militarized domesticity, aesthetic excess, diasporic memory, and the entanglement of fashion, food, and war in imperial contexts. Mundane Militarisms: War, Archives, and Everyday Life (2024) Militarized Comfort: How to Feel Naked While Wearing Clothes (2023) Bikinis and Other Atomic Incidents: The Synthetic Life of the Nuclear Pacific (2022) Wars of Contemporary Life (2020) Global China as Genre (2019) Sunny Xiang has not been mentioned in relation to any scientific awards or fellowships in the provided text. She teaches courses such as War and Everyday Life, Readings in Comparative World English Literatures, and The Teaching of English. While her advisees or research teams are not listed, her scholarship demonstrates deep engagement with interdisciplinary methodologies and collaborative work, such as with the Mundane Militarisms Collective. She has not indicated any lab affiliations, but her research involves critical archival work and analysis of visual, literary, and cultural materials.
Marcela Echeverri Muñoz is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Yale University, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Her scholarship bridges history, anthropology, and political theory, with a focus on Latin America, the Atlantic World, and the Spanish Empire. She is recognized for her interdisciplinary approach to understanding political subjectivities, state formation, and social transformation during the Age of Revolutions. PhD in Latin American and Caribbean History, New York University, 2008 MA in History of the Hispanic World, Fundación MAPFRE-Tavera and CSIC, Madrid, 2006 MA in Social and Political Theory, The New School for Social Research, 2001 BA in Anthropology, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, 1997 Her research centers on the interplay of race, gender, law, and political theory in colonial and 19th-century Latin America. She investigates how enslaved and Indigenous peoples navigated imperial and republican transitions, particularly through royalist affiliations. Her work challenges peripheral narratives of Spanish America in Atlantic slavery studies, positioning the region as a central site of abolitionist and constitutional experimentation. The trends in her recent publications reveal a sustained focus on slavery, abolition, and political transformation in the Spanish American mainland. She analyzes how anti-slavery movements were intertwined with republicanism, citizenship, and state formation, especially in Gran Colombia. Her scholarship spans legal history, Atlantic processes, and transimperial dynamics, often highlighting marginalized voices in revolutionary contexts. She frequently contributes to major reference works and edited volumes on Atlantic revolutions and Latin American independence. Her scientific awards and fellowships reflect her standing in the field: James Alexander Robertson Prize Michael Jiménez Prize Bolton-Johnson Prize Honorable Mention Yale Heyman Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship MacMillan Research Fellow, Yale Mellon Residential Fellow, CUNY NEH Summer Institute Participant, Johns Hopkins Fellowships from John Carter Brown Library, CSIC, Fundación Mapfre, and Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia Echeverri has secured significant research grants from Harvard’s Atlantic History Seminar, CUNY Research Foundation, and Yale. She has co-edited special issues on Gran Colombian history and Spanish American abolition, and led key academic initiatives including the Race and Slavery in the Atlantic World Working Group and the Early Modern Empires Workshop at Yale. Though student advising is not explicitly detailed, her role as a senior scholar implies mentorship of graduate students. She is affiliated with several research networks and has been a visiting scholar at institutions such as Freie Universität Berlin. Her ongoing book project on Gran Colombian slavery underscores her commitment to redefining the hemispheric significance of Latin American abolition. She remains an active contributor to both scholarly and pedagogical conversations in Atlantic and Latin American history.
