Professor Adam Yuet Chau is a Fellow and Director of Studies at St John's College and holds the Professor of the Anthropology of China position at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge . His academic journey includes training at Stanford University (PhD in Anthropology, 2001) and teaching roles at Oxford and SOAS before joining Cambridge in 2008. Focus on Chinese religions and their social dimensions Specializes in ritual theory and cultural transformations Develops comparative frameworks for understanding religious practices His research spans religion under socialism , hosting in political/religious contexts , and ritual polytropy . Recent projects include editing Chinese Religious Culture in 100 Objects and analyzing 'spheres' (界) in Chinese society . Publications like Miraculous Response (2006) and Religion in Contemporary China (2011) establish him as a key figure in religious anthropology. Current and past PhD/MPhil students explore topics from temple festivals in Taiwan to religious subjectification . He actively reviews for leading presses (Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard) and journals ( Ethnos , Modern China ), and participates in international academic workshops.
Mark de Rond is Professor of Organisational Ethnography at Cambridge Judge Business School and Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge. His work focuses on immersive ethnographic studies of human behavior in extreme contexts including war zones, high-stakes sports, and controversial social movements, revealing how individuals navigate challenging circumstances through compromise and sensemaking. His educational background includes a DPhil from the University of Oxford alongside advanced degrees in management and economics, photojournalism, documentary photography, biography, creative nonfiction, and prose fiction. This multidisciplinary training informs his unconventional methodological approach. De Rond's research centers on extreme context ethnography, examining how pressure-cooker environments expose fundamental organizational dynamics. His work spans military medicine (Camp Bastion fieldwork), elite sports (Cambridge Boat Race), Amazon river expeditions, and controversial practices like paedophile hunting. Key contributions explore negotiation, conflict resolution, serendipity, institutional persistence, and the emotional toll of fieldwork, often employing innovative methods like enactive ethnography and linguistic analysis of digital communities. His recent publications reveal a growing focus on digital vigilantism and the societal implications of extreme practices, with increasing interdisciplinary reach across organizational studies, criminology, medical anthropology, and sociology. The work demonstrates methodological creativity through linguistic analysis of Facebook groups, embodiment studies in extreme environments, and dream-based reflexive techniques. Scientific recognition includes: BEST ARTICLE AWARD FOR 2016 Favorite MBA Professor honors from Poets & Quants (2021, 2022) Guinness World Record for first unsupported Amazon row De Rond advises MBA students and delivers executive education to top law firms (Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy), professional services (McKinsey, KPMG), corporations (Sky, BT, Diageo), and NGOs (UNICEF, NHS). His negotiation training from Harvard Law School informs both academic work and university mediation practice. Current research involves collaborative teams studying paedophile hunting (featured in Sundance-nominated documentary Predators ) and high-performance sports organizations, with fieldwork requiring deep immersion in challenging environments. His research methodology involves embedded collaboration with diverse teams including medical personnel in conflict zones, elite rowers, and controversial activist groups, often pushing methodological boundaries through photojournalism and creative nonfiction approaches.
Dr. Sumin Zhao is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Discourse Analysis at the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences. She holds a PhD in text linguistics from the University of Sydney and has held prestigious fellowships at the University of Southern Denmark and the University of Technology Sydney. Her research focuses on multimodal discourse analysis, social semiotics, and digital literacies, with particular attention to social media practices, immigrant families, and children's digital engagement. Education: PhD in Text Linguistics (Hallidayan tradition), University of Sydney Postdoctoral Fellowships at University of Southern Denmark (2016-2018) and University of Technology Sydney (2013-2016) Research Interests: Analysis of social media genres (e.g., selfies, shelfies, video-sharing platforms) Multimodal communication in transnational families Children's digital literacy practices and translanguaging Semiotic technologies in education and cultural studies Projects & Grants: Lead investigator for the PPLS Small Project Grant on emoji analysis (2021-2022) Pilot study on transnational family storytelling via social media (2020-2021) Awards: Carlsberg Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016-2018) Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013-2016) Supervision & Labs: Supervises PhD students researching social media influencers, digital parenting, and transnational literacy practices Member of the International Collective of Research and Design in Children's Digital Books (www.childrensdigitalbooks.com)
Gabrielle Hodge is a Senior Lecturer in Sign Language Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. A deaf researcher, she specializes in sociolinguistics related to deaf communities, sign languages, and multimodal communication. Her work incorporates corpus linguistics, applied linguistics, and semiotics methodologies. Education: PhD in Linguistics (Macquarie University, 2014), BA (Hons) in Linguistics (La Trobe University, 2008). Teaching includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses in sign language linguistics and sociolinguistics. She chairs the University BSL Plan Implementation Group (2024-2030) and actively supervises PhD and MSc students in deaf community research. Research focuses on accessibility, sign language corpus methods, and inclusive language theory. Notable projects include the Accessibility & Inclusion Toolkit for deaf Australians and Signing to Know & Survive , exploring deaf communication resilience. She develops training for educators and interpreters, emphasizing direct access without relay systems. Key contributions include advancing corpus-driven sign language research, analyzing deaf professionals' trust in interpreters, and creating climate change resilience resources in Auslan. Her work challenges traditional linguistic frameworks to better incorporate deaf perspectives and embodied communication practices.
Professor Emma Moore is a leading sociolinguist at the School of English, University of Sheffield . Specializing in the social dimensions of language, her work integrates methodologies from anthropology and sociology to investigate how linguistic variation constructs identity and social affiliations. Research focus: Sociolinguistic style, dialect contact, youth language, identity negotiation, and community-based fieldwork Key projects: Adolescence and grammar (1999-), Isles of Scilly dialect (2008-), language and inequality (2014-), language perception software (2016-) Educational background : PhD in Sociolinguistics, University of Manchester Stanford University (USA) during PhD research Research trends across her 2021-2025 publications reveal interdisciplinary exploration of: Socio-syntactic variation Clinical linguistics (2025 MDS-UPDRS studies) Digital discourse post-pandemic Indexicality and cognitive representations Dialect contact in insular communities Educational policy implications Scientific recognition : British Academy Mid-Career Fellow (2019-2020) Elected Fellow, Royal Anthropological Institute (2014) AHRC/BA funded research projects (1999-2015) Research group leadership : Mentored 9 PhD students (2004-2024) and supervised 3 undergraduate SURE projects, including analyses of: Gender in rap performance Language style and workplace inequality Oral history digitization Professional contributions : Editorial Board: Language in Society (2015-), Gender and Language (2011-2017) External Examiner: Lancaster University MA in English Language (2013-2017) Collaborative software development for dialect perception testing
Dr. Isaias Fanlo serves as University Lecturer in Modern Iberian Literary and Cultural Studies within the Spanish & Portuguese Department of the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics at the University of Cambridge. He holds an Iberian Studies Fellowship at Fitzwilliam College where he is based at Storey's Way, Cambridge CB3 0DG. His research specializes in contemporary Iberian cultures with emphases on: Queer theory applied to theatrical and performative events in Spain Intersections of race, class, citizenship and HIV status in urban spaces Catalan and Spanish literatures from the 19th century to present Toponormativity and resistance against gentrification Archival studies of HIV/AIDS through performance Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals dominant trends in spatial politics and queer resistance, with 60% focusing on theatrical responses to urban gentrification and normative space usage. His work increasingly integrates race theory with queer studies, particularly in Catalan drama contexts, while maintaining strong connections to HIV/AIDS cultural narratives and experimental performance forms. His notable awards include: Time Out Award 2016 for Best Innovative Project (Terrats en Cultura festival) Butaca Award 2019 for Best Initiative for Audiences As a cultural manager, Fanlo has significantly impacted Barcelona's scenic arts through founding the decade-running Terrats en Cultura rooftop festival and serving as artistic advisor for Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and Teatre Lliure. His academic supervision extends to MPhil and PhD students researching Iberian queer cultures, though specific student names aren't documented in available materials. His laboratory of practice manifests through active participation in the European Creative Rooftop Network and ongoing festival curation, blending academic theory with community-based artistic production across Barcelona and Chicago.
Dr. Alasdair King serves as Reader in Film at Queen Mary University of London , where he leads the Centre for Film and Ethics and contributes to the Finance Aesthetics research cluster. His work bridges film philosophy , critical political economy , and German cinema studies , with particular focus on financialization's impact on moving image aesthetics. DAAD Visiting Research Fellow (2015) Co-founder of CAPITAL FORMS (2020) graduate program in Economic Humanities PhD examiner at institutions including University of Warwick, University of Manchester, and University of Edinburgh He supervises doctoral projects on cinematic economics , AI media , and posthuman aesthetics , currently co-guiding two AHRC and LAHP-funded students. His 2023 monograph The Financial Image establishes frameworks for analyzing film's relationship to finance capital through works by Hito Steyerl , Harun Farocki , and Isaac Julien . A second monograph Hans Magnus Enzensberger: Writing, Media, Democracy (2007) remains foundational for understanding Frankfurt School media theory in West German context.
Professor Angela Creese is a leading academic in sociolinguistics and linguistic ethnography at the University of Warwick. She currently leads the Horizon Europe-funded MultiLX project, which investigates multilingual policies and youth communicative practices across Europe. Her research focuses on language endangerment, digitalization, and inclusive language policy. Education: Bachelor’s degree in Drama MSc and PhD in Educational Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania (supervised by Dr. Nancy Hornberger) Research Interests: Angela’s work combines arts-based linguistic ethnography with relational ethics to address societal challenges in multilingual contexts. She explores how digital technologies shape communication, the role of minority languages, and policies supporting equitable languaging practices. Key themes include language revitalization (e.g., Kven in Norway, Galician in Spain), migrant language inclusion, and the impact of extracurricular activities on language use (e.g., sports in Catalonia). Awards: Helen C Bailey Alumni Award Distinguished Visiting Fellowship at City University New York Highly Commended in THE Awards 2024 Grants & Collaboration: Principal investigator or co-investigator on over 12 grants (Horizon Europe, AHRC, ESRC). The MultiLX project (2025–2027) involves 9 universities across 8 countries, including collaborations with organizations like GenerazionePonte (Italy), Yekmal (Germany), and Kvääninuoret (Norway). Angela emphasizes team ethnography and co-production of knowledge with communities. Labs/Teams: Core member of the MultiLX research team, focusing on multilingual policy innovation and digital linguistic practices. Active in global academic networks through speaking engagements and advisory roles.
Dr Eva Ogiermann is an Associate Professor in English Language and Applied Linguistics at King’s College London, serving as Programme Director for the MA in Language and Cultural Diversity. She holds a PhD from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (2007) and an MA from the University of Münster (2001). Her research focuses on cross-cultural pragmatics, politeness theory, and bilingual communication, with a particular interest in how language reflects cultural norms and identities. Current Position: Reader (Associate Professor) at King’s College London Previous Institutions: University of Oldenburg (Germany), University of Portsmouth, University of Surrey Editorial Roles: Former associate editor of the Journal of Pragmatics (2010–2018) Her work examines cultural specificity of language use, including studies on apology strategies, request negotiation, and family communication dynamics. Recent projects analyze pandemic-era signage’s role in disseminating risk communication and maintaining social cohesion during crises. She also explores epistemic authority in academic writing tutorials and the pragmatic functions of marketing language. Key research contributions include From Speech Acts to Lay Understandings of Politeness (2019) and numerous articles in top journals like Journal of Pragmatics and Pragmatics and Society . Her teaching spans BA and MA programs in applied linguistics and language education. Dr Ogiermann leads the Implementing Covid-19 measures project, studying how non-official signage adapts government health guidelines. She actively contributes to the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication, fostering interdisciplinary research at the intersection of language, culture, and society.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)United Kingdom
Dr. Eleanor Power is an Associate Professor in the Department of Methodology at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research focuses on the interplay between belief, practice, identity, and social relationships, with a particular emphasis on how reputational dynamics shape social inequality and cooperation. She combines ethnographic methods with social network analysis to study these phenomena in South India and cross-culturally. Education: Eleanor holds a PhD in Anthropology from Stanford University (2015). Prior to joining LSE in 2017, she was an Omidyar Postdoctoral Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. She is fluent in English and Tamil. Research Interests: Eleanor examines signaling theory, religious practice, and the micro-dynamics of social inequality, including the 'reputational poverty trap.' Her current projects include co-directing the ENDOW project on social and economic inequality and leading the Rep2SI project on reputational dynamics. Her work bridges anthropology, sociology, and computational social science. Publications: Her recent work explores latent network models, cooperative behavior in South Indian communities, and the role of reputation in human social networks. She also collaborates on interdisciplinary projects, such as analyzing reproductive inequality across species and the impact of art workshops on prisoners' well-being. Awards: While no specific awards are listed, her research has been highlighted in LSE's 30th Anniversary celebrations for its interdisciplinary innovation and collaborative nature. Grants and Labs: Eleanor leads the Rep2SI project and co-directs the ENDOW project, indicating active grant-funded research. She is affiliated with LSE's Department of Methodology and has collaborated with institutions like the Santa Fe Institute.
Emma Martin is Senior Lecturer in Museology at the University of Manchester's School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, where she serves as Associate Director for Research (Impact and Knowledge Exchange). With over 25 years of professional experience including 17 years as Senior Curator for National Museums Liverpool (2003-2020), her work bridges academic research and museum practice. Her current research focuses on colonial-era Tibetan collections, contemporary museum activism, and dissident curatorial practices in exile contexts. Dr. Martin's research interests sit at the critical intersection of colonialism, Tibetan Studies, and material culture studies. She examines how colonial-era museum collections continue to shape contemporary representations of Tibet while exploring pathways for Tibetan agency in museum decision-making. Her practice-led research includes serving as curatorial advisor to the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan and Ancient Indian Wisdom (2024-25) and leading the development of the Tibet Museum for the Central Tibetan Administration (2017-2023). She co-convenes the international Tibetan Materiality Network, fostering cross-border collaboration on Himalayan material culture research. Her publication trends reveal a sustained focus on decolonizing museum practices through historical analysis of Tibetan material culture. Early work examined colonial collecting networks and diplomatic gift exchanges, while recent publications address contemporary issues like digital sovereignty, museum representation of diaspora communities, and dissident curatorial methodologies. Her scholarship consistently connects archival research with practical museum interventions, demonstrating how historical understanding can inform ethical contemporary practice. Fellow, Royal Asiatic Society Fellow, Higher Education Academy Dr. Martin has supervised four completed PhDs and currently mentors five doctoral students working on topics spanning South Asian, Himalayan, and Tibetan museology. Her research project "Object Lessons from Tibet and the Himalayas" involves international collaboration with institutions in Copenhagen and explores how material culture can challenge colonial narratives. Her impact work includes developing new museological approaches for representing Tibet, referenced in Wikipedia and cited by policy makers addressing cultural restitution. She leads the Tibetan Materiality Network connecting European and Asian researchers, and her current monograph "The Dissident Museum: Oppositional Curating at the Tibet Museum" (Routledge) documents innovative curatorial practices developed during the Tibet Museum project. Her external roles include curatorial advisory positions with Tibetan cultural institutions and examination duties at UCL and University of Westminster.
Professor Devyani Sharma is a Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University of London, affiliated with the Department of Linguistics within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. She holds a PhD from Stanford University. Her research focuses on sociolinguistics, style variation, migration, bilingualism, new varieties of English, syntax, typology, and accent bias. She has conducted extensive studies on diasporic communities, particularly Punjabi Londoners, examining dialect development and social change through projects like 'Generations of London English' and 'Accent Bias in Britain.' Her work integrates quantitative and qualitative methods, including sociolinguistic interviews, acoustic analysis, and discourse analysis. Notable contributions include studies on the role of social networks in language variation, the concept of 'lectal focusing,' and the impact of accent biases in professional contexts. She has authored/co-authored books such as From Deficit to Dialect: The Evolution of English in India and Singapore (2023) and edited volumes including English in the Indian Diaspora (2014). Professor Sharma collaborates on public engagement initiatives like Teach Real English! and Multilingual Capital , aiming to improve linguistic education and address accent bias in society. Her research has been funded by grants from the ESRC and other UK organizations, totaling over £412,000 for major projects. She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Sociolinguistics and contributes to international conferences and workshops.
Ben Rampton is a Professor of Applied and Socio-Linguistics at King's College London, affiliated with the School of Education, Communication & Society and the Centre for Language, Discourse & Communication. He previously directed the Centre for Language Discourse & Communication (founded by him) and the King’s Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Centre (2011-2014). He is an Honorary Doctorate recipient from the University of Copenhagen and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and Royal Anthropological Institute. His research focuses on ethnographic and interactional discourse analysis, addressing topics such as urban multilingualism, youth culture, securitisation, language education, and research methodology. He has held editorial roles in journals like Journal of Sociolinguistics and Applied Linguistics , and edits the Working Papers in Urban Language & Literacies series. His work frequently intersects with anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies. Rampton supervises PhD students in areas including multilingualism, language policy, and sociolinguistic citizenship. His recent publications explore linguistic citizenship in England, securitisation discourse, and interdisciplinary approaches to memory studies. He has contributed to projects on language education coalitions and the methodological challenges of linguistic ethnography. Education: PhD (1987), MA (1978), and BA (1976) from the University of London, University of London, and University of York, respectively. Grants/Projects: Includes research on memory politics, language socialization in diasporas, and sociolinguistics and security funded by the British Academy and Leverhulme Trust. Rampton leads initiatives like the Hub for Education and Language Diversity (HELD), collaborating with academic and third-sector organizations. His teaching spans undergraduate and postgraduate courses in sociolinguistics, language and power, and research methodology.
Lena Springer is a Research Associate in the History and Philosophy of Science at King’s College London, affiliated with the Department of Theology & Religious Studies and the Lau China Institute. Her work focuses on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), indigenous botanical knowledge, and the intersection of environmental cosmology with healing practices. She leads the ERC-funded Cosmological Visionaries project exploring climate change responses in China-Russia border regions. Education: D.Phil. in Sinology from the University of Vienna (focus: transmission of scientific heritage in China). Research includes ethnographic fieldwork across China’s ethnic regions, examining multi-ethnic folk medicines and materia medica histories. She has held roles as Senior Research Fellow at Sichuan University and Affiliate of the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Social Anthropology. Research interests include biosocial interactions in indigenous sciences, the preservation of traditional medical landscapes, and academic migration dynamics. Her forthcoming book Arztgeschichten adopts a biographical approach to 20th-century TCM evolution, while her database work bridges historical pharma-recipes with modern drug development. Funding comes from the Wellcome Trust, EU Synergy Grants, and institutions in China/Taiwan. Teaching includes Sinology, pharmacognosy, and narrative-biographical methods. Public engagement includes media commentary on TCM innovations and heritage preservation projects.
Lauren Hall-Lew is a Professor and Personal Chair of Sociolinguistics at the University of Edinburgh's School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences. She holds a BA from the University of Arizona (2002) and MA/PhD from Stanford University (2009). Her research focuses on phonetics, social meaning, language change, and sociopolitical identity. She has pioneered projects like the Lothian Diary Project, studying linguistic impact of the pandemic, and analyzed Scottish political speech, tourist language attitudes, and ethnicity-linked variation in San Francisco. Teaching contributions include courses on sociophonetics and language variation/change, earning her EUSA Teaching Award (2013). She has supervised over a dozen PhD students and is involved in EDI initiatives, including founding the Staff BAME Network Mentoring Programme (2019-2021), recognized via CAHSS Award and Principal's Medal nominations. Active in grant work, she leads projects on homelessness and linguistic variation (British Academy-funded), Scottish tour guide discourse, and political identity in phonetics. Awards include teaching accolades and EDI recognition. Her publications span sociolinguistic theory, phonetic analysis, and applied linguistic methods.
