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Shir Alon is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from UCLA (2017) and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University (2010). Her research focuses on Arabic and Hebrew cultural production, exploring modernist literary styles and their political dimensions in the Middle East. She is affiliated with Jewish Studies and Cultural Studies & Comparative Literature programs. Current projects investigate neoliberalism’s impact on cultural representations of the future, including petrofictions from the Arabian Peninsula and Palestinian/Lebanese futurism. Her scholarly work bridges literary theory, postcolonial studies, and gender studies, with a particular emphasis on modern Middle Eastern literatures. Recent publications analyze themes like implicated ethics, neoliberal riskscapes, and the intersections of trauma and memory. While no awards are listed here, her research demonstrates significant contributions to comparative cultural analysis. Advising and grant details are not explicitly documented in the provided text. Her teaching includes courses on modern Middle Eastern literatures, literary theory, and Arabic literature in translation. She engages with decolonial frameworks and the role of pedagogy in cultural studies. Current affiliations include the Asian & Middle Eastern Studies department and interdisciplinary programs at the University of Minnesota.

• Modern Middle Eastern Literatures
• Comparative Literature
• Literary Theory
• +5 more

Dr. Kristen Figgins serves as Assistant Professor of English in the Department of English at Mississippi University for Women's College of Arts & Sciences. Her scholarly profile integrates Victorian literary traditions with contemporary adaptation theory, petrofiction, and environmental humanities, emphasizing regional Texan contexts and gender dynamics. Her academic foundation includes: Ph.D. in English from University of Arkansas M.A. in English from University of Louisiana B.A. in English from University of Texas-Permian Basin Research focuses on: Adaptation Studies: particularly Victorian literature's transformation in modern media Petrofiction: analyzing oil culture narratives in Permian Basin literature Environmental Humanities: examining ecological anxieties through Lovecraft and VanderMeer Flash Fiction: exploring narrative compression and fabulist techniques Publication trends reveal consistent engagement with adaptation theory across temporal and geographic contexts, from 19th-century illustrations to contemporary oil narratives. Her work demonstrates methodological rigor in connecting historical literary forms with urgent ecological and cultural concerns, particularly regarding gender representation and regional identity in American Southwest literature. No scientific awards are documented in available sources. Student advising, grant activities, and laboratory affiliations remain unspecified in current materials, though her research trajectory suggests ongoing contributions to adaptation theory and environmental literary studies through future publications and academic collaborations.

• Adaptation Studies
• Victorian Literature
• Petrofiction
• +3 more

Lara Saguisag is an Associate Professor and Georgiou Chair in Children’s Literature and Literacy at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. She holds a PhD in Childhood Studies from Rutgers University-Camden, an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, an MA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University, and a BA in English from the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Her research integrates climate justice and energy justice movements with children’s cultural forms, exploring human relationships with fossil fuels through her upcoming book project. She co-founded Climate Lit, an open-access resource for teaching climate change via children’s literature. She also advances global Filipino Studies, focusing on labor, race, and colonial dynamics in Filipino/American children’s literature. As a member of NYU’s Sulo Initiative steering committee, she co-authored the public syllabus Here Lies Love in Critical Contexts . Her award-winning monograph Incorrigibles and Innocents: Constructing Childhood and Citizenship in Progressive Era Comics examines discourses of childhood and nationhood in early 20th-century newspaper comics. Her work has been honored with the Charles Hatfield Book Prize, Ray and Pat Browne Award, and Eisner nominations. She serves as Vice-President/President-Elect of the Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) and Associate Editor of INKS: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society . Her interdisciplinary projects bridge academia and community, emphasizing public scholarship and global Filipino intellectual traditions. Recent work highlights climate activism in youth literature and the role of comics in cultural critique.

• Climate Justice
• Energy Justice
• Children's Literature
• +4 more

Rama Alhabian is an Assistant Professor of Arabic at Hamilton College, specializing in modern and medieval Arabic literature with interdisciplinary connections to postcolonial studies and Islamicate world literatures . Her research bridges medievalist and postcolonial methodologies to re-examine Arabic literary histories through transnational frameworks. Teaches courses in geopoetics, petrocriticism, postcolonial modernity, and Indian Ocean literary archives Focuses on transcending nationalist paradigms through literature and arts Expertise in multilingual Islamicate languages: Judaeo-Arabic, Hebrew, Swahili Research Themes explore intersections of: 19th-century Arabic maqamat within global literary comparison Colonial modernity and oil's cultural impact ('Petrofictions') Island studies and maritime literary networks Translation theory and genre evolution Recent Publications analyze sensory history, translingual poetics, and textual criticism of foundational Arabic works. She has received multiple grants including the Andrew Mellon Fellowship and President's Travel Fund for her scholarly activities. Awards & Recognitions: John R. Hatch Excellence in Teaching Award (2023) Dean of Faculty Work in Progress Grant (2023) School of Criticism and Theory Fellowship (2015) Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace (2014) Actively involved in institutional committees including the Student Fellowships Committee and Language Center Advisory Committee. Professional memberships span Modern Language Association and Middle East Studies Association.

• Modern Arabic Literature
• Medieval Arabic Literature
• Postcolonial Studies
• +9 more

Santiago Acosta is an Assistant Professor in Yale University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese, specializing in modern and contemporary Latin American literature and visual arts through lenses of cultural studies, political economy, and environmental theory. He holds a Ph.D. in Latin American and Iberian Cultures from Columbia University (2020). His research examines cultural responses to extractivism, petroleum economies, and environmental crises, with a focus on Venezuela’s socio-ecological transformations. Key works include We Are Like Oil: An Ecology of the Venezuelan Culture Boom and co-edited volumes on ecopoetics and world-ecology. Acosta is also an award-winning poet, with El próximo desierto earning the José Emilio Pacheco Literature Prize. His creative work explores climate justice and ecological themes, alongside academic roles like membership in Yale’s Environmental Humanities Steering Committee and Whitney Humanities Center Fellowship. He previously served as a PRODiG Fellow at SUNY Old Westbury (2021–2023), helping launch their Environmental Studies program. Research interests span Energy Humanities, Ecocriticism, and the intersections of art/environmental policy. He frequently publishes in Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies , Mediations , and others, and co-edited the World-Ecology in Latin America special issue (2024). Teaching includes graduate seminars on Latin American Environmental Aesthetics and Energy Humanities, emphasizing colonialism, extractivism, and climate justice.

• Environmental Humanities
• Energy Humanities
• Latin American Literature
• +7 more

Helen Kapstein serves as Professor in the English Department at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, with cross-disciplinary affiliations in the Environmental Justice Minor and Gender Studies programs. Her academic leadership spans postcolonial literary scholarship and energy humanities, focusing on justice-oriented cultural analysis across global contexts. Education: PhD in English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University (2002) MPhil, Columbia University (1998) MA, Columbia University (1995) BA, Brown University (1992) Kapstein's research critically examines intersections of oil politics, environmental crisis, and colonial legacies through literary lenses. Her expertise spans Nigerian petroculture, South African apartheid narratives, Victorian literature, feminist theory, and tourism studies, consistently framing literary analysis within contemporary justice movements. This interdisciplinary approach bridges cultural studies with materialist critiques of globalization and resource extraction. Her scholarly trajectory reveals an evolution from postcolonial theory toward energy humanities, with increasing emphasis on oil's cultural dimensions and climate crisis narratives. Recent publications demonstrate methodological innovation through digital archives and public scholarship, connecting historical literary analysis with urgent contemporary issues like book bans and authoritarianism. Scientific Awards: PSC-CUNY Research Award (2024) BRESI Award for "Decolonizing the John Jay English Major" (2022) PSC-CUNY Enhanced Research Award (2021) PSC-CUNY Research Award (2020) Senior Scholar Release Award, John Jay College (2019) Research in the Classroom Award, CUNY (2018) Professor Kapstein has mentored numerous independent studies and honors projects on topics including digital archives, climate literature, and postcolonial writing. Her research is supported by multiple CUNY-funded grants addressing curriculum decolonization and energy humanities pedagogy. She has also contributed significantly to public discourse through media engagements with Inside Higher Ed, The Conversation, and Ms. Magazine. Her scholarly leadership extends to the Cultural Studies Association (serving as Past President) and collaborative initiatives at John Jay College focused on environmental and racial justice curriculum development, though she maintains no dedicated laboratory space.

• Postcolonial literature and theory
• Nigerian literature and oil politics
• South African literature and culture
• +11 more