Dr. Laura McMahon is an Associate Professor in Film and Screen Studies at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics , University of Cambridge. She is currently on sabbatical leave and will return in Easter Term 2024. Her research explores intersections between film and philosophy , with a focus on French and Francophone cinema , decolonial approaches , feminist theory , and ecocritical perspectives . Dr. McMahon’s work examines how contemporary feminist filmmakers like Onyeka Igwe and Khady Sylla engage with archives to reframe history through speculative reimagining . She also investigates ecological themes in Claire Denis’s films and the ethics of animality in global art cinema. Her monograph Animal Worlds: Film, Philosophy and Time (2019) and edited collections like Animal Life and the Moving Image (2015) highlight her contributions to debates on nonhuman representation and deconstructive aesthetics . Her recent publications analyze documentary practices , postcolonial archives , and critical repurposing in moving image work. She welcomes inquiries from MPhil and PhD students working on related topics. Her teaching and research are affiliated with the Cambridge Film and Screen initiative and the Cambridge Italian Research Network (CIRN).
Salikoko S. Mufwene is the Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. He holds additional appointments on the Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, and African Studies. His research integrates ecological perspectives into evolutionary linguistics, focusing on language contact, creole genesis, language endangerment, and the impact of colonization and globalization on linguistic diversity. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1979) Key Themes: Language evolution, creole languages, population structure, decolonial linguistics, language policy Mufwene’s work emphasizes the role of population dynamics in language change, drawing parallels with biological evolution. His recent articles examine topics such as the cultural-artifact nature of language, the ecological drivers of creole hybridization, and the decolonization of linguistic paradigms. He has also contributed extensively to debates on language endangerment and multilingualism in super-diverse societies. Scientific Awards: Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2018) Fellow, American Philosophical Society (2022) Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) Collège de France lectures (2003, 2023-24) Summer Institute of the Linguistic Society of America (1999, 2005, 2015, 2017)
Heather Congdon Fors is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Gothenburg (2006), an M.A. in Economics from the University of Waterloo (1999), and a B.A. (Honours) in Economics from the University of Manitoba (1997). Her research focuses on development economics, education, child labor, and political economy. She has led the research project 'Child labor and school attendance in India' (2014–2018) and serves as a reviewer for journals such as the European Journal of Political Economy and Economic Inquiry. Her teaching expertise includes macroeconomics, statistics, institutional economics, and international economics. She has completed pedagogical training programs including HPE201 to HPE103. Her work explores topics such as the impact of globalization on education, land certification on schooling in Ethiopia, and the persistence of harmful cultural norms like female genital cutting in Africa. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and authored reports on child labor policies, institutional change in post-colonial states, and gender biases in education. Fors has contributed to interdisciplinary projects, including analyses of bureaucrats' use of cost-benefit analysis in environmental policy and the long-term impacts of colonial missions on cultural practices. Her research bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical studies, addressing global challenges such as sustainable development goals and educational inequalities. She is based at Vasagatan 1, Gothenburg, and can be reached at heather.fors@economics.gu.se.
Roswitha Skare is a Professor of Documentation Science at the Department of Language and Culture, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, within the Faculty of Humanities, Social Sciences and Teacher Education. She is actively engaged in research and teaching, focusing on documentation studies, public libraries, archives, museums (LAM sector), digitalization, and film history. Her research interests include: Documentation and document theory Paratext and digital documents Public libraries and their role in society Libraries and social media Migration and refugee services in libraries Film history, especially silent films and early documentaries Cultural memory and Sámi cultural resilience Institutional convergence in cultural policy Her recent publications (2019–2025) reveal a strong focus on public libraries during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the role of libraries in supporting immigrants and refugees, theoretical developments in document studies, and historical film analysis—particularly Robert Flaherty’s Nanook of the North . She frequently collaborates with scholars such as Andreas Vårheim, Noah Lenstra, and Sigrid Stokstad. Her work appears in journals like Journal of Documentation , Library & Information Science Research , and Proceedings from the Document Academy . Roswitha Skare teaches courses such as: MDV-1001: Multimediale dokumenter: Historie, teori og analyse MDV-1203: Bibliotek og formidling MDV-1207: Dokumentinstitusjoner og digitalisering MDV-1206: Prosjektoppgave i bibliotek- og dokumentasjonsvitenskap She supervises bachelor’s, project, and master’s students in library and documentation science. She is a member of the research group Engaging Conflicts in a Digital Era (ENCODE) and participates in projects such as LAMCOM – Libraries, archives, and museums in the community and SAMCOM - Sámi cultural centers as community and cultural resilience infrastructure , which explore the societal roles of cultural institutions and Indigenous resilience. No scientific awards are listed in the provided text.
Inés Valdez is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. Her research bridges critical race and feminist theory with analyses of migration, transnationalism, empire, and racial capitalism. She has held fellowships from the Humboldt Stiftung, Global Arts & Humanities Society of Fellows, and the Princeton University Center for Human Values. Her 2023 book Democracy and Empire rethinks popular sovereignty through the Black radical tradition, winning the T.V. Paul Best Book Award. Earlier work includes Transnational Cosmopolitanism (2019), which redefines cosmopolitanism through global structures of domination. Her scholarship critiques empire's entanglement with democratic systems, emphasizing ecological responsibility and transnational solidarity. Recent publications explore anti-imperial sovereignty, Du Bois's ecological critiques, and Latinx political thought. She has contributed to journals like Contemporary Political Theory and Review of Politics , and her blog post Undoing Empire's Hold on Democracy (2024) addresses contemporary political crises. Valdez co-authored influential articles on migration politics and Kantian philosophy's racial dimensions. Her work integrates political theory with anticolonial praxis, advocating for transformative frameworks that challenge global hierarchies. She advises on transnational solidarity strategies and serves as a leading voice in decolonial and critical race studies.
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.
Adam King is an Assistant Professor in the Labour Studies Program at the Faculty of Arts, University of Manitoba. His research focuses on labor regulation, employment standards enforcement, Indigenous labor dynamics, deindustrialization impacts, and labor market policy. He co-investigates a SSHRC Partnership Grant project on migrant labor in settler-colonial contexts. Education: PhD in Sociology (York University, 2019) MA in History (University of Toronto, 2011) BA in Sociology/History (Trent University, 2010) His research examines the political economy of labor regulation, including enforcement mechanisms in federally regulated sectors and contested Indigenous labor relations. He analyzes deindustrialization's social consequences and contributes to debates on job guarantee proposals and right-wing populism's influence on labor movements. Recent publications explore topics like Indigenous labor law frameworks, precarious creative workers' unionization, and gendered identities in deindustrializing communities. He actively engages with media outlets such as CBC, The Globe and Mail, and The Maple's 'Class Struggle' newsletter.
Joanne Lee is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Warwick. She holds a PhD from the University of Bristol and has taught at Cardiff University and Bristol University prior to joining Warwick in 2008. Her administrative roles include Head of Italian Studies until September 2024 and Co-head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) starting January 2025. BA in Italian and Language Studies (Cardiff University, 1999) MA in Literature in European Cultures (Cardiff University, 2003) PhD (University of Bristol, 2008) Her research spans travel writing , Italian emigration/immigration , post-war women writers , and Italy's colonial memory . Recent work examines decolonizing urban spaces through Igiaba Scego's works and sustainable travel in Paolo Rumiz's pedestrian journeys. She explores ethical dimensions of travel writing, including sustainability and cosmopolitan ethics, with a focus on globalization's impact on migration narratives. Selected publications include analyses of Laura Pariani's migration novels, Soviet-Italian Cold War travel discourses, and postcolonial memory in Italian literature. She has collaborated on interdisciplinary projects addressing slow travel , virtual tourism , and post-pandemic tourism patterns. Awards include Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and Fellowship of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy.
Sho Konishi serves as Director of the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and Associate Professor in Modern Japanese History at the University of Oxford, holding dual appointments in the Faculty of History and the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies. His interdisciplinary work bridges Japanese studies with transnational intellectual history, focusing on non-imperial connections between Japan, Russia, and global networks. Undergraduate studies completed as a U.S. military school cadet after extensive coursework in Russia Georgetown University: Philosophy and International Affairs University of Chicago: Ph.D. in History (Theology and History) Postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University Konishi's research centers on intellectual and cultural history with emphases on transnational encounters, anarchist thought, and the history of science. He investigates non-imperial knowledge production across 19th-20th century Japan, Russia, and Eastern Europe, with particular focus on symbiosis theory, linguistic democracy, and the role of nonverbal communication in epistemology. His work challenges Western-centric modernity narratives through examinations of anarchist natural science and transnational emotional histories. His publications reveal consistent engagement with alternative epistemologies and cross-cultural exchanges, spanning transnational history, the history of science, and cultural studies. Key themes include Japan-Russia intellectual networks, anarchist cooperative movements, and non-imperial frameworks that reposition Japan within global knowledge systems rather than colonial paradigms. ICAS Book Prize 2023 – Humanities for Japan’s Russia: Challenging the East-West Paradigm Konishi contributes to international academic governance as Advisory Board Member for the Esperantic Studies Foundation, External Faculty at the University of Chicago Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge, and International Advisory Board Member for Manchester University Press's Anarchist Studies Series. His cultural impact extends to architectural projects like the Venice Biennale's Philippine Pavilion through 'Symbiogenesis: The Art of Bayanihan Architecture'.
Marcus Smith is an Associate Professor in Law at the Charles Sturt University , where he teaches LAW222 Technology Law and directs the Bachelor of Laws program. He holds advanced degrees from the Australian National University (PhD, LLM) and the University of Cambridge (MPhil). His research spans technology law and regulation , focusing on genomic data governance biometric identification AI ethics blockchain policy cybersecurity surveillance law He leads the Contemporary Threats to Australian Security research group and serves as Chief Investigator on an NHMRC-funded project (MRF2015531) addressing genomic dataset governance. His recent work analyzes algorithmic bias in facial recognition AI in healthcare blockchain's regulatory challenges post-pandemic cybercrime surveillance ethics data security frameworks He actively supervises PhD and honours students in technology law and contributes to law reform through submissions to international bodies like the UN Human Rights Council .
Pawan Adhikari is a Professor of Accounting at Essex Business School, University of Essex , where he serves as Director of Impact and Enterprise and Director of Essex Accounting Centre . He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management and a Executive Board Member of the Comparative International Governmental Accounting Research Network (CIGAR) . Previously, he led accounting reforms at Nepal’s Accounting and Auditing Standards Board and lectured at Nord University, Norway. PhD, Nord University Business School Fellow of the Higher Education Academy His research focuses on public sector accounting in developing countries, particularly accounting reforms , public value creation , and climate accountability . He explores how accrual accounting and participatory budgeting can enhance transparency in South Asian and African contexts. His work has influenced policy-making in Nepal and is recognized with the 2023 Best International Research Impact award by the University of Essex. Recent publications analyze wellbeing economies (2025), NGO accountability in disasters (2024), and climate budgeting (2023). He collaborates with institutions like the World Bank , European Commission , and British Academy , focusing on projects related to financial resilience , circular economy , and health sector accountability . Supervising 8 current PhD students, his advisees have produced work on topics like accrual accounting in Bangladesh and NGO accountability in Palestine . World Bank/PEFA Research Award African Accounting and Financial Association (AAFA) Award ESRC IIA Impact Fund GCRF and SeNSS Grants 2019 Best Postgraduate Supervisor (Essex)
Dr. Doyle D. Calhoun serves as University Assistant Professor of Francophone Postcolonial Studies within the Department of French at the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages and Linguistics, University of Cambridge, where he is also a Fellow of Peterhouse College. His scholarly profile spans African and Caribbean literary studies, cinema analysis, and historical sociolinguistics with a focus on resistance narratives. His educational trajectory includes a Ph.D. in French from Yale University (2022), an M.A. in Linguistics from KU Leuven, and undergraduate studies in Linguistics and French Literature at Boston College. Additional academic development occurred through residencies at Fondation Camargo (Cassis) and Bibliothèque Marmottan (Paris). Calhoun’s research centers on Francophone postcolonial resistance, particularly suicidal acts against French colonialism as documented in The Suicide Archive (2024). His work excavates silenced histories of Atlantic slavery, abolition movements, and Négritude philosophy through literary and cinematic archives, emphasizing Senegalese and Caribbean contexts. He explores how contemporary writers reconstruct erased narratives of enslaved resistance through transmedia practices. His recent publications reveal a methodological convergence between literary analysis, historical recovery, and decolonial theory. Articles frequently address archival silences in colonial documentation while examining how contemporary artists reimagine resistance through linguistic innovation, cinematic storytelling, and embodied protest. Key thematic clusters include the weaponization of silence, subversive uses of missionary linguistics, and the politics of memory in postcolonial contexts. 2024 Malcolm Bowie Prize (Society for French Studies) 2024 William R. Parker Prize (Modern Language Association) 2021 Ralph Cohen Prize (New Literary History) 2016 Vivien Law Prize (Henry Sweet Society) Calhoun actively mentors graduate students in African/Caribbean literatures and cinema studies, with current projects including Africa after 1848 and Florence . His grant history features academic residencies at Fondation Camargo and Bibliothèque Marmottan, alongside a 2021 scholarship from the latter institution. Public engagement includes the 2025 La Noire de... film symposium and contributions to Los Angeles Review of Books and Salon . He contributes to the Cambridge Language Collective and Polyglossia Magazine while organizing events through Peterhouse. His 2025 podcast appearances on Stegi Radio and New Books Network demonstrate active knowledge dissemination beyond traditional academic channels.
Clare Harris serves as Professor of Visual Anthropology and Head of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at the University of Oxford, concurrently holding curatorship of Asian Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum and a Fellowship at Magdalen College. Her academic leadership spans institutional administration, museum curation, and doctoral supervision within Oxford's anthropological ecosystem. Her educational foundation includes a BA from the University of Cambridge and MA/doctorate from SOAS, University of London. Early career roles comprised Lecturer in Anthropology of Art at the University of East Anglia (1994-1998) before her Oxford appointment. Harris pioneers research at the intersection of visual anthropology, Tibetan studies, and museum decolonization. Her work critically examines Himalayan visual culture, colonial/post-colonial photography, and museum representation politics, evolving toward digital repatriation and community-centered curation. She integrates anthropological fieldwork (conducted in Tibetan diaspora communities since the 1990s) with art historical analysis and archival research. Her 13 recent publications (2004-2022) reveal a progressive trajectory from Tibetan art history toward urgent museum decolonization debates, with consistent focus on photographic practices and cross-cultural representation. Key thematic developments include the shift from historical analysis to active digital repatriation projects and increased engagement with contemporary artists. Harris's accolades include: Fellowship of the British Academy (2019) E. Gene Smith Prize for The Museum on the Roof of the World (2014) Visual Anthropology Prize for In the Image of Tibet (2000) She currently supervises five DPhil students while examining over 25 completed doctorates globally. Research funding spans British Academy personal grants, Leverhulme Trust support, and major collaborative projects including AHRC, Wenner-Gren Foundation, and EU grants—most notably the current AHRC-funded Decolonising the Museum: Digital Repatriation of the Gaidinliu Collection . At the Pitt Rivers Museum, Harris leads high-impact curatorial initiatives including the Abramović collaboration ( Gates and Portals ), Nyema Droma's Performing Tibetan Identities , and community projects like My Tibet Museum , establishing innovative frameworks for museum-public engagement.
Carolina Alves is an Associate Professor in Economics at University College London's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). She holds a distinguished position as a Fellow in Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge, and serves on the Leadership Team of the UCL Centre for Capitalism Studies. Her academic journey spans prestigious institutions including SOAS, University of London for her PhD, and Unesp and Unicamp in Brazil for her undergraduate and master's degrees. BSc in Economic Science from Unesp (Brazil) MPhil in Sociology of Labour from Unicamp (Brazil) PhD in Economics from SOAS, University of London Joan Robinson Research Fellow in Heterodox Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge Dr. Alves' research spans critical areas including Critical Macro-Finance, Structuralist Macroeconomics, and the Decolonisation of Economics, with influences rooted in Classical Political Economy, Latin American Structuralism, Dependency Theory, and Marxian economics. Her work critically examines the international monetary system, power relations in economic systems, and Eurocentric limitations in economic theory. Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on heterodox economic approaches, with particular attention to government bonds, international financial subordination, and the historical development of economic thought. Her eight most recent publications reveal a consistent research trajectory examining the intersections of political economy, financial systems, and economic theory development, with increasing attention to decolonial perspectives in economics. This work has garnered significant attention across academic and policy circles, with multiple citations and social media engagement. Joan Robinson Research Fellowship in Heterodox Economics at Girton College, University of Cambridge Co-founder of Diversifying and Decolonising Economics initiative Co-editor of The Developing Economics blog Trustee for Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics As an educator, Dr. Alves serves as module leader for 'New Economic Thinking and Public Value' and co-leader for 'Rethinking Capitalism' at UCL. She is deeply engaged in initiatives aimed at transforming economics education, particularly through the Diversifying and Decolonising Economics movement which she co-founded. Her leadership extends to multiple advisory roles including the Rebuilding Macroeconomics Advisory Board, Progressive Economy Forum Council, and Positive Money Advisory Panel.
