Michael Lucey is the Sidney and Margaret Ancker Chair and Distinguished Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His work bridges French literature from the 19th to 21st centuries with social theory, sexuality studies, and linguistic anthropology. He has authored the critically acclaimed What Proust Heard: Novels and the Ethnography of Talk (2022) and Thinking about Sexuality with Novels (forthcoming). As founding director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Culture , he has shaped interdisciplinary research in queer theory and gender studies. Current research focuses on novels as ethnographic tools Specializes in Proust, Balzac, Woolf, and contemporary French fiction Translation work includes Didier Eribon and Édouard Louis His recent articles explore phonetics in narrative, readability frameworks, and sociological implications of literary form. He actively engages with comparative methodologies and critical theory, while his teaching spans British and American literature’s intersections with French modernism. Lucey’s academic leadership includes directing Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Sexual Culture, which supports global discourse through fellowships and conferences. His office hours are held in Dwinelle Hall and via Zoom. Contact: mlucey@berkeley.edu
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).
Lisa Gilman is a Professor of Folklore and English at George Mason University, and the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of American Folklore . Her research focuses on refugee arts initiatives, intangible cultural heritage, and the intersections of performance, gender, and politics in global contexts. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Malawi, Turkey, France, and the U.S., emphasizing marginalized communities. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Folklore from Indiana University, followed by roles at the University of Oregon and Mzuzu University (Malawi). Key awards include the Fulbright Teaching/Research Award and Rippey Innovative Teaching Award. She produced the documentary Grounds for Resistance , exploring anti-war activism among U.S. veterans. Her current project, the Dzaleka Art Project , collaborates with refugees in Malawi to document cultural creativity and advocate for visibility. This work has been featured in the Wilson Center and Smithsonian publications. Gilman teaches courses on public humanities, ethnographic fieldwork, and digital storytelling, integrating community engagement with academic rigor. Her publications span topics from African expressive culture to UNESCO policy impacts, with notable books including My Music, My War and co-edited volumes like Africa Every Day . Grants include funding from the Woodrow Wilson Center and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Dr Olga Petri is an Assistant Professor in Human Geography at the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge. She is a Bye-Fellow and Director of Studies in Geography (Part II) at Jesus College, and a Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Research Fellow. Her research bridges cultural and historical geography, queer studies, and more-than-human geographies, with a focus on urban modernity in non-Western contexts. Born in St Petersburg, Olga holds a BA and MA in Geography from Saint-Petersburg State University, an MSc in Urban Studies from University College London (merit), and a PhD in Geography from the University of Cambridge. Olga's research explores four key areas: Queer Geographies in authoritarian urban spaces, More-than-Human Geographies analyzing human-animal relationships, Russian Arctic Studies examining environmental and geopolitical transformations, and Migration Urbanism studying cities as hubs for political refugees. Her work on Beastly St Petersburg and Winged Worlds reconfigures urban history through animal and queer lenses. Scientific awards include the Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Research Fellowship and a 2020 shortlisting for Student-Led Teaching Award . She is a Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College since 2018. Olga leads postdoctoral research on human-animal dynamics in imperial Russia. She supervises graduate students in cultural/historical geography and urban studies. Her work features in Vital Geographies research group at Cambridge.
Angelika Sjöstedt serves as Professor and Chair of Gender Studies within the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Mid Sweden University. Her academic leadership spans teaching across Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD programs in Gender Studies and Sociology, while actively contributing to institutional discourse through roles such as delivering the 2024 academic celebration lecture. She maintains significant engagement with contemporary academic freedom debates, notably co-organizing the 2024 seminar series addressing responsible internationalization amid the Gaza conflict. Her research profile reveals deep expertise in intersectional analysis of gender, settler colonialism, and labor precarity, particularly examining how chronic crises manifest in peripheralized regions. Recent work demonstrates acute responsiveness to geopolitical emergencies, with 2024 publications directly confronting academic complicity in genocide. Her methodological approach bridges ethnographic rigor with activist scholarship, evident in long-term collaborations like the Båskoes Sámi research network and Forum for Gender Research. Sjöstedt's scholarly trajectory shows consistent thematic development from early work on flexible knowledge-work subjectivity (2012) through nuanced examinations of rural resilience (2017-2020) to current urgent interventions in academic freedom. Her publications reveal distinctive geographic focus on Norrland's inland regions while maintaining transnational theoretical relevance, particularly regarding mining resistance movements and crisis management frameworks. The 2021-2024 output demonstrates accelerated engagement with acute political emergencies, signaling scholarly adaptation to escalating global crises. Professional networks constitute a critical dimension of her work, with sustained involvement in the Forum for Gender Research since at least 2015 and leadership in the Båskoes network advancing Indigenous research methodologies. Her editorial work on critical anthologies like Aktivism: En antologi om arbete för social och politisk förändring (2022) demonstrates commitment to bridging academic and activist knowledge production.
Julie Rak is the HM Tory Chair and Professor in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta. She holds a BA and PhD from McMaster University and an MA from Carleton University. Her research focuses on auto/biography, life writing, and nonfiction in North America, with specialties in gender, Canadian literature, and publishing studies. She has authored or co-edited numerous books, including False Summit: Gender in Mountaineering Nonfiction (2021) and The Routledge Introduction to Auto/biography in Canada (2023). Rak’s academic roles include interim Chair of the EFS Department (2023–2024) and leadership in the Stories of Change research group. She has received prestigious awards such as the J. Gordin Kaplan Award (2023) and the Killam Annual Professorship (2017–2018). Her research explores marginalized narratives, including Inuit literature and digital life writing, with a commitment to inclusivity and community engagement. Her teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on autobiography, gender theory, and Canadian literature. She actively supervises research projects and supports student initiatives like the Roger Smith Undergraduate Research Award. Rak’s work bridges academic rigor with public scholarship, with over 90 media engagements. Education: PhD in English, McMaster University MA in Canadian Studies, Carleton University BA in English, McMaster University Grants & Projects: SSHRC Insight Grant for Government Agents, Literary Agents: Inuit Books and Government Intervention, 1968–1985 Leadership in the Stories of Change initiative Awards & Honors: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2022) Henry Marshall Tory Chair (2019–2025) 2024 Visiting Professor at Merton College, Oxford
Ju Hui Judy Han is an Associate Professor in Gender Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, with additional affiliations at the Center for Korean Studies, Center for the Study of Women, and Asia Pacific Center. Her office is located in 1117 Rolfe Hall at UCLA. As a cultural geographer, Professor Han is committed to building critical and transnational conversations concerning gender, sexuality, and activism, regularly contributing to community-based projects and public events both on campus and beyond. Professor Han received her Ph.D. in Geography from UC Berkeley and her B.A. in English and Women's Studies from UC Berkeley. Her educational background bridges humanities and social sciences, providing a strong foundation for her interdisciplinary research. Her research interests span (Im)mobilities, Religion and difference, conservatism, LGBTQ/queer politics and activism, Comics and graphic novels, Korean studies, and Cultural geography. Professor Han approaches these topics through a critical lens that emphasizes transnational perspectives, particularly focusing on South Korea and the Korean diaspora. Her work often examines how power operates through spatial arrangements and how marginalized communities navigate and resist dominant structures. She has developed innovative approaches to studying activism through comics and graphic nonfiction, creating accessible yet theoretically rich analyses of complex social phenomena. Professor Han's publications reveal consistent engagement with queer politics in South Korea, religious movements, and transnational activism. Her work shows a progression from analyzing specific case studies to developing broader theoretical frameworks about resistance, solidarity, and spatial politics. The recurring themes across her publications include the intersection of religion and queer politics, the spatial dimensions of activism, and the transnational connections between social movements. UCLA Center for the Study of Women/Barbra Streisand Center, inaugural Barbra Streisand Fellowship on Truth in the Public Sphere Podcast Support Grant, University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI), 2021-22 Society of Hellman Fellows Award, UCLA, 2021-22 UCLA Faculty Career Development Award, 2018-2019 Co-Applicant, 'Protesting Publics in South Korea,' SSHRC Insight Grant (PI: Jennifer Jihye Chun), 2015-2020 Co-Investigator, 'Urban Aspirations in Seoul: Religion and Megacities in Comparative Studies,' Max Planck Institute, 2011-2017 Professor Han actively contributes to public discourse through media appearances and community engagement. She has received significant research funding supporting her work on South Korean protest movements and urban religious dynamics. Her teaching portfolio is diverse, including the Gender Studies undergraduate core class on power (102), senior capstone seminars (187), elective courses on transnational feminist politics (131) and comics and graphic nonfiction (185), as well as graduate seminars on feminist geographies, queer temporalities, and research design.
Joel Wolfe is a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, based in Herter Hall. He holds a B.S. from Georgetown University, an M.A. in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research focuses on modern Brazil, Latin American history, and the cultural and political history of baseball and football. Wolfe is the author of three books, including *Working Women, Working Men* (1993) and *Autos and Progress* (2010), with his latest work *Brazil* (2023) examining national history. He is currently writing a book on the history of American football and a project on inter-American trade and culture in the 1920s. Wolfe’s teaching includes courses on modern Latin America, Brazilian history, and the history of baseball and football. His awards include the George R. Brown Prize for Excellence in Teaching (Rice University, 2003–2005) and the Residential First Year Experience Student Choice Award at UMass Amherst. His research integrates themes of labor, modernization, and transnational connections, with a focus on Brazil’s industrialization, populism, and cultural identity. His work bridges economic, social, and cultural history, often exploring how technology, politics, and everyday life shape national narratives. Ongoing projects emphasize the intersection of sport, national identity, and globalization in Latin America and the U.S.
Dr. Ali Kassem is a Lecturer in Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. His academic work spans multiple disciplines, focusing on decolonial approaches to understanding power dynamics, knowledge production, and social formations across the Arab-majority world and beyond. Dr. Kassem received his PhD from the School of Law, Politics, and Sociology at the University of Sussex. He completed postdoctoral research at the Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Edinburgh and was an early career fellow with the Arab Council for Social Sciences funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. His academic journey includes teaching and research positions at Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich, EHESS in Paris, American University of Beirut, and Lebanese American University. Dr. Kassem's research examines contemporary coloniality across questions of power and knowledge. His work spans anti-Muslim racism within Arab-majority contexts, transformations in Islamic educational institutions, dehumanization of Syrian refugees, and urban transformations in Lebanon. His transdisciplinary approach engages ethnic and racial studies, sociology of religion, social psychology, migration studies, and urban studies, working alongside anticolonial thinkers including Frantz Fanon, Ali Shariati, and James Baldwin. His recent publications reveal a strong focus on decolonial theory applied to education, urban studies, and Islamic contexts. Dr. Kassem's work consistently challenges Eurocentric frameworks while exploring alternatives emerging from the Global South. His research demonstrates particular attention to Lebanon and the eastern Mediterranean region as sites for theorizing global coloniality. Dr. Kassem has authored the book "Islamophobia and Global Coloniality: the Lived Erasure of Visibly Muslim Women in Lebanon" (Bloomsbury Academic, February 2023) and is currently editing "Decoloniality and Arabo-Islamicate Worlds" (Bristol University Press, 2025). His scholarly contributions appear in journals including Ethnic and Racial Studies, Globalizations, Contemporary Religion, and Review of Middle East Studies.
Karsten Kenklies is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the Strathclyde Institute of Education, University of Strathclyde. Previously, he served as Junior-Professor (Chair for Comparative Education) at Jena University, Germany from 2003-2016. His work bridges Hermeneutic Pedagogy with intercultural comparisons, focusing on European, Japanese, and American educational theories. Key interests include Bildung , queer pedagogy, and Japanese arts-based education. Education: Multiple Masters (Science, Education, Philosophy, Arts) and PhD (Jena University, Germany). Research Focus: Systematic-conceptual analysis of education across cultures. Current projects explore pre-modern Japanese educational theories, continental Bildung concepts, and Anglo-Saxon self-formation ideas. Co-founder of ExET (Experiments in Education Theory), promoting conceptual research globally. Awards: Award for Fundamental Research (2007), Research & Conference Fellowship (2018). Teaching: Leads MSc Education Studies program, teaches History of Education, Pedagogical Theory, and Contemporary Challenges. Supervises PhD projects in areas like queer education, Japanese pedagogy, and hermeneutic approaches. Key Contributions: Over 78 publications including books, articles, and reviews. Active in international networks like the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. Co-investigator on projects like 'What’s the ‘use’ in Higher Education?' (2025-2026).
Sarah Green is a Professor at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Her research focuses on the anthropology of borders, livestock and microbial movements, and Mediterranean and Balkan regional dynamics. She has led projects such as "Crosslocations in the Mediterranean" and "Opening Pandora’s Box: Assessing The Risks of Permafrost Thaw" , exploring environmental and health intersections. As Editor-in-Chief of Social Anthropology , she has shaped academic discourse. Her recent work examines zoonotic disease control and nonhuman animal migration. She advises doctoral theses on topics ranging from Roma policy to digital intimacy in Egypt. Affiliated with Helsinki One Health, she bridges social and medical sciences. Education: Not explicitly detailed in texts, but her academic roles imply advanced anthropological training. Research Projects: Includes "InterEarth RESET" (climate change), "Trade, Transit and Travel in the Mediterranean" , and "EastBordNet" . Grants: Recipient of University profiling funding and Research Council of Finland grants. Her theoretical contributions include "Crosslocations" theory, analyzing spatial entanglements. She frequently participates in conferences like the American Anthropological Association meetings and contributes to editorial boards. Recent publications address border entanglements, postmodern gender theory, and Mediterranean geopolitics.
Professor Barbara Pini is a faculty member at Griffith University's School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science , with a focus on rural sociology, gender studies, and media analysis. She holds a PhD from Queensland University of Technology (2001) and an MBA from the University of New England (1997). Research Interests: Pini's work examines rural identities, gender representation in media, disability studies, and affective geographies. Her projects often intersect with Sustainable Development Goals like Gender Equality and Reduced Inequalities , using interdisciplinary approaches to analyze visual culture, policy, and social narratives. Funded Research: She has received grants from the PA Research Foundation (2021-2022) and the Australian Research Council (2011-2017) for studies on emergency care and rural disability experiences. Scientific Awards: Notable grants include the ARC Discovery Projects DP110102719 and PA Research Foundation's 'Rethinking Emergency Medicine' grant. Teaching & Supervision: Pini has supervised over 14 doctoral and master's students at Griffith University, including Hannah Ruth Adler, Marnie Cruickshank, and Laura Rodriguez Castro, across topics like medicinal cannabis, gendered financialization, and decolonial research.
Katherine Hubbard is an Associate Professor of Art and Director of the MFA Program at Carnegie Mellon University School of Art. Her practice integrates photography, writing, and performance to explore the intersection of social politics, history, and narrative through a lens of bodily engagement. Hubbard's work emphasizes analog photography as a medium that mimics and interrogates the body's relationship to visual processes, often staging performances where participants' physical positioning becomes integral to the artwork's temporal experience. Education: MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College (2010). Research focuses on the politics of looking, the malleability of vision, and bridging the imaginary with the familiar through interdisciplinary projects. Notable collaborations include the Poetry Parade series (2012–ongoing), a migratory feminist reading action performed in institutions like the Whitney Museum, and cyclops & slashes (2015), a participatory performance addressing social dynamics through photography and text. Awards: 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship in Photography. Hubbard has exhibited widely, including solo shows at Higher Pictures (New York) and Company Gallery (NY), with works featured in Frieze Magazine . Her projects often involve site-specific installations, such as Four shoulders and thirty five percent everything else (2014), which interrogates landscape and perception in Utah's desert.
Hakan Sandal-Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Gender, Peace and Security at the Department of Gender Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science. His research critically examines intersections of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, and conflict in the Middle East, particularly focusing on Kurdish queer/LGBTIQ+ politics and diasporic movements. He is also invested in creative-critical interdisciplinary research methods, co-editing a volume on politically engaged methodologies. Previously, he served at the University of Cambridge as a Teaching Associate and Affiliated Lecturer, and as Campaigns Officer for Amnesty UK’s LGBTI Network. Education : - PhD, University of Cambridge Centre for Gender Studies - MA in Cultural Studies, Istanbul Bilgi University Research Interests : - Queer Studies in Conflict Zones - Kurdish Social Movements - Diasporic Feminist and Queer Activism - Ethnography and Creative Writing Methodologies Publications Trends : His work bridges theoretical inquiries with activism, emphasizing marginalized queer voices in conflict-affected regions. Recent projects include monographs on Kurdish queer politics and co-edited collections on creative-critical interventions for social justice. Awards & Grants : No awards explicitly mentioned, but his work has been translated into multiple languages and featured in outlets such as openDemocracy and Jadaliyya. Advising & Mentorship : No listed advisees, but directs LSE’s MSc Gender and MSc Gender (Research) programmes, teaching courses like GI402 (Gender, Knowledge & Research Practice) and GI413 (Gender, Race & Militarisation). Labs & Collaborations : Co-convened 'Creaction' interdisciplinary workshops at UCL, fostering global creative-critical social justice research.
Prof. Dr. Sakura Yamamura is a Junior Professor (Assistant Professor) in Digital Methods in Human Geography at RWTH Aachen University, holding a Dr. rer. nat. in Geography from the University of Hamburg (2018). Her research focuses on migration, transnationalism, superdiversity, and urban studies, with a particular emphasis on digital methods applied to spatial and social dynamics. She has held postdoctoral and visiting fellowships at institutions including the Max Planck Institute and Maastricht University. Yamamura’s work bridges geography, sociology, and economics, examining how transnational migrants shape global cities like Tokyo and the impacts of globalization on urban spaces and policies. Her recent studies address the intersectionality of entrepreneurship, pandemic effects on LGBTQ+ activism, and digital transformations in urban production. Research interests include the socio-spatial dimensions of migration, intersectional approaches to entrepreneurship, and the interplay between digital tools and human geography. Her academic contributions span peer-reviewed articles in journals like Ethnic and Racial Studies and Urban Studies , as well as edited volumes on superdiversity and global urbanization. She actively engages in interdisciplinary dialogue, addressing topics such as mediated social touch and the methodological challenges of fieldwork in transnational contexts. Yamamura’s career includes roles as a guest lecturer at Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland) and SKEMA Business School (France), reflecting her commitment to international collaboration and teaching. She has advised numerous research projects and contributes to policy discussions on migration and urban development. Her current work at RWTH Aachen emphasizes leveraging digital methods to analyze complex urban systems and transnational networks.
