Saul M. Olyan is the Samuel Ungerleider Jr. Professor of Judaic Studies and Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University. His research focuses on the history, literature, and religion of ancient Israel, with particular emphasis on ritual practices, social inequality, and biblical interpretation. He holds editorial roles for multiple academic series including the Brown Judaic Studies monograph series and the Anchor Yale Bible series. Education: Ph.D. (1985), M.A. (1984), and B.A. (1981) from Harvard University. Awards include NEH Fellowships and membership in the American Academy for Jewish Research. Teaching covers biblical studies, ancient Near Eastern religions, and topics like inequality, disability, and warfare in antiquity. Research interests span ritual violence, disability representation, and social hierarchy in biblical texts. Notable works include Animal Rights and the Hebrew Bible (2023) and Violent Rituals of the Hebrew Bible (2019). His articles explore themes like purity ideology, familial rites, and monotheistic developments in Isaiah. Key contributions include editorial work on Dead Sea Scrolls and interdisciplinary projects like Household and Family Religion in Antiquity . His work bridges textual analysis with social theory, offering innovative insights into ancient Israelite and Near Eastern religious practices.
Bocar A Ba is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences since 2021, with a visiting research scholar appointment at Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs (2025-2026). Holding a PhD from The University of Chicago (2018), his work bridges economics with political science and criminal justice studies. Education: Ph.D. in Economics, The University of Chicago (2018) Research Focus : Analyzes policing practices, media narratives around police violence, temperature-aggression dynamics, and institutional racism. His work employs advanced econometric methods and large-scale data analysis. Article Trends : Recent publications examine media syntactic patterns obscuring police accountability political ideology distribution in police forces climate impacts on police-civilian violence racial disparities in police recognition systems peer effects on police force use Scientific Recognition : Selected for Princeton's Visiting Research Scholar program in public policy analysis. Grants Received : National Science Foundation (2023-2026): Social Movements and Corporate Opportunities Arnold Ventures (2024-2025): Alternatives to Policing research United States Naval Academy (2022-2023): Policing and Criminal Justice impacts Teaching : Instructs courses on criminal justice economics and advanced topics in economics.
Aaron Dicker is an Instructor in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of South Carolina's McCausland College of Arts and Sciences. His research explores the intersection of argumentation, social movement theory, and the rhetorical performance of Antisemitism in both everyday and extremist contexts. ABD in Rhetoric & Politics, Georgia State University M.A. in Rhetorical Criticism, Ball State University B.A. in Political Science, DePauw University Dicker's work systematically analyzes how extremist organizations construct identity through visual representation, particularly focusing on groups like ISIS and the Black Panther Party. His current agenda examines performative Antisemitism and its societal manifestations. Recent publications highlight his expertise in media analysis, visual rhetoric, and terrorism studies. Collaborative works with C.K. Winkler and others investigate ISIS's photography campaigns, institutional positioning strategies, and the transformation of violent narratives in digital spaces. Dicker teaches courses in argumentation (Speech 260), online public communication (Speech 145), and foundational public communication (Speech 140). His contributions span both academic publications and pedagogical development within rhetorical studies.
Adam M. Enders is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Louisville. He also teaches advanced courses on measurement and scaling at the ICPSR Summer Program. His research examines the intersection of political psychology and societal dynamics, focusing on conspiracy theories, core values, partisanship, and polarization. Enders holds a Ph.D. (2016) and M.A. (2013) in Political Science from Michigan State University, and a B.A. (2011) in Political Science and Public Policy from Albion College. His work investigates how conspiratorial thinking influences public opinion, the role of racial prejudice in political behavior, and how subjective perceptions contribute to polarization. Publications appear in top journals like the American Journal of Political Science and Journal of Politics . He has also contributed to The Atlantic and Politico Magazine , analyzing modern conspiracism and its political ramifications. Teaching focuses include political psychology, public opinion dynamics, and quantitative research methods. His methodological expertise in scaling and measurement underpins much of his empirical work, emphasizing rigorous design to explore complex belief systems.
Ryan Scrivens is an Associate Professor at the School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University, and holds cross-appointments as Associate Director at Simon Fraser University's International CyberCrime Research Centre and Research Fellow at VOX-Pol Network of Excellence (Ireland). His problem-oriented research combines computational methods with qualitative insights to study right-wing extremism, hate crime, and cyber-terrorist activities. PhD in Criminology (2017), Simon Fraser University MA in Criminology (2011), Ontario Tech University BA in Criminology (2009), Ontario Tech University His research integrates advanced quantitative methods and machine learning with in-depth interviews to analyze: online radicalization pathways , right-wing extremist forum dynamics , and CVE program evaluation . Recent work examines incel subcultures on Reddit, hate speech during global crises, and desistance modeling for extremists. His publications span journals like Terrorism and Political Violence and Social Media + Society , with forthcoming volumes on Former Extremists (Oxford) and Right-Wing Extremism (Palgrave). Funded by Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, he advises law enforcement agencies and tech companies internationally. Early Career Impact Award (2022), American Society of Criminology As editorial board member for Terrorism and Political Violence and Perspectives on Terrorism , Scrivens bridges academic rigor with practitioner needs through 60+ publications and policy engagement.
Professor Debbie Felton (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Classics since 1999, with research focusing on Folklore in classical literature Supernatural and monstrous narratives Classical tradition & reception . She has edited major works including The Oxford Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth and A Cultural History of Monsters in Antiquity . Her public engagement includes media appearances on Coast to Coast AM Classical Wisdom The Monster Professor and founding The Ancient Monsters Blog with UMass Public Engagement Project funding. Current research trends include Monsters as cultural anxiety indicators Ancient undead concepts Serial killer archetypes in mythology Lexical analysis of horror terms . She has received multiple teaching awards including the CAMWS Award for Excellence in College Teaching and Provost’s Exceptional Merit Award , while teaching courses like Classics 360: Fairy Tales in the Ancient World and Greek 474: Ancient Greek Ghost Stories .
Yonatan Lupu is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California-San Diego (2012) and a J.D. from Georgetown University (2002). His office is located in Monroe Hall, Room 417, Washington, DC. His research explores human rights, political violence, international law and institutions, conflict dynamics, courts, and networked behavior in digital spaces. He employs experimental methods, computational modeling, and network analysis to examine how offline events influence online behavior, the spread of extremism, and the effectiveness of international legal frameworks. Lupu's recent publications focus on digital authoritarianism, online hate networks, COVID-19 misinformation, and the intersection of technology with human rights. His work demonstrates consistent innovation in applying computational methods to political phenomena and conflict analysis. He teaches courses including Introduction to International Relations , Constitutional Law , Public International Law , and specialized seminars on conflict and commerce.
Alina Arseniev-Koehler serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Purdue University, where she bridges computational methods with cultural sociology to investigate language, health, and social inequality. Her research clarifies how cultural meaning systems perpetuate disparities through stereotypes related to body weight, disease, and gender. Her academic background includes: B.A. in Sociology, University of Washington (2014) Master's and Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles (2022) Dr. Arseniev-Koehler's methodological expertise centers on computational text analysis using word embeddings and machine learning to model cultural meaning in large datasets. She examines how language encodes moral judgments about obesity, stigmatizing disease narratives, and gender stereotypes in educational contexts. Her work demonstrates that computational methods require deep theoretical engagement with sociological concepts of meaning. Analysis of her recent publications (2021-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: (1) Methodological innovation in word embedding applications for cultural measurement, (2) Health disparity investigations using the All of Us Research Program and NVDRS data, particularly regarding obesity diagnosis and suicide patterns, and (3) Gendered analysis of mental health indicators and educational stereotypes through historical media analysis. No scientific awards were documented in the provided materials. Information regarding graduate student advising and external grant funding was not specified in the available sources. While no dedicated research lab is mentioned, her work consistently leverages interdisciplinary collaborations through access to national datasets like the National Violent Death Reporting System.
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States
Mohamed Mwamzandi is a Teaching Associate Professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He specializes in African linguistics and Swahili language education, emphasizing the role of Swahili as a lingua franca in East and Central Africa. His research focuses on corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, pragmatics, and morpho-syntax, with recent work addressing counter violent extremism through language and community engagement. Dr. Mwamzandi holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington, an M.A. in Languages and Linguistics from Egerton University (Kenya), and a Certificate in African Language Pedagogy from Indiana University. His teaching integrates linguistic theory with practical applications, such as providing translation services to Swahili-speaking immigrant communities in the Research Triangle. His research employs corpus analysis tools to study Swahili syntax and pragmatics, including studies on demonstratives, conditional constructions, and reciprocal structures. He also explores the strategic use of Swahili in Kenya’s counter-terrorism efforts, advocating for multilingual approaches to security. His publications appear in journals like Studies in African Linguistics and conference proceedings such as the Southeast African Languages and Literatures Forum. Though no formal awards are listed, his work bridges academic research with real-world applications, particularly in language preservation, community service, and policy-oriented language studies.
Jeremy Blackburn is an Associate Professor at Binghamton University's School of Computing, where he joined in fall 2019. His research focuses on data science, large-scale measurements, and modeling of toxic online behavior, hate speech, and extremist web communities, with significant media coverage from The Washington Post, New York Times, and BBC. Education: PhD, University of South Florida MSc, University of South Florida BSc, University of South Florida Dr. Blackburn's work centers on computational analysis of social dynamics , specializing in fringe online communities and cyber social threats . His methodology combines large-scale data collection with advanced modeling to dissect hate speech evolution, platform migration effects, and disinformation campaigns. Key contributions include developing detection frameworks for coordinated aggression and analyzing ideological spaces across platforms like Reddit, Telegram, and Rumble. Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal expanding research into adaptive hate speech detection systems, LLM capabilities for counterfactual reasoning, and cross-platform extremism analysis. His work increasingly integrates vision-language models while maintaining focus on real-world applications for content moderation, with growing attention to emerging platforms like Lemmy and Rumble's podcast ecosystem. Scientific Awards: No major scientific awards were explicitly documented in source materials Dr. Blackburn secured two significant NSF SaTC grants: (1) a 2023 Medium grant for iDRAMA.cloud (measuring information manipulation), and (2) a 2021 Small grant for detecting influence campaign accounts. While specific advisees aren't listed, his active research profile suggests graduate student mentorship in data science and cybersecurity projects. His research infrastructure includes the Social Media Analysis Toolkit (SMAT) and datasets like pushshift reddit/telegram collections, supporting collaborative work on cyber social threats through his lab environment focused on computational social science and security.
Sandipto Dasgupta is an Assistant Professor of Politics at The New School for Social Research, part of The New School university system. He is currently on leave for the 2024-25 academic year as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. His research focuses on the history of modern political and social thought, particularly the political theory of empire, decolonization, and postcolonial governance. He authored the book Legalizing the Revolution: India and the Constitution of the Postcolony (Cambridge University Press, 2024), which examines the institutionalization of postcolonial futures through India's constitutional history. Before joining The New School, Dasgupta held postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University and the British Academy. His academic work bridges constitutional history, postcolonial studies, and political theory, with a focus on South Asia. He has been quoted in artnet news and contributed to The Wire and Research Matters . Dasgupta teaches advanced courses including Directed Dissertation Study, Field Seminar in Political Theory, and Law & Social Change. His courses explore themes such as decolonization, constitutional frameworks, and the political economy of postcolonial states. His research emphasizes critical engagement with colonial legacies and the construction of postcolonial legal-political orders.
Dr. Sam Jackson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at the University at Albany. His research focuses on extremism, particularly antigovernment extremism in the U.S., examining how extremist ideas and language intersect with broader American public discourse. Key research areas include: Antigovernment Extremism Political Sociology Social Media Analysis Public Policy His recent publications explore terrorism, election security, digital mobilization, and far-right movements. Notable trends in his work include: Analysis of social media's role in extremist communication Impact of digital platforms on political violence Comparative studies between U.S. and European extremism Contact: sdjackson@albany.edu
Dr. Stephanie V. Love is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Linguistic Anthropology from CUNY (2022) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers University’s Center for Historical Analysis. Her research focuses on postcolonial Algeria, exploring how violent histories are reanimated through urban speech, material culture, and memory practices. Her book project, Streets of Grievance , examines how Algerians navigate colonial and postcolonial traumas through everyday poetics and spatial practices. She is also committed to pedagogical innovation, coordinating initiatives like the STEM Pedagogy Institute and the Heritage Arabic eBook project at CUNY. Education: Ph.D. in Anthropology (Linguistic and Cultural), The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2022 Research Interests: Dr. Love investigates urban anthropology, postcolonialism, semiotics, and spatiotemporal imaginaries. Her work interrogates the 'afterlives' of colonialism via anticolonial martyrs, abandoned cemeteries, and contested placenames. She analyzes how marginalized groups use language and material culture to reimagine collective futures across political divides. Recent projects include studies of pandemic pedagogy and transnational migrant experiences. Grants & Initiatives: Coordinated CUNY’s STEM Pedagogy Institute Carnegie Educational Technology Fellowship participant Center for Integrated Language Communities’ Heritage Arabic eBook project Labs/Teams: Currently affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Anthropology, focusing on Mediterranean and North African studies.
Michele Gelfand is a Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Professor of Psychology (by courtesy) at Stanford University. She directs the Culture Lab, which investigates cultural norms, negotiation, conflict, revenge, forgiveness, and diversity through interdisciplinary collaborations with computer scientists, neuroscientists, and political scientists. Her research focuses on the concept of 'tightness-looseness' in cultures, exploring how rigid or permissive social norms shape societal responses to threats, innovation, and governance. She has received over $13 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and the FBI. Current Affiliation: Stanford Graduate School of Business Previous Affiliation: University of Maryland Gelfand's work spans cultural psychology, organizational behavior, and conflict management. Recent studies examine gene-culture interactions, gender inequality dynamics, and the role of cultural tightness in pandemic response. She has published in top journals like Science , PNAS , and The Lancet Planetary Health , often integrating neuroscience and computational methods. Her research on social norms during crises, particularly the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlights how cultural tightness-looseness influences compliance, identity, and policy effectiveness. Notable awards include election to the National Academy of Sciences (2021) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019), the Diener Award (2016), and the SIOP Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award (2022). She authored Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire the World (Scribner, 2018) and co-edited multiple handbooks on conflict, negotiation, and cross-cultural psychology. Her lab's work extends to global cultural evolution, artificial intelligence's societal impact, and behavioral interventions in polarized environments. Key Themes: Cultural Tightness-Looseness, Social Norms, Conflict Resolution, Pandemic Behavioral Dynamics Grants: NSF, DoD, FBI Gelfand's interdisciplinary approach bridges psychology, business, and computational sciences, aiming to decode the primal templates of culture that govern human societies.
Jill Weinberg is an Associate Professor of Sociology and the Department Chair at Tufts University. She holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor at Tisch College. Her academic work bridges sociology, law, and social justice issues, with a particular focus on how social processes shape legal frameworks and vice versa. Education PhD in Sociology, Northwestern University (2015) MA in Sociology, Northwestern University (2010) MA in Social Psychology, University of Chicago (2009) JD, Seattle University School of Law (2008) BA in English and BS in Journalism, Boston University (2003) Research Interests Jill Weinberg is a scholar who examines decriminalization through social processes, focusing on how groups use rules, norms, and language of consent and choice. Her research spans several interconnected areas including crime, law, deviance, sports, the body, and research methods. She is particularly interested in how seemingly violent activities become socially acceptable through formalized rules and structures. Her work explores how communities navigate legal boundaries while maintaining legitimacy in the public eye. This includes examining mixed-martial arts and sexual sadomasochism communities, which develop elaborate law-like rules to organize themselves. Her current research extends to assisted death and how terminally ill people, their loved ones, and medical professionals navigate laws regarding aid-in-dying. Another significant research stream is the "Contested Constructions of Discrimination Project," which uses experimental research design and interviews to compare how ordinary people and trial judges define employment discrimination. This work bridges sociology, law, and social psychology to understand how legal concepts are interpreted in real-world contexts. Publication Trends Weinberg's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on the intersection of law, social processes, and embodied experiences. Her publications reveal an evolving trajectory from studying consent in unconventional contexts like sports and sexuality toward examining legal decision-making processes in discrimination cases and end-of-life care. The methodological diversity in her work—from qualitative ethnographic approaches to experimental designs—highlights her commitment to rigorous interdisciplinary research that bridges theoretical insights with empirical evidence. Her publications appear in top sociology and law journals including Sociological Science, Sociological Methods & Research, and Law & Social Inquiry. She also engages with broader audiences through popular media outlets like the Huffington Post and the Society Pages, demonstrating her commitment to public sociology. Scientific Awards Neubauer Faculty Fellowship, Tufts University (2016-2017) Marion & Jasper Whiting Foundation award for "Conceptualizing Justice" (2017-2018) Advising and Grants As Department Chair and Associate Professor, Weinberg actively mentors students through honors theses and independent research projects. Her teaching portfolio includes courses on Law and Society, Body Culture & Society, Sports Sociology, and Quantitative Research Methods, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach. Beyond direct student supervision, she serves on various committees including the Undergraduate Student Article Prize Committee for the Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association. Her research has been supported by significant funding, including the Marion & Jasper Whiting Foundation grant for her "Conceptualizing Justice" project. She is also an affiliated scholar at the American Bar Foundation, where her "Contested Constructions of Discrimination Project" has advanced understanding of how legal concepts are interpreted across different social contexts. Professional Activities Weinberg maintains an active role in the legal sociology community through presentations at major conferences including the Annual Meetings of the Law and Society Association and the American Anthropological Association. She has served as an expert consultant in multiple court cases, including State v. Baldwin, State v. Hoffman, and U.S. v. Christensen, demonstrating how her academic expertise translates to real-world legal contexts. Her editorial work for Law and Social Inquiry further establishes her as a key contributor to scholarly discourse at the intersection of law and society.
