Mary Bunch

Dr. Mary Bunch is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts at Western University, holding a concurrent role as the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Vision, Disability, and the Arts (2019–present). Her interdisciplinary work bridges political philosophy, critical disability theory, decolonial thought, and queer theory, with a focus on marginalized communities’ worldmaking imaginaries. She is affiliated with VISTA (Vision: Science to Applications), a multidisciplinary consortium uniting neuroscientists, artists, and engineers to explore biological and machine vision.

Her research emphasizes non-extractive, community-based approaches, collaborating with artists to co-create knowledge. She critiques dominant intellectual frameworks (e.g., liberalism, neoliberalism) for perpetuating systemic inequities and advocates for amplifying excluded perspectives. Dr. Bunch’s training at Western University’s Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism deepened her expertise in critical theory, though she notes the curriculum’s historical narrowness in disciplinary diversity.

Her career advice for postgraduate scholars emphasizes strategic engagement with disciplinary boundaries while leveraging interdisciplinary innovation. She underscores the importance of networking through academic associations and tailoring applications to institutional priorities.

• Awards: Canada Research Chair (2019)
• Labs/Teams: Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA)
• Key Themes: Disability justice, decolonial methodologies, research-creation, ethical knowledge practices