Nicholas Forster

Nicholas Forster is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cinema Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon. He holds a PhD in African American Studies and Film & Media Studies from Yale University and a BS in Film and Television from Boston University.

Research Interests: His scholarship focuses on Black cinema, popular culture, and Black performance in the 20th century. He investigates the intersections of race, creative collaboration, and media, particularly through the life and work of multi-hyphenate artist Bill Gunn—director of Ganja and Hess—and the artistic communities around him. His research draws on archival materials, interviews, and ephemera to map networks of creative intimacy in Black art production.

His broader interests include Nicholas Ray, Black Power-era cinema, African American literature of the mid-20th century, and sound recording technologies. He also engages publicly through a newsletter on actors and acting.

Honors and Awards:

• 2022-2023 Biography Fellow ($72,000), The Leon Levy Center for Biography, CUNY
• 2021 Faculty Teaching Academy Completion Award, Yale University
• 2018 Black Film Center/Archive Visiting Research Fellow, Indiana University
• 2014-2015 Mellon Graduate Concentration Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation & Yale University

Teaching: He teaches courses including Intro to African American Cinema, Media Aesthetics, Black Experimental and Independent Film, and RomComs and Cinematic Romance. He is committed to experiential learning and interdisciplinary research, contributing to the academic mission of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Research Projects: He is currently completing a scholarly biography of Bill Gunn, supported by a prestigious fellowship at the Leon Levy Center for Biography. This work bridges film studies, literary analysis, and cultural history, offering a nuanced understanding of Black artistic networks across media and geography.