Sasha Su-Ling Welland is Chair & Professor in Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at the University of Washington, with an adjunct role in Anthropology and affiliation in China Studies. She holds a PhD (2006) and MA (1998) in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz, and a BA (1991) in Ethnic Studies from Stanford University. Her research focuses on transnational visual culture, women of color, ecocriticism, and post-socialist gender dynamics. Current work explores embodied ecologies, nuclear colonialism, and racial capitalism in the Anthropocene. Welland’s scholarship bridges art, ethnography, and public scholarship. Her book Experimental Beijing (2018) won major prizes for its analysis of gender in Chinese contemporary art. Recent research intertwines military/medical histories with environmental justice in St. Louis. She curates feminist art exhibits in Asia and serves on the Journal of Visual Culture editorial board. Her awards include the 2019 Francis L.K. Hsu Book Prize and 2020 Joseph Levenson Prize. She advises graduate students and leads lab teams investigating transnational feminisms and environmental humanities. Resources include her CV and online office hours via the department’s website.
Matthew Potolsky is Professor of English at the University of Utah, specializing in nineteenth-century literature and literary theory. His career spans from 1998 Lecturer at Harvard University to current University Professorship. He earned a BA in Comparative Literature and Philosophy (1990), followed by MA and PhD in Comparative Literature (1992, 1997) from UC Irvine. Chair of English Department (2013-2016) University Professor (2014-2016) Research focuses on Decadence , Mimesis , Finance-Aesthetics intersections , and Government Secrecy . His work traces connections between financialization and decadent aesthetics, revealing how economic cycles influence artistic production. Key themes include: Decadent anti-realist literary movements Finance capital's cultural impact Decadent counterpublic formations Victorian aesthetic education debates Sublime aesthetics in national security Cosmopolitanism in literary communities Recent publications analyze: Decadent style as financialization rhetoric Reintroduction of verisimilitude theory Decadent responses to financial crises Mimetic labor in artistic production Decadent cosmopolitan counterpublics Historical parallels between financialization and literary decadence
Ramsey McGlazer is an Associate Professor specializing in twentieth-century European and Latin American literature, film, and critical theory. His research engages with poetry, politics-aesthetics intersections, critical carceral studies, and feminist/queer/psychoanalytic frameworks. He holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Critical Theory from UC Berkeley (2015) and previously taught at the University of St Andrews and Brown University’s Pembroke Center. McGlazer’s work interrogates modernist critiques of progress, radical psychiatry movements, and the interplay between aesthetic practices and institutional critique. His acclaimed monograph Old Schools: Modernism, Education, and the Critique of Progress (2020) won the American Association for Italian Studies First Book Prize. Current projects include The Clinic and its Double , exploring mid-century radical psychiatry and avant-garde art. He serves as Senior Editor of Critical Times and Coeditor of Italian Culture , and has translated key works like Rita Segato’s The War Against Women . McGlazer’s writing appears in venues such as Los Angeles Review of Books and n+1 . Research interests span Surrealist provocations, Brazilian artist Lygia Clark’s propositions, and transnational feminist solidarities. His scholarship bridges literary analysis with critical engagements in carceral studies, postcolonial theory, and decolonial thought.
Maile Arvin is a Kanaka Maoli feminist scholar and Assistant Professor at the Department of Ethnic Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research and teaching focus on Indigenous relationships to land, histories of race and settler colonialism in Hawaiʻi, Oceania, and the United States. Previously, she was faculty in History and Gender Studies at the University of Utah and founding director of the Center for Pasifika Indigenous Knowledges. PhD in Ethnic Studies, University of California San Diego (2013) MA in Ethnic Studies, University of California San Diego (2009) BA in English, Swarthmore College (2005) Her research examines: Colonial production of racial categories, particularly Polynesians as an 'almost white race' in historical social science History of incarceration of Native Hawaiian children in government institutions (1865–1960s) Intersection of settler colonialism and Indigenous feminisms Critique of eugenics and genomic studies in the Pacific Community-engaged memorialization projects in Hawaiʻi Recent scholarly trends include analyses of Indigenous sovereignty, critiques of settler colonial whiteness, and interdisciplinary studies of race-gender dynamics. Arvin's publications explore Polynesian racialization, decolonial feminism, and the socioeconomic impacts of colonial institutions. NEH Chair's Grant for Nā Lei Poina ʻOle ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant Arvin leads Nā Lei Poina ʻOle (Beloved Children Never Forgotten), a community history project about reformatories and industrial schools in Hawaiʻi. In collaboration with Kawela Farrant and the North Shore Community Land Trust, this project uses archival and oral histories to confront the legacy of child incarceration. She also critiques the nonprofit-industrial complex's role in limiting Indigenous sovereignty.
Wim VAN LENT is a Full Professor of Management at IÉSEG School of Management , France. He holds an HDR in Management from IAE Paris Sorbonne and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from ESSEC Business School. His academic career includes roles as Visiting Professor at Curtin University (Australia), Griffith University (Australia), and Researcher at the University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne. He coordinates the 'Strategy and Sustainability' track and is a member of the LEM research group. His research focuses on Management Strategy , Business Ethics , Innovation and Entrepreneurship , and Historical Methodology . Notable areas include corporate archives' strategic use, temporal dynamics in organizations, and ethical repair mechanisms. His work often employs historical case studies, such as the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and colonial-era corporations, to analyze organizational adaptation and institutional contradictions. Van Lent's publications span top journals like Academy of Management Review , Small Business Economics , and Business Ethics Quarterly . His recent studies explore periodization practices in organizations, entrepreneurial time narratives, and moral repair frameworks. Teaching includes international strategy and corporate social responsibility at the MSc level. His research bridges historical analysis with contemporary management challenges, emphasizing how understanding past institutional dynamics informs modern organizational behavior and ethical decision-making.
Dr. Joshua Savala is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), part of the College of Liberal Arts. He holds a PhD from Cornell University (2019) and previously taught at Rollins College in Florida. His research focuses on Latin American social movements, transnational histories of the Pacific, and labor solidarity in the Andean and Southern Cone regions. Key areas of expertise include maritime workers, anarchism, public health epidemics, and border studies. Education: PhD in History, Cornell University (2019) MA in History, Cornell University (2015) MA in History, Tufts University (2012) BA in History and Sociology, University of California, Davis (2007) Research Interests: His groundbreaking work examines collaborative relationships between Peruvians and Chileans in the 19th and early 20th centuries, including studies on cholera epidemics, anarchist networks, and cross-border solidarity. Recent projects investigate cooperative urban planning on the U.S.-Mexico border and disaster responses in Valparaíso. Publications: Includes the award-winning book Beyond Patriotic Phobias (2022) and articles in Hispanic American Historical Review and Journal of Social History . His Spanish translation Más allá de la guerra (2024) is a binational publication with universities in Peru and Chile. Awards: Best Book (Social Sciences) on the Southern Cone (Honorable Mention), 2023 Flora Tristán Book Prize (Honorable Mention), 2023 José María Arguedas Prize, 2020 Teaching: Teaches courses on Modern Latin America, Pacific World histories, and borderland studies. Recent courses include Studies in Latin American History and South America Since 1810 . Labs/Teams: Engaged with UTEP's Borderlands Digital Humanities Center and the Institute of Oral History, emphasizing collaborative interdisciplinary projects.
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.
Prof. Dr. Barbara Mittler is Professor of Sinology at Heidelberg University and founding co-director of the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (CATS) and the Cluster of Excellence 'Asia and Europe in a Global Context.' Her research explores Chinese cultural policy, print media, musicology, visual culture, and transcultural studies. Mittler's scholarly contributions include groundbreaking work on Cultural Revolution culture, early Chinese print media (particularly women's magazines), and the transcultural flows of cultural production. Her current projects examine Mao as a global icon and comparative studies of Asian 'fathers of the nation.' Her publication record demonstrates consistent focus on cultural transmission mechanisms, with recent research developing transcultural frameworks for understanding cultural exchange and historical analysis. Publications reflect an interdisciplinary approach combining visual analysis, media studies, and historical methodology. Mittler has received numerous honors including the Fairbank Prize, Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Prize, and memberships in the Leopoldina and Heidelberg Academy of Sciences. She leads major initiatives like the China-Schul-Akademie developing educational materials about China for German schools.
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.
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.
Tithi Bhattacharya is a Full Professor in the Department of History at Purdue University. She holds a PhD from the University of London and is renowned for her work in South Asian history, Transnational Gender, Colonialism, and Global History. Bhattacharya is the author of influential books including Ghostly Past, Capitalist Presence (Duke, 2024) and The Sentinels of Culture (Oxford, 2005), and co-author of the widely translated Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto (Verso, 2019). Her educational background includes a PhD from the University of London. This foundational training has equipped her to critically engage with colonial and postcolonial histories, Marxist theory, and feminist praxis. Bhattacharya's research interests span Social Reproduction Theory, Marxist feminism, and the intersections of class, gender, and colonialism. She examines how capitalism relies on the social reproduction of labor, particularly through gendered and racialized exploitation. Her work also addresses Islamophobia and the politics of fear in colonial and contemporary contexts, as seen in her book Ghostly Past, Capitalist Presence . Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on Social Reproduction Theory as a framework for understanding global capitalism and feminist resistance. Her articles frequently address the BRICS nations, anti-colonial movements, and the development of a feminism that centers the 99%. The multilingual nature of her work (appearing in over 30 languages) underscores its international impact. While specific scientific awards are not mentioned in the provided text, Bhattacharya's work has been published in prestigious journals such as the Journal of Asian Studies and South Asia Research , and she serves on the editorial boards of Studies on Asia and Spectre . Information regarding her advising of students and grant activities is not provided in the current text. Similarly, details about labs or research teams are absent.
Ruben Andersson is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oxford’s Department of International Development, where he researches migration, borders, security, and conflict. His work spans the West African Sahel, southern Europe, and global security dynamics. Current Leverhulme Major Research Fellow (2023-26) for 'Apocalypse soon: Security, subversion and the struggle for a human future' Author of three major monographs: Wreckonomics (2023), No Go World (2019), and Illegality, Inc. (2014) Co-edits special issues on remoteness and risk in global governance His research focuses on the unintended consequences of security interventions, including: How fear maps global danger zones Counterproductive border control industries Postcolonial risk economies in Mali and Afghanistan Security-fueled displacement cycles Profits from migration control systems Anthropology of the bioeconomy Recent publications (2016-2024) analyze: Security as subversion Border wall paradoxes Bioeconomic border technologies Digital danger mapping Interventionist 'bunker politics' Time as a control mechanism Scientific recognition: Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2023) Co-published in The Cambridge Journal of Anthropology , Political Geography , and Security Dialogue Doctoral supervision includes: Chloe Marshall-Denton Maggie Neil His fieldwork in Mali, Senegal, and the Mediterranean has produced critical insights about: Security industry feedback loops Risk aversion in academic/interventionist practices Colonial cartographic legacies in modern geopolitics Profit motives behind 'failed' interventions
Rashmi Varma is a Professor at the University of Warwick, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts. She has previously taught at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi. Education: BA in English (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi MA in English Literature from University of Delhi PhD in English and Women’s Studies from University of Illinois at Chicago Research interests: Varma specializes in the postcolonial city, postcolonial Indian and African theory, global feminism, representations of indigeneity, and world literature theory. Her work interrogates urban political ecologies, feminist pedagogy, and subaltern politics. Scientific awards: British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2011-2012) for Modern Tribal: Representing Indigeneity in Postcolonial India Supervision: She currently supervises PhD students Angel Maria Varghese, Shavena Malvika Nair (Chancellor's International Scholar), Ragesree Roy, and Archana Vinod (Chancellor's International Scholar). Collaborations: Varma co-edited journals like Feminist Dissent and special issues on transnational feminism, urban political ecologies, and postcolonial theory. She was involved in the Tate Exchange workshop on 'Production, Truth and Justice' (2021).
Professor Nguyen Van Chinh is a distinguished scholar in anthropology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University (VNU-USSH), specializing in the Department of Anthropology and Religious Studies. With a PhD from the University of Amsterdam and extensive international research experience including a postdoctoral fellowship at the National University of Singapore, he has established himself as a leading expert in Southeast Asian anthropology, migration studies, and ethnic relations. His academic career spanning over four decades includes numerous visiting professorships at prestigious institutions worldwide. Professor Chinh's research interests encompass Anthropology Research Methods , History of Anthropology , Migration and Poverty Studies , Ethnic Identity , and Cross-border Ethnic Groups in Southeast Asia. His scholarly work demonstrates a particular focus on the intersection of economic development, cultural preservation, and social transformation in Vietnamese and Southeast Asian contexts. Through extensive fieldwork and theoretical contributions, he has shaped contemporary understanding of ethnic minorities, migration patterns, and socio-economic changes in the region. His extensive publication record shows a clear evolution toward contemporary issues including China's growing influence in the Mekong region, ethnic Chinese migration, and the challenges of poverty reduction in Vietnam. The research demonstrates increasing engagement with transnational phenomena, border studies, and the impact of China's economic expansion on Southeast Asian societies. His most recent work addresses pressing contemporary issues such as disability rights, academic publishing challenges, and urban migration dynamics. Distinguished PhD dissertation awarded by NVMC (Netherlands Association of Social Sciences and Cultural Sciences), 2000 Certificate of Merit from the President of National University for outstanding achievements, 2007 Asian Leadership Fellow (ALFP) awarded by the Japan Foundation, 2004 Asian Public Intellectual Fellow (API) awarded by the Nippon Foundation, 2010 Multiple research grants from prestigious foundations including Toyota, Rockefeller, and Japan Foundation Professor Chinh has served as an independent consultant for numerous national and international development projects implemented in Vietnam. His advisory work spans multiple sectors including labor, health, agriculture, and ethnic minority affairs, working with organizations such as WHO, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, DFID, IUCN, UNICEF, and UNESCO. His expertise in ethnographic research methods and understanding of Vietnamese society has made him a valuable resource for policy development and implementation across multiple domains.
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)
