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.
Haiyan Lee serves as the Walter A. Haas Professor of the Humanities and Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of Comparative Literature at Stanford University. She has held these positions since joining Stanford in 2009, and currently serves as Chair of the East Asian Languages and Cultures department (2020-present). Her academic journey includes previous teaching appointments at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Hong Kong, along with post-doctoral fellowships at Cornell University and Harvard University. Lee's research spans multiple interdisciplinary fields with particular focus on modern Chinese literature and cultural production. Her work bridges literary studies with law, philosophy, cognitive science, affect theory, gender studies, and environmental humanities. She has developed influential theoretical frameworks including the concept of "high justice" and "low justice" in Chinese legal imagination. Her current research explores animism, cognition, and the Chinese environmental imagination, extending her longstanding interest in human-animal relations. Lee's publications reveal a consistent trajectory examining Chinese cultural production through innovative theoretical lenses. Her recent work shows increasing engagement with legal theory, environmental humanities, and cognitive approaches to literature. She has produced significant scholarship on Chinese concepts of justice, love, and the stranger, moving across historical periods from early 20th century to contemporary China. Biennial Book Prize, Honorable Mention, International Society for Chinese Law and History (ISCLH) (2024) Humanities Seed Grant, Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences (2023-2025) Bass Fellowship in Undergraduate Education, Stanford University (2022-2027) Joseph Levenson Book Prize, The Association for Asian Studies (2009) Professor Lee actively mentors doctoral students across multiple disciplines, serving as dissertation advisor, co-advisor, and committee member for students working at the intersection of Chinese studies, law, literature, and cultural theory. Her teaching includes courses across East Asian humanities, comparative literature, and interdisciplinary environmental studies. She has received significant research support including the Frederick Burkhardt Residential Fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies and a residency at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences.
Prof. Ahmet Atay holds the rank of Professor of Communication Studies at the College of Wooster, serving as Program Chair of Global Media & Digital Studies and liaison to the Digital Visual Storytelling Pathway. His academic journey includes degrees from Marmara University (B.A., 1998), Ohio University (M.A., 2001), University of Northern Iowa (M.A., 2003), and Southern Illinois University (Ph.D., 2009). His research focuses on transnational communication, digital media's societal impact, cultural identity formation in global contexts, and queer diasporic experiences. He actively explores media representation of gender/sexuality, critical pedagogy, and autoethnography as research methodologies. Notable projects include editing works on millennial media ecology, intercultural communication pedagogy, and transnational queer cinema. Teaching responsibilities include courses on intercultural communication, mediated gender studies, and digital storytelling for social justice. He has held leadership roles in professional organizations like the National Communication Association and Central States Communication Association. Prof. Atay's recent publications emphasize digital ethnography, decolonizing communication studies, and queer pedagogy innovations. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical educational applications, addressing contemporary issues like diversity in academia and media's role in shaping cultural narratives.
Steven Jackson is a Professor of Information Science and Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University's Bowers College of Computing and Information Science, with additional graduate field appointments in Communication and Public Affairs. Since July 2023, he has served as Vice-Provost for Academic Innovation at Cornell, and previously held leadership positions as Chair of Information Science and Dean of William Keeton House. His work bridges academic research with significant institutional leadership in higher education innovation. Dr. Jackson's research focuses on critical intersections of technology, society, and the environment, with three primary strands: technology ethics, law and policy; maintenance, repair and sustainability; and technology, inequality and global development. His work draws from American pragmatism, political economy, and science and technology studies, integrating methods from sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and media studies. He is particularly interested in how computing practices meet social and material worlds, with implications for infrastructure, collaboration, sustainability, and cultural practice. His recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on repair as both theoretical concept and practical methodology, exploring 'ordinary hope' as a framework for technological engagement and examining unmaking as a necessary counterpart to design. The research spans diverse geographical contexts from the global North to South, addressing caste dynamics in computing, digital authoritarianism, and infrastructure challenges in developing contexts. Dr. Jackson has received significant recognition including an NSF CAREER award and more than twenty paper awards at leading computing and information science venues. His research has been supported by major organizations including the U.S. National Science Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Ford Foundation, Sloan Foundation, World Bank, Intel Research, Atkinson Center for Sustainability, and the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council. As an advisor, Dr. Jackson has mentored numerous graduate students who have gone on to prominent positions at institutions worldwide. He currently advises Jen Liu, Amy Cheatle, Daniel Mwesigwa, Johan Michalove, and Ritik Batra, while his former students include Palashi Vaghela (Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University), Samir Passi (Responsible AI Researcher at Microsoft), Maggie Jack (Assistant Professor at NYU), and Ranjit Singh (Senior Researcher at Data and Society). Dr. Jackson convenes the Computing On Earth Lab, an experimental collaboration bringing together social scientists, humanists, artists, and engineers to rethink the material and planetary foundations of computing. The lab reflects his commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that address computing's environmental impacts and sustainability challenges.
Alexandra Horowitz is a Senior Research Fellow and Adjunct Associate Professor at Barnard College. She has been teaching since 2004, specializing in dog cognition and olfactory research. Her academic roles span the Departments of English and Psychology, reflecting her interdisciplinary focus on animal behavior and human-animal interactions. Education: M.S. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego; B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. Research interests include naturalistic observations of dog social play, testing anthropomorphic assumptions, and characterizing canine olfactory abilities. She has authored influential books like Inside of a Dog and Being a Dog , exploring how dogs perceive the world. Her work frequently appears in top journals and media outlets, including the New York Times and TED-Ed. Recent articles highlight studies on dog navigation, play behavior, and olfactory perception. She has been recognized as among the Top 2% of Cited Authors globally. Her presentations and lectures span academic conferences, museums, and public forums, emphasizing science communication.
Diane E. Austin is a Professor and Director of the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. She also serves as a Research Anthropologist at the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology (BARA). Her work focuses on environmental anthropology, particularly community dynamics in industrial and environmental contexts, with a strong emphasis on social justice and collaborative research. She has over 25 years of experience leading interdisciplinary projects in the U.S., Mexico, and Gulf Coast regions. Austin's research spans diverse areas including Native American communities, U.S.-Mexico border sustainability, Gulf Coast oil industry impacts, and urban food systems in arid regions. She has pioneered long-term partnerships with tribal organizations, federal agencies, and community groups, earning recognition such as the University Distinguished Outreach Professor (2008) and Distinguished Director (2023). Her recent work highlights longitudinal studies on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's social effects, binational environmental initiatives in Nogales, and community-based approaches to disaster resilience. She coordinates BARA's internship and post-baccalaureate programs, supporting hundreds of students in applied anthropological research. Awards: Partners in Conservation Award (2010), Border Research Partnership Award Finalist (2012) Leadership Roles: Chair of the Good Neighbor Environmental Board, Member of the Gulf Research Program Advisory Board Key Projects: Southern Paiute cultural preservation, Gulf Coast oil industry studies, Nogales reforestation initiatives Austin’s teaching includes courses on ethnographic methods, data analysis, and mixed-methods research. She actively engages in policy advocacy, contributing expert testimony in legal proceedings related to environmental disasters and labor rights.
Susan Pfeiffer is a Research Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, affiliated with the Department of Anthropology within the Faculty of Arts and Science. Her research focuses on bioarchaeology, skeletal biology of past populations, and repatriation of human remains, particularly among Southern African Khoe-San and North American Great Lakes communities. She holds a Ph.D. (1976), M.A. (1972), and B.A. (1968) in Anthropology and Religion from the University of Toronto and the University of Iowa. Education: Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of Toronto (1976) M.A. in Anthropology, University of Toronto (1972) B.A. in Religion, University of Iowa (1968) Her research interests include paleopathology, adult age estimation, evolutionary theory, and collaborations with Indigenous communities. Notable works include her 2022 book Osteobiographies , which explores repatriation frameworks globally, and studies on Huron-Wendat ancestral repatriation and Southern African skeletal analysis. Dr. Pfeiffer has received prestigious awards such as the 2019 AAAS Fellowship and the 2016 J. Norman Emerson Medal. Her publications bridge bioarchaeological methodological advancements with ethical repatriation practices, emphasizing cross-cultural collaboration in anthropology. Key Awards: AAAS Anthropology Section Fellowship (2019) Ontario Archaeological Association Medal (2016) University of Toronto Teaching Excellence Award (2001) Her work integrates skeletal analysis with community partnerships, addressing both scientific and cultural dimensions of human remains research. Collaborations with First Nations and African groups highlight her commitment to ethical, culturally sensitive archaeology.
Salikoko S. Mufwene is the Edward Carson Waller Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. He holds additional appointments on the Committees on Evolutionary Biology, Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, and African Studies. His research integrates ecological perspectives into evolutionary linguistics, focusing on language contact, creole genesis, language endangerment, and the impact of colonization and globalization on linguistic diversity. Education: PhD in Linguistics, University of Chicago (1979) Key Themes: Language evolution, creole languages, population structure, decolonial linguistics, language policy Mufwene’s work emphasizes the role of population dynamics in language change, drawing parallels with biological evolution. His recent articles examine topics such as the cultural-artifact nature of language, the ecological drivers of creole hybridization, and the decolonization of linguistic paradigms. He has also contributed extensively to debates on language endangerment and multilingualism in super-diverse societies. Scientific Awards: Fellow, Linguistic Society of America (2018) Fellow, American Philosophical Society (2022) Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2023) Collège de France lectures (2003, 2023-24) Summer Institute of the Linguistic Society of America (1999, 2005, 2015, 2017)
David Harvey is a Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center and Director of Research at the Center for Place, Culture and Politics. He has been teaching and writing about Karl Marx’s Capital for over 50 years, earning recognition as a leading Marxist scholar and urban theorist. Research Interests Cultural anthropology Political economy Urbanization and capitalist development Environmental justice Geographical theory Advanced capitalist countries Publications & Trends Harvey’s work spans Marxist theory, neoliberalism, and urban studies, with recent focus on Grundrisse and capitalist contradictions. His scholarship connects historical materialism to contemporary crises, emphasizing spatial fixes, environmental limits, and anti-capitalist resistance. Awards & Honors Outstanding Contributor Award (Association of American Geographers) Centenary Medal (Royal Scottish Geographical Society, 2002) Isaac and Tamara Deutscher Book Prize (2010) for The Enigma of Capital Honorary degrees from University of Bristol, Goldsmith College, Kent, Buenos Aires, Roskilde, Uppsala, and Ohio State University
Brad D. Jokisch is a Professor and Undergraduate Chair in the Department of Geography at Ohio University’s College of Arts and Sciences. He is affiliated with International Studies and Latin American Studies, and his research focuses on population, environment, and development, particularly in Latin America. His work explores transnational migration, land-use change, and livelihoods in the Ecuadoran Andes. Education: Ph.D., Clark University, 1998 B.A., Augustana College, 1989 His research interests lie at the intersection of cultural/political ecology, population dynamics, agriculture, and development. He investigates how migration influences environmental change and how development shapes population movements, with a regional focus on Latin America. His fieldwork in the Ecuadoran Andes examines the impact of remittances and emigration on landscapes and rural communities. Recent publications highlight trends in transnational migration, land-use change, and development policy. His work spans interdisciplinary journals in geography, anthropology, and development studies, reflecting a strong emphasis on human-environment systems and migration. Key themes include remittances, land cover change, indigenous urbanization, and migration policy in South America. Scientific Awards: Fulbright Scholarship (2023–2024) for research on family emigration in southern Ecuador Dr. Jokisch advises undergraduate students as chair and teaches core courses such as Population Geography, Geography of Latin America, and Agricultural Ecosystems. While specific grant details and advisees are not listed, his sustained research output and leadership in the department suggest active mentorship and scholarly engagement. He is currently conducting research in Ecuador under a Fulbright award, indicating ongoing international collaboration and field-based inquiry. He is a key contributor to human-environment geography and migration studies, with a long-standing commitment to theoretical and empirical research in Latin America.
Marisol De La Cadena is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis, with affiliations in Science and Technology Studies (STS). Her work bridges anthropology, political theory, and environmental thought, focusing on ontological divergence and multispecies relations in Latin America, particularly in Peru and Colombia. Department: Department of Anthropology School: College of Letters and Science University: University of California, Davis Email: mdelac@ucdavis.edu Office: Young Hall 315 Her research centers on the intersection of modern politics and non-modern or ahistorical ontologies, especially through what she calls "ontological openings." Drawing from deep ethnographic engagement with Quechua-speaking interlocutors in the Andes, she explores how earth-beings, humans, and nonhumans co-constitute worlds that exceed Western categories. Her theoretical contributions challenge conventional boundaries between nature and culture, history and timelessness, and politics and cosmology. Her recent fieldwork in Colombia examines human-cow relations on cattle ranches and in veterinary schools, situating these practices within broader ecological crises and post-conflict transitions. Her publications reveal a consistent interest in how ethnographic concepts function as both empirical observations and theoretical tools. The body of her work, including key articles like "Uncommoning Nature" and "Runa: Human but not only," reflects a deep commitment to rethinking anthropological method and theory. Her research trends emphasize ontological politics, multispecies ethnography, and the decolonization of knowledge, contributing significantly to contemporary debates in STS and anthropology. Her scientific honors include: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow (2008) Lewis H. Morgan Lecture Series Invited Speaker, University of Rochester (2011) Invited Researcher, Center for Advanced Studies, Norwegian Academy of Sciences (2015) Guest Speaker, Mellon-Sawyer Seminar, University of Cape Town (2010) She has been principal investigator on several major grants, including the John E. Sawyer Mellon-Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures (2012–2016), a Wenner-Gren Conference Support Grant (2009–2010), and multiple research fellowships from the Guggenheim, Wenner-Gren, and American Philosophical Societies. These grants have enabled collaborative, transdisciplinary research on cosmopolitics, indigeneity, and the anthropology of worlds. She is affiliated with research initiatives such as the Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures and contributes to global academic networks in anthropology and STS. Her work fosters dialogue between indigenous thought, continental philosophy, and ethnographic practice, creating spaces for alternative modes of knowing and being.
Takuya Tsunoda serves as Assistant Professor of Japanese Film and Media in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures at Columbia University, with prior teaching appointments at Colgate University and the University of Chicago. Currently on leave for spring 2022, he maintains his office in 416 Kent Hall (contact: (212) 854-5040, tt2101@columbia.edu). His academic credentials include: BA: Waseda University (2002), Columbia University (2005) MA: Columbia University (2008) PhD: Yale University (2015) Dr. Tsunoda's research centers on institutional-media interplay through historical and theoretical lenses, examining how technologies shape socio-cultural practices and knowledge formations. His seminal work investigates Iwanami Productions' evolution from educational/science film provider to New Cinema pioneer, arguing that Japan's 1960s cinematic revolution originated in institutionalized audio-visual pedagogy rather than political radicalism. Current explorations extend to media reflexivity, alpine photography, insect ecology, children's media engagement, and diegesis in contemporary visual culture. Teaching : Courses include East Asian Cinema, Japanese Contemporary Media Culture, Japanese New Wave Modernism, Documentary Film Studies, and Critical Approaches to East Asian Theory. His publication trajectory (2018-2022) reveals consistent focus on postwar Japanese media archaeology, connecting educational film, industrial cinema, and New Wave movements through archival analysis. Key themes include cross-medial academicism, mediascape transformations, and the socio-political dimensions of visual pedagogy in reconstructing cinematic modernism. Active research trajectories include transnational New Wave parameters, television documentary studies, and ecological media representations, with ongoing book project examining Iwanami Productions' institutional legacy.
Lucien Castaing-Taylor is the John Cowles Professor of Art and Anthropology at Harvard University and Director of the Sensory Ethnography Lab (SEL), currently on leave for Fall 2025. His work bridges anthropology and artistic practice through sensory ethnography, engaging critically with ecological crises and political challenges while maintaining an ethnographic commitment to lived experience. His research spans sensory ethnography, phenomenology, media anthropology, and post-human/multi-species relations, with deep engagement in cultural and political ecology across the Franco-Creole Caribbean, Europe, and American West. Castaing-Taylor interrogates intellectual history and reason while developing methodologies that merge artistic negative capability with ethnographic rigor to capture life's flux without imposing conventional narrative structures. Castaing-Taylor's creative output demonstrates a consistent trajectory from early works like In and Out of Africa (1992) to recent projects such as De Humani Corporis Fabrica (2022), evolving from representational ethnography toward immersive sensory experiences. His filmography and installations increasingly address the Anthropocene, human-animal relations, and embodied knowledge through experimental audiovisual techniques that challenge documentary conventions and expand ethnographic possibilities. His major awards include: Alpert Award in the Arts (2013) True Vision Award (2013) Los Angeles Film Critics' Circle Douglas Edwards Independent and Experimental Film Award (2012) FIPRESCI Award (2012) As Director of the SEL, Castaing-Taylor cultivates a collaborative environment where anthropology converges with experimental filmmaking and installation art. The lab functions as an incubator for boundary-pushing audiovisual research that engages with urgent planetary issues through sensory immersion, fostering new modes of ethnographic inquiry that transcend traditional academic publishing.
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.
Jason M. LaBelle is a Professor of Anthropology at Colorado State University (CSU), affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. He serves as Director of the Center for Mountain and Plains Archaeology (CMPA) and Curator of the Archaeological Repository of CSU (AR-CSU). His research focuses on hunter-gatherer societies, particularly in the Intermountain West, emphasizing subsistence, mobility, and pre/post-contact Native American cultures. His work spans environments from the Great Plains to high alpine regions, with specialties in Clovis/Folsom cultures, communal hunting practices, and lithic technology. LaBelle teaches courses in archaeology, lithic technology, and public archaeology. He oversees CMPA projects funded by federal agencies like the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, supporting student training in fieldwork, lab analysis (lithics, faunal studies), and report writing. His lab houses extensive collections from Colorado’s South Platte and Colorado River Basins, including alpine artifacts. He actively engages with tribal partners and the public through outreach, conferences, and NAGPRA coordination. LaBelle’s recent research includes studies on lithic quarries, ice patch archaeology, and Bayesian chronology modeling. His publications address prehistoric mobility, site chronology, and cultural resource management. He values interdisciplinary collaboration and student mentorship, aiming to bridge academic and applied archaeology.
