Benjamin Arold is a University Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge. His academic career spans theoretical and applied research in labor economics, education economics, and AI-driven policy analysis. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at ETH Zurich and visiting roles at Harvard University and Princeton University. Education: Ph.D. in Economics, LMU Munich His research bridges economic theory with empirical applications, focusing on: Long-term impacts of school curricula on student outcomes AI and NLP applications in labor economics Economics of religion and its societal implications Recent Article Trends: His work highlights intersections between education policy and technological innovation, including meta-analyses of private schooling effects, charter school performance evaluations, and computational methods for analyzing educational interventions. Scientific Awards: Prize for Best Dissertation (2021/2022) - German Economic Association Fürther Ludwig Erhard Prize (2023) Teaching: He teaches advanced courses on NLP in economics at Princeton University and Basel University, with a focus on computational methods for non-standard data.
Associate Professor Joyce Nip is a member of the University of Sydney's Discipline of Media and Communications and Department of Chinese Studies. Her research focuses on media dynamics in Chinese societies, particularly the political and social implications of digital platforms like social media. She has held visiting roles at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Maryland, and received the 2020 Taiwan Fellowship. Education and Professional Background: Joyce has over 20 years of experience in journalism, teaching, and research. She was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Maryland (2004–2005) and has held academic roles in Hong Kong before joining the University of Sydney in 2010. Research Interests: Her work spans journalism studies, civic media use, and diasporic Chinese communities. Current projects include studies on online public opinion in Greater China and China’s external news communication strategies. Grants and Awards: Joyce has secured grants from the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for projects on Chinese social media and public opinion. Her 2020 Taiwan Fellowship reflects her expertise in cross-strait communication. Teaching and Supervision: She teaches courses on Chinese media in global contexts and supervises research on topics like Taiwanese public communication and diasporic media. Past students include Liang Xia (PhD) and Weiwei Xu (PhD). Labs and Collaborations: Joyce contributes to the Sydney Southeast Asia Centre and serves on editorial boards for Asian Journal of Communication , Digital Journalism , and Journalism Practice .
Dr. Kenneth Joseph is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo , part of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences . He serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science and leads the Computation and Equity Lab (cubelab) , focusing on social inequality through computational measures and models. Education: PhD, MS, and BS in Societal Computing from Carnegie Mellon University (2016, 2012, 2010) Research Interests: Computational Social Science, Network Science, Gender Studies, and AI for Social Good Notable Work: Gender disparities in academia, predictive modeling for foster care and urban policy, and social media rumor analysis Awards: UB Exceptional Scholar—Young Investigator Award (2021) Advising: Mentored students like Yuhao Du, Jason Yan, Arjunil Pathak, and Navid Madani on projects spanning Twitter bios, foster youth services, and algorithmic fairness.
Rachel Applebaum is Associate Professor of History at Tufts University specializing in Soviet and Eastern European history, the global Cold War, and transnational studies. Her award-winning book 'Empire of Friends' examines Soviet-Czechoslovak relations through the lens of socialist internationalism. Current research investigates Russian language politics during and after the Cold War, tracing Soviet efforts to establish Russian as a global language and its legacy in Putin's 'Russian World' concept. The project has received a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Teaching covers Russian history surveys, Eastern Europe, global communism, Stalinism, and Cold War politics. Awards include the Radomír Luža Prize for Austrian/Czechoslovak history and ASEEES First Book Subvention Award.
Alexey Vladimirovich Vdovin is a Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), working within the Faculty of Humanities and School of Philological Sciences. He began his tenure at HSE in 2012 and has accumulated 15 years of scientific and teaching experience. His academic journey includes a Doctor of Philology degree from HSE (2023), a PhD from the University of Tartu (2011), and his initial degree in 'Russian language and literature' from Vyatka State Humanitarian University (2007). He has held significant roles including Deputy Dean for Science at the Faculty of Humanities (2018-2020) and serves on numerous academic councils and committees. Vdovin's educational background demonstrates both depth and international perspective. After completing his undergraduate studies at Vyatka State Humanitarian University in 2007, he pursued doctoral studies at the University of Tartu, where he earned his PhD in 2011 with a dissertation on 'The concept of 'chapter of literature' in Russian criticism of the 1830-1860s.' His academic development has been enriched by numerous international experiences, including visiting researcher positions at Selwyn College, University of Cambridge (2019), Jordan Center at New York University (2017), and multiple research stays at Humboldt University in Berlin through the Aurora Erasmus Mundus program. Professor Vdovin's research focuses on Russian intellectual history, the history of ideas, the Russian Empire, Russian literature of the 19th century, and nationalism studies. His work particularly examines the formation of the Russian literary canon, representations of peasants in literature, and the relationship between literature and society. He has authored approximately 80 articles and 4 monographs on 19th-century Russian literature, culture, and criticism, with works on major figures like Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Goncharov, Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, and Nekrasov. His recent book 'Monsters at the Threshold: Dracula, Frankenstein, Viy and Other Literary Monsters' (2024) demonstrates his expanding interest in literary archetypes and cultural phenomena. Vdovin has received numerous awards and recognitions for his scholarly work, including the Moscow Government Prize for young scientists (2017), multiple 'Best Teacher' awards (2013-2015, 2017-2024), and recognition as a winner of HSE's competition for best Russian-language scientific works (2022, 2024). He has also received various letters of gratitude from HSE administration, the Faculty of Humanities, and the School of Philology for his contributions to academic life. As an advisor, Vdovin has supervised numerous student research projects, including Smirnova T.V.'s 2014 master's thesis on 'Representation of 'Russianness' and 'Otherness' in Russian essays of the 1840s.' He has also served as a curator for HSE's Personnel Reserve Program at the School of Philological Sciences and has been actively involved in dissertation councils. His research has been supported by significant grants, including a 2024-2025 Russian Science Foundation grant 'The Genre of 'Peasant Life Story' in Russian Literature Before 1861: Poetics, Plots, Socio-Cultural Functions' (No 24-28-00184) and a 2018-2020 RFBR grant on 'State and Literary Institutions: From Peter I's Reforms to the 'Great Reforms.' Professor Vdovin is actively engaged in academic communities beyond HSE, serving as editor-in-chief of the HSE preprint series 'Literary Studies' and participating in the Big Project 'Literature and Society: An Experience of Sociocultural Description.' He is also involved in public scholarship, frequently giving public lectures through platforms like 'Arzamas,' 'Postnauka,' and 'Stradarium,' and appearing on the 'Observer' television program (Culture channel). Since 2015, he has been a mentor at Maya Kucherskaya's Creative Writing School, bridging academic scholarship with creative practice.
Timothy R. Tangherlini serves as the Elizabeth H. and Eugene A. Shurtleff Chair in Undergraduate Education and Professor in the Department of Scandinavian and the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. A distinguished folklorist and ethnographer, he has pioneered computational approaches to folklore studies, bridging traditional humanities scholarship with cutting-edge digital methods. His research expertise spans multiple interconnected domains: Digital humanities and computational folkloristics Danish and Scandinavian cultural traditions Network analysis of narrative structures Machine learning applications in cultural analysis Conspiracy theory formation and transmission Korean cultural studies and K-Pop analysis Tangherlini's work focuses on how stories circulate across social networks and how individuals use narratives to negotiate ideology within their social groups. He has been instrumental in developing the field of Culture Analytics, co-directing a three-year program at the NSF's Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics and leading the NEH's Institute for Advanced Topics in Digital Humanities on Network Analysis for the Humanities. His research combines ethnographic depth with computational sophistication, creating novel methodologies for analyzing large cultural corpora. His scholarly contributions have earned him significant recognition: Fellow of the American Folklore Society Fellow of the Royal Gustav Adolf Academy (one of Sweden's Royal Academies) Elizabeth H. and Eugene A. Shurtleff Chair in Undergraduate Education Tangherlini has secured substantial funding from prestigious organizations including the NEH, NSF, NIH, AFOSR, Mellon Foundation, Nordic Council of Ministers, and Google. His work on conspiracy theories, K-Pop choreography analysis, and historical Danish folklore has garnered media attention, demonstrating the public relevance of his research. With extensive international experience including appointments at the University of Copenhagen, University of Iceland, and Harvard University, he maintains a global scholarly perspective while contributing significantly to undergraduate education at Berkeley.
Professor Stephen Chan is a faculty member at SOAS University of London in the Department of Politics and International Studies (POL) . With a focus on African political thought and international relations, his work critically examines postcolonialism, decoloniality, and global governance. Key research themes include: Decolonizing international relations theory Sino-African political dynamics Election observation and democratic processes Non-Western cosmopolitanism Comparative diplomatic practices His recent publications analyze the ideological ambiguity of decoloniality (2023), pluralist visions for global security (2017), and the legacy of African liberation movements (2021). He has advised multiple theses on topics ranging from parliamentary governance in Kenya/Zimbabwe to China-Africa media interactions. Notably: Critiqued the misuse of 'decoloniality' as ideological rhetoric (2023) Authored a poetic autobiography of political engagement (2022) Traced Africa's intellectual history of freedom (2021) Examined Zimbabwean elections (2017) Explored non-Western modernity (2018)
Matthew V. Novenson is a Professor of Biblical Criticism and Biblical Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh, where he also serves as Director of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins. He holds honorary fellow status and has held visiting roles at Dartmouth College, Duke University, and Durham University. Novenson specializes in ancient Mediterranean religions, focusing on early Judaism and Christianity within Greco-Roman contexts. His research emphasizes Pauline epistles, early Christology, and the socio-political dimensions of messianic discourse. Qualifications include a BA, MDiv, ThM, and PhD. Teaching responsibilities span undergraduate courses on biblical languages, Second Temple Judaism, and New Testament themes, as well as postgraduate seminars on biblical exegesis and ancient religious texts. He actively supervises PhD students exploring topics like messianism in Pauline letters, ancient Christology, and eschatological frameworks. Novenson’s scholarship is reflected in major publications such as Christ among the Messiahs (2012), The Grammar of Messianism (2017), and Paul, Then and Now (2022), alongside edited volumes like The Oxford Handbook of Pauline Studies . His work interrogates the linguistic and ideological nuances of religious terminology in antiquity, particularly around concepts of messiahship, monotheism, and divine agency. Service roles include Associate Editor of New Testament Studies and co-editor of Edinburgh Studies in Religion in Antiquity . Past and current PhD advisees (listed above) reflect his commitment to mentoring rigorous research in early Christian origins and biblical interpretation.
Victoria Kahn is a Professor and Katharine Bixby Hotchkis Chair in English at the University of California, Berkeley. She specializes in Renaissance and Early Modern literature, Critical Theory, and political thought. Her research explores the intersections of literature, philosophy, and political theology, with a focus on figures like Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Milton. She has held academic roles at Princeton University and UC Irvine before joining Berkeley in 1997. Her key publications include The Trouble with Literature (2020), The Future of Illusion (2014), and Wayward Contracts (2004). These works analyze early modern texts and their impact on modern political and philosophical discourse. She also contributes to comparative literature, examining continental Renaissance texts and literary theory. Education: Ph.D. in English Literature (implied by career path but not explicitly stated) Research Interests: Contract theory, political obligation, Machiavelli’s legacy, and the role of literature in shaping political thought. Her scholarly contributions include interdisciplinary analyses of early modern political theology, rhetoric, and aesthetics. Kahn’s work bridges literary studies with political philosophy, emphasizing the enduring relevance of Renaissance texts. Grants and advising details are not explicitly mentioned, but her extensive publication record reflects sustained academic engagement. She is affiliated with the Department of English and Comparative Literature programs at Berkeley.
James A. Evans is a Professor at the University of Chicago, where he serves as Director of the Knowledge Lab and Faculty Director of the Masters Program in Computational Social Science. He is also an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. His research bridges computational methods with social theory to analyze collective cognition, innovation, and knowledge production across science, technology, and broader societal domains. Director, Knowledge Lab Faculty Director, Masters Program in Computational Social Science External Professor, Santa Fe Institute Evans’s research explores how social and technical institutions shape discovery processes, utilizing machine learning, network modeling, and large-scale data analysis. His work spans fields like computational social science, sociology of science, and data science, focusing on team dynamics, peer review, and the global structure of scholarship. His recent publications examine team size effects on innovation, discursive influence in academia, and the interplay between tradition and novelty in research strategies. Articles trend toward interdisciplinary approaches combining social theory, computational methods, and science policy. Evans supports novel observatories for human understanding through crowdsourcing, sensor networks, and semantic modeling. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and Air Force Office of Scientific Research, with findings featured in major media outlets like Nature , Science , and The New York Times .
Ali Mousavi is Assistant Professor of Iranian Archaeology in UCLA’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and a core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. A Berkeley PhD and former fellow of the Smithsonian, Maison de l’Orient and Global Heritage Fund, he has directed excavations and UNESCO World-Heritage projects at Pasargadae, Bam, Susa, Sultaniyeh and Turang Tepe and authored prize-winning volumes Ancient Iran from the Air and Persepolis: Discovery and Afterlife of a World Wonder . Education PhD, Near Eastern Studies (Archaeology), University of California, Berkeley (2005) MA, Archaeology, History and Languages of Old World Civilizations, Université Lyon II, France (1997) BA, Archaeology and Art History of Europe and the East Mediterranean, Université Lyon II, France (1996) Research interests span the archaeology and art history of Iran from the Neolithic to the early-20th century, with particular focus on Achaemenid and Sasanian monumental architecture, ancient irrigation (qanats), landscape archaeology, digital heritage, and the modern historiography of Iranian archaeology. His field projects integrate remote sensing, epigraphy, GIS and conservation science to investigate imperial capitals, rock-cut monuments and water-management systems across the Iranian plateau. Across more than 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, Mousavi has re-examined dating criteria for Achaemenid stone monuments, analysed royal inscriptions as visual displays, traced medieval Persian pilgrims’ graffiti at ancient sites, and produced synthetic archaeological surveys of the Sasanian empire and the Central Alborz Iron-Age cultures. The corpus reflects a sustained engagement with primary field data, archival research and critical historiography of 19th- and 20th-century excavations. Selected honours Ehsan Yarshater Book Award (2014) Iranian Ministry of Culture World Book Award (2014) Leon Levy – Shelby White publication grant (2008) UNESCO award for World-Heritage nomination files (2003) Iran Heritage Foundation field-work award (2003) Guitty Azarpay Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2000-2003) IFRI Fellowship, Paris (1998) At UCLA he offers undergraduate courses “Archaeology of Iran” and “Ancient Cities of Iran (4000 BC-AD 1900)” and mentors graduate researchers in the Cotsen Institute. His grants and fellowships from NSF-equivalent European and American agencies underwrite both field seasons and publication of critical archaeological corpora, while his service on Iranian, UNESCO and international heritage boards continues to link scholarly output with heritage-management policy.
Mrinalini Sinha is the Alice Freeman Palmer Professor of History and Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on Colonial India, the British Empire, World History, and South Asian Studies with particular attention to Colonialism, Imperialism, Global Studies, and Women's Studies. She is affiliated with the Center for South Asian Studies and the International Institute. Dr. Sinha holds a Master's degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Her work bridges historiography, gender studies, and postcolonial theory, examining themes such as nationalism, colonial governance, and feminist movements in South Asia. Recent publications explore oral histories in Pakistan, gendered nationalism, and contested colonial reforms like the Ilbert Bill controversy. Her academic contributions include seminal works on colonial masculinity, the intersection of feminism and nationalism, and critiques of imperial social formations. She actively engages with global debates on empire, race, and the legacies of colonialism through her teaching and research.
Bettina Migge is a Full Professor in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at University College Dublin, where she has been a faculty member since 2004. She previously held academic positions at Goethe University Frankfurt and earned her PhD in Linguistics from The Ohio State University. She served as Head of School from 2016 to 2021 and has held leadership roles in research centers and committees, including the Royal Irish Academy and the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, of which she is President until 2023. She is Co-Editor of the Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages and actively contributes to COST Action LITHME, focusing on language and technology. Her educational background includes studies at Universität Hamburg, Université de Cameroun, Freie Universität Berlin, and The Ohio State University, culminating in a PhD focused on African languages in creole genesis, with fieldwork in Suriname and Benin. She is fluent in Dutch, English, French, German, and Ndyuka/Pamaka. Bettina Migge's research centers on sociolinguistics, language contact, and creole languages, with a focus on multilingual contexts undergoing rapid social change such as urbanization and migration. Her work spans French Guiana, Suriname, and Ireland, examining structural and socio-pragmatic aspects of language use, linguistic landscaping, and computer-mediated communication. She has led significant projects like the trilingual DicoNenge(e) dictionary and has explored the role of AI in reshaping language practices. Her recent publications reflect a critical engagement with the impact of AI and machine learning on language, revealing colonial continuities in language technologies and questioning dataist ideologies. She investigates how language is materially produced in both colonial and digital contexts, emphasizing power, authenticity, and control. She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation (USA), IRCHSS, IRC, Ulysses grants, and French research units like SeDyL. Her collaborative projects include work on complementation in creoles, South Dublin English, and language practices in multilingual border zones. Bettina Migge supervises MA and PhD students in sociolinguistics, linguistic landscaping, and World Englishes. She is involved in numerous editorial and professional associations, including the Society for Caribbean Linguistics and The Global Council on Anthropological Linguistics. She has coordinated modules such as World Englishes, Sociolinguistics, and Research in Creole Languages. She leads and participates in public engagement activities, including workshops on AI in linguistics, multilingualism in Ireland, and dictionary launches. Her research team includes collaborators from Europe and beyond, and she is committed to participatory and ethnographically grounded approaches in language documentation and analysis.
Benjamin Mako Hill is an Associate Professor in the University of Washington Department of Communication and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Human-Centered Design & Engineering , the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering , and the Information School at UW. He is a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and a Fellow at the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University during the 2023–2024 academic year. Educational Background : PhD in an interdepartmental program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) , involving the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Media Lab , advised by Eric von Hippel, Yochai Benkler, Tom Malone, and Mitch Resnick. MS in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT. B.A. in Technological and Legal History from Hampshire College . Research Interests span peer production, online communities, collective action, cooperation, learning, and computer-mediated communication. His work explores how communication and information technologies shape social outcomes in collaborative environments like Wikipedia and Linux, focusing on governance, moderation, anonymity, and educational platforms such as Scratch. Article Trends : His publications analyze peer production dynamics, privacy in open collaboration, and computational thinking in youth. Topics include underproduction in open source software, algorithmic fairness, taboo knowledge production, and legitimate peripheral participation in online communities. Methodologies combine big data, quasi-experimental, and comparative analyses. Scientific Awards : Dordick Award for Best Dissertation (2013). CHI '22 Best Paper Honorable Mention (2022). CSCW '18 Best Paper Honorable Mention (2018). CHI '17 Best Paper Honorable Mention (2017). CSCW '13 Best Paper Award (2013). CHI '11 Best Paper Honorable Mention (2011). Advising and Grants : He co-founded the Community Data Science Collective and collaborates with researchers like Aaron Shaw. Grants include multiple National Science Foundation awards for studies on digital knowledge commons, anonymous participation, and collaborative success, as well as a Sloan Foundation grant for modeling underproduction in peer production. Labs and Teams : He leads the Community Data Science Collective , an interdisciplinary research group studying online communities, and contributes to open-source projects like Debian and Ubuntu . He actively edits Wikimedia projects and participates in the Cascadia Wikimedians User Group .
Jennifer Leeman is a Professor at George Mason University , focusing on the sociopolitics of language, with emphasis on multilingualism, Spanish in the US, and heritage language education. Her interdisciplinary work bridges critical applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, education, Latinx studies, and linguistic anthropology. BA in Spanish, University of Pennsylvania MA in Hispanic Civilization, New York University in Madrid MAT in TESOL & Bilingual Education, Georgetown University PhD in Hispanic Linguistics, Georgetown University Her research examines: Language ideologies and racialization processes in censuses Antiracist pedagogical frameworks for Spanish teaching Multilingual policy analysis across education and governance Critical service-learning in heritage language contexts Recent publications analyze census categorization, language and immigration policies, and critical pedagogy implementation. She received a 2024-25 Fulbright Senior Scholar award for research at the University of Murcia, Spain, and a 2023-24 Residential fellowship at Mason's Center for Humanities Research. Key scientific contributions include: Pioneering the online graduate certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education (2021) Leadership roles in AAAL, MLA, and Instituto Cervantes’ advisory committees Editorial board memberships across journals like Language Policy and Hispania Her 15 most recent articles (2018-2025) reveal trends in: Language-race-national identity intersections Census-driven ethnoracial classifications Antiracist pedagogy in language classrooms Heritage speaker identity dynamics Monolingual policy critiques Transnational demographic analysis Contact: jleeman@gmu.edu | Office: Horizon Hall 5132
