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 Means is a Visiting Associate Professor of English at Vassar College, where he has taught since 2001. He holds a BA from The College of Wooster and an MFA in poetry from Columbia University. His academic work centers on creative writing, modern and contemporary fiction and poetry, and American culture. Education: BA, The College of Wooster MFA, Columbia University in the City of New York Means is a celebrated author of short fiction and novels, known for his lyrical prose, experimental narrative structures, and deep exploration of trauma, memory, and redemption. His work frequently appears in The New Yorker , Harper’s , The Paris Review , and other prestigious literary journals. His writing often returns to themes of violence, loss, and the quiet grace that emerges in their aftermath, drawing comparisons to Flannery O’Connor and Denis Johnson. His stories are marked by a nonlinear sense of time and a profound empathy for marginalized or broken characters. His recent publications include the story collection Instructions for a Funeral (2019) and Two Nurses, Smoking , with his novel Hystopia longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. His forthcoming non-fiction book, Pivot: Ruminations in the Shadow of Death , reflects on mortality and personal reflection. Selected Awards and Honors: Guggenheim Fellowship (2013) Three O. Henry Prizes Three Pushcart Prizes Los Angeles Book Prize for Fiction Finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, Frank O’Connor International Short Story Prize Longlisted, Man Booker Prize Means has advised and influenced many emerging writers through his teaching and public readings. While specific students are not named in the sources, his role as a mentor is evident in his sustained presence in creative writing programs. He has no known research grants or lab affiliations, as his work is primarily literary and individual. He continues to publish and engage in public discourse on the nature of storytelling, including critiques of AI-generated fiction.
Deval Desai serves as Reader in International Economic Law at the University of Edinburgh's Edinburgh Law School, a position he has held since 2020 after serving as Lecturer from 2020-2023. His academic career includes research positions at Harvard Law School and the Geneva Graduate Institute. Dr. Desai also brings extensive practical experience from a decade working with the World Bank on rule of law and governance in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as advising the United Nations on rule of law issues. Dr. Desai's educational background includes an MA in History and French Literature from Oxford University, followed by legal training at City University/BPP Law School (PGDipL and PGDipLP), and advanced law degrees (LLM and SJD) from Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he held prestigious fellowships including the Byse Fellowship, Program on Negotiation Next Generation Fellowship, and Institute for Global Law and Policy Fellowship. MA (Oxon), History and French Literature PGDipL, PGDipLP, City University/BPP Law School LLM, Harvard Law School SJD, Harvard Law School Dr. Desai's research centers on law and development, administrative law and regulation, theories of the state, and patterns of knowledge and authority across the Global North and South. His work examines institutional reform processes, particularly how expertise and knowledge operate within rule of law initiatives. His interdisciplinary approach draws from legal and social theory, development studies, international relations, and performance studies, as evidenced in his monograph Expert Ignorance (Cambridge University Press). His recent work focuses on fiscal sociology, administrative law in the Global South, and the politics of social welfare provision. Dr. Desai's publications span leading journals in law, political science, and development studies, revealing a consistent focus on the intersections between legal institutions, governance, and development. His work demonstrates increasing engagement with comparative methodologies and critical perspectives on knowledge production in global governance. Recent articles show particular attention to fiscal policy, welfare systems, and responses to global crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, with comparative studies between India and European contexts. Dame Muriel Spark Medal (2024, Royal Society of Edinburgh) Chancellor's 'Rising Star' Award (2023, University of Edinburgh) Member of the Young Academy of Scotland Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Fellow of the Young Academy of Europe Dr. Desai has secured significant research funding from diverse international sources, including a £2.1 million Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia grant titled 'Reversing the Gaze: Towards Post-Comparative Area Studies' where he serves as PI. He also leads projects funded by the British Academy, University of Edinburgh's Big Ideas Accelerator, Scottish Funding Council, and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office. His commitment to mentoring is evident through his recognition with the Susan Manning Award for Inspiring Mentor and his leadership in establishing programs like the Global Scholars' Academy at the Geneva Graduate Institute and the Global Justice summer school at CEU. As editor-in-chief of the Cambridge University Press book series 'Elements in Legal Theory and the Global South' and serving on multiple editorial boards, Dr. Desai plays a significant role in shaping scholarly discourse. His current research projects examine 'loss' in legal institutions guiding transitional processes, constitutional implications of fiscal arrangements in fragile contexts, and social welfare provision in India and Italy.
Dr. Mary Elisabeth Cox holds dual academic appointments. She is a Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Economic and Social History and the Global History of Capitalism Project at the University of Oxford, and an Assistant Professor in International Relations at the Central European University in Vienna, Austria. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary policy considerations, particularly regarding civilian suffering during conflicts. Education: Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in History from the University of Oxford Research interests center on the socio-economic and health impacts of war on civilians, focusing on gender and social inequality. She investigates food security, international aid institutions, anthropometric data applications, and 20th-century warfare. Her approach combines quantitative methods with traditional qualitative sources to explore deprivation timelines and recovery patterns across social groups. Her scholarly work analyses wartime blockades' nutritional consequences on German civilians, highlighted in her award-winning 2015 article and 2019 monograph. These studies demonstrate the interdisciplinary potential of blending anthropometric data with institutional reports, personal letters, and other sources. Awards include the Dev Book Prize for her groundbreaking DPhil dissertation and the 2016 Alexander Prize for the aforementioned 2015 article. She is also a shortlisted candidate for the Economic History Society's best doctoral dissertation. In advising and grants, she supervises Masters students at Brasenose College, Oxford, and leads the Leverhulme Trust-funded ‘Hunger Draws the Map’ project . This initiative traces hunger’s geopolitical dimensions across Europe and the Ottoman Empire during 1914–1922, culminating in a co-edited monograph expected in 2020. Collaboration with Dr. Claire Morelon and Sir Hew Strachan is central to this work. Labs/teams: She co-leads the ‘Hunger Draws the Map’ international network, which includes workshops at institutions like the Hoover Institution and partnerships with scholars worldwide. Her research also draws on lived experiences from her childhood in the South Pacific and Scandinavia, informing her cultural and regional perspectives.
Felicity McArdle is a Professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education within the Faculty of Education at Queensland University of Technology. With a distinguished career spanning over two decades, her work centers on reimagining early childhood pedagogy through critical lenses of social justice, art education, and play-based learning. Her research has significantly influenced Australian early childhood policy and practice. McArdle's research interests demonstrate a consistent commitment to transformative education. She critically examines how art and play function as vehicles for social justice, challenging neoliberal discourses in early childhood education. Her work on refugee children's artistic expression and anti-bias curriculum development reveals her dedication to equity-oriented pedagogy. Through collaborative drawing methodologies and visual research approaches, she has pioneered innovative ways of understanding children's perspectives. Her publication trends reveal a sophisticated evolution from foundational work on visual arts in education (2001-2010) toward increasingly critical examinations of power, policy, and social justice (2011-2021). The consistent citation impact of her work—particularly her 2002 paper 'Early Childhood Art Education: A Palimpsest' with over 13,000 citations—demonstrates her field-defining contributions to reconceptualizing art education as critical praxis. McArdle has held significant editorial roles including co-editing the influential 2013 volume 'Young Children, Pedagogy and the Arts' and serving on the editorial board of Australian Journal of Early Childhood. Her collaborations with leading scholars like Susan Grieshaber, Jennifer Sumsion, and Linda Knight have produced seminal work on intentional teaching and play-based learning. Her research methodology expertise centers on visual and arts-based approaches, particularly collaborative drawing techniques that engage children as active research participants. This methodological innovation reflects her commitment to ethical research practices that honor children's agency while generating meaningful insights about early childhood experiences.
Costanza Beltrami is a Senior Lecturer at Stockholm University in the Department of Culture and Aesthetics. She is a dedicated art historian with a focus on Gothic art and architecture of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, particularly in the Spanish region of Castile and its international connections. Her research interests include architectural drawings, collaboration, transculturation, and temporality in architecture. Dr. Beltrami teaches courses on Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture from Cordoba to Florence. Her academic background includes studying Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and working at the University of Oxford/St Catherine's College before joining Stockholm University. Her research has focused on late-Gothic architecture, including a monumental drawing of a tower from Rouen cathedral and ornament prints as artists' models. She is Reviews Editor for the Journal of the British Archaeological Association and has completed her PhD thesis on Juan Guas (active 1453–1496), the leading architect of late fifteenth-century Spain. She is currently working on a book project about collaboration, artistic identity, and the geographies of exchange in late-Gothic Castile. Her co-edited volume "Art, Travel and Exchange between Iberia and Global Geographies, 11400–1550" challenges traditional narratives about Iberian art history and emphasizes multi-directional cultural exchange. Dr. Beltrami's recent research includes editing a special issue on portable drawings and paper in Medieval and Gothic architecture. Her work explores how architectural practices in Castile demonstrate fascinating questions regarding migrant networks, cultural contact, the meanings of architecture, and the role of art in debates on national identity from the 15th century to the present.
Christopher Atwood is a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences. He specializes in Mongolian and Late Imperial/Early Modern Chinese History. Before joining Penn, he spent two decades at Indiana University, serving as department chair and interim director of the Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region. His research emphasizes meticulous historical analysis, inspired by the belief that 'the art of research is the ability to look at the details and see the passion.' Education: Ph.D. in Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University-Bloomington (1994) A.B. in History, Harvard University (1986) Research Interests: Atwood’s work focuses on Mongolian cultural and political history, alongside the intersection of imperial expansion and environmental factors in Late Imperial China. His methodologies prioritize uncovering hidden connections between historical events and societal structures, often drawing parallels between Eastern and Western historical frameworks. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Inner Mongolia, including studies at Höhhot’s Inner Mongolia Normal University. Grants & Advising: While specific grants or advising details are not mentioned in available texts, his long tenure at Indiana University and current role at Penn suggest significant contributions to academic mentorship and institutional leadership. His interdisciplinary approach bridges historical analysis with anthropological and sociological perspectives.
Haidy Geismar serves as Professor of Anthropology at University College London (UCL), where she is affiliated with the Department of Anthropology. She co-directs UCL's Digital Anthropology Program and is the founding director of the School for the Creative and Cultural Industries at UCL East. Geismar also serves as curator of the UCL Ethnography collections, facilitating exhibitions with community groups, students, and artists. Her institutional affiliations extend to the Tate and Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where she maintains long-term professional relationships. Geismar's research explores the intersections of intellectual and cultural property, indigenous rights, and colonial legacies with digital technologies and museum practices. Her work focuses on how digital platforms transform cultural representation, particularly in the South Pacific region including Vanuatu and New Zealand. She investigates how communities engage with digital collections, examining both the materiality of digital objects and their social implications. Her research demonstrates how indigenous knowledge systems interact with contemporary digital infrastructures to create new forms of cultural expression and preservation. Analysis of Geismar's recent publications reveals a clear trajectory toward examining the material dimensions of digital culture within museum and archival contexts. Her work increasingly addresses how digital technologies reshape cultural heritage practices while maintaining critical attention to postcolonial perspectives. There is a notable emphasis on sensory experiences in digital spaces, the politics of representation in digital collections, and the ways digital platforms enable or constrain indigenous knowledge systems. Geismar's professional recognition includes: Mellon Research Fellow at Tate (2019-2020) Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute Chairperson of Te Maru o Hinemihi (since January 2024) Photography Committee member of the Royal Anthropological Institute (2016-2024) While specific grant information isn't detailed in the available materials, Geismar's sustained research projects indicate successful funding acquisition. Her long-term collaborations with the Vanuatu Cultural Centre since 2000 and with Maori curators in New Zealand since 2004 suggest significant research support. Current projects like 'Finding Photography' and 'Collecting in Context' demonstrate ongoing research activity requiring funding. Geismar has created the Culture Lab at UCL East, an experimental curatorial space designed as a collections-rich environment for innovative display and research. This facility serves as a hub for her work with the School for the Creative and Cultural Industries, which brings together academic research with creative practice. The Culture Lab hosts exhibitions like 'Power!' and facilitates collaborations between university researchers, community groups, and students, creating a dynamic space for exploring the intersection of material culture and digital technologies.
Andrew Gordon is Professor of Renaissance Literature and Culture in the School of Language, Literature, Music and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen. He is Co-Director of the Centre for Early Modern Studies and serves as REF co-lead for English, demonstrating active leadership in research and academic governance. BA from University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) MA from University of Sussex PhD from Queen Mary's, University of London His research centers on early modern literature and culture, with a focus on textual transmission , letter-writing , cultural memory , and material texts . He explores how literature interacts with cultural practices, especially in early modern London. His current project, Renaissance Cultures of the Foot , innovatively examines the cultural and literary significance of the foot, drawing on anthropological perspectives to analyze embodied experience in print and manuscript culture. The recent scholarly articles and books reflect a strong trend in interdisciplinary humanities, combining literary analysis with historical, material, and gender studies. His work frequently engages with manuscript culture, epistolary networks, and the social functions of memory, particularly in post-Reformation England. His scientific recognition includes the Hunter-Caldwell award for directing The Correspondence of Robert Beale . Hunter-Caldwell award He actively supervises graduate research and welcomes PhD students in areas related to early modern texts, cultural mobility, memory, and community. While specific grants are not listed, his funded project indicates successful grant acquisition. He has also engaged in creative collaborations with theatre professionals, bridging academic research with performance. Andrew Gordon is a central figure in Aberdeen’s Centre for Early Modern Studies, contributing to an interdisciplinary research environment that fosters collaboration across historical periods and methodological approaches.
Carla Edgley is a Professor of Accounting and Finance at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. She serves as Co-Director of the Cardiff Interdisciplinary Tax Research Group (CITRG) and is an Associate Editor of Critical Perspectives on Accounting Journal. Her professional affiliations include being a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation Welsh Technical Sub-Committee, and former co-opted ICAEW Council member representing UK academia. Her research focuses on interdisciplinary social studies of accounting, with particular emphasis on diversity/gender studies, taxation, and the materiality concept. Drawing on critical theoretical frameworks including Foucauldian analysis, she examines power dynamics in accounting practices, professional identity formation, and the sociology of materiality as a reporting concept. Her work often bridges accounting with sociology, critical theory, and gender studies. Professor Edgley's recent publications demonstrate a clear trajectory toward critical perspectives on taxation and diversity in the accounting profession. Her work explores how diversity initiatives reshape professional identity and merit concepts within accounting firms, while her tax research investigates knowledge gaps and power dynamics in tax disclosures. The interdisciplinary nature of her scholarship is evident in her collaborations across multiple institutions and disciplines. Her scholarly contributions have been recognized through nominations for teaching excellence awards, including the 2024 Enriching Student Life Award nomination and Cardiff Business School's Teaching Excellence Award in 2013. As an educator, Professor Edgley teaches undergraduate courses in Taxation and Auditing, serving as module co-ordinator for multiple levels. She actively supervises PhD students in areas related to critical tax studies, diversity, inclusion, and professional identity in accounting. Her professional experience includes significant industry roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and other organizations before transitioning to academia. Her research projects include 'Diversity and career progression in the accounting profession,' 'Ethical leaders of tomorrow' (funded by CPA Ontario), and 'Exploring public feeling in tax reform' (a Civic Mission research project funded by Cardiff University).
Asia J. Biega is a tenure-track faculty member (W2) at the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy (MPI-SP), where she leads the interdisciplinary Responsible Computing group. She is also a principal investigator of the Cluster of Excellence CASA and the FINDHR consortium. Her work sits at the intersection of computing and society, focusing on responsible computing, data protection & governance, and digital well-being within data-driven and AI-based systems. Dr. Biega's research spans multiple disciplines including computer science, law, philosophy, and social sciences. Her work examines how principles of responsible computing can be computationally operationalized, with particular attention to data protection frameworks, privacy technology governance, and digital well-being. She actively collaborates across disciplinary boundaries to make technical contributions while supporting research in other fields. Her approach combines theoretical rigor with practical applications, often drawing from her industry experience at Microsoft and Google. Her publication record reveals a strong focus on the intersection of fairness, privacy, and transparency in information retrieval systems. She has pioneered work on data minimization compliance, fair ranking algorithms, and user perceptions of data collection practices. Her research consistently bridges technical and legal perspectives, particularly examining how GDPR principles can be computationally implemented. Recent work shows increasing attention to generative AI governance, algorithmic hiring systems, and the relational aspects of data in recommender systems. Dr. Biega has received several prestigious awards including the Council of Europe's Rodotà Award for innovative research in data protection, the SaTML Notable Reviewer Award, the GI-DBIS Dissertation Award of the German Informatics Society, and recognition as one of the '100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics' in 2025. She has advised numerous PhD students and postdocs who have gone on to faculty positions at institutions including the University of Trieste, Penn State, and the University of Washington. Her research is funded by the Max Planck Society, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and the European Union (Horizon Europe FINDHR). She serves as General Co-Chair for ACM FAccT 2025 and has held leadership roles in multiple academic conferences.
Nicoline Frølich is Professor and Director of the Centre for Learning and Education (LINK) at the University of Oslo, Norway. She also holds part-time Professor II appointments at the Department of Government, University of Bergen and at NIFU – Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education. Education 2002 – PhD in Comparative Politics, University of Bergen 1994 – Master in Comparative Politics, University of Bergen 1992 – Pedagogy, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) 1989 – Master in Economics and Business Administration, Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) Research Interests Frølich’s research focuses on governance, management and organisation of higher education systems, institutional reforms, knowledge policies, and public administration. She employs institutional theory to examine how universities and colleges respond to policy pressures, merger processes, quality assurance mechanisms, and leadership communication during change. Recent Publication Trends Between 2018 and 2025 her work has concentrated on three interconnected themes: leadership and communication within university mergers, gendered career trajectories in academia, and the tension between quality assurance systems and institutional autonomy. Empirically, her studies draw on Nordic and European cases, combining survey data with qualitative analyses of policy enactment. Scientific & Professional Appointments 2023–present – Academic Chair, Circle U alliance 2023–present – Member, SIKT advisory board (Norway) 2021–present – Editorial board member, TEAM – Tertiary Education and Management 2021–2022 – Chair, EAIR – The European Higher Education Society 2019–present – Advisory Board member, UKÄ (Swedish Higher Education Authority) 2019–2021 – Co-Editor-in-Chief, TEAM – Tertiary Education and Management Research Groups & Projects Frølich leads the research group Knowledge, Learning and Governance: Studies in higher education and work (HEDWORK) and participates in the Policy, Bureaucracy, and Organization (PBO) group. She is currently directing the project Re-Structure , which investigates the effects of structural reforms on Norwegian higher education institutions.
Maureen Kendrick is a Professor and Deputy Department Head in the Department of Language & Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Education. Her research examines literacy and multimodality as integrated communicative practices, addressing social and cultural issues in diverse contexts with particular emphasis on visual communication and refugee/migrant education. Her research interests span digital literacies, multiliteracy and multimodality, and international perspectives on literacy education. She investigates how youth from refugee backgrounds use multimodal approaches to construct identities and engage with learning, often through digital storytelling and visual methodologies. Her work extends to health literacy in Ugandan contexts and the role of play in early childhood literacy development across Canada, Kenya, and Uganda. Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent focus on refugee/migrant education, digital storytelling, and multimodal literacy. She examines how digital tools empower marginalized youth to express identities while addressing challenges in language learning and cultural integration. Her research also explores HIV/AIDS education through makerspaces and the intersection of arts-based practices with science literacy. Dr. Kendrick's scientific recognition includes: Canadian Committee for Graduate Students in Education (CCGSE) Mentorship Award (2024) Killam Teaching Prize (2012-13) Alan C. Purves Award (2013) She actively supervises graduate students across doctoral and master's programs, with current research focusing on refugee education and multilingual learners. Her SSHRC-funded projects include the 2025-2029 grant 'Digital Multimodal Composing-To-Learn' and the 'Language and Literacy Learning Among Refugee and Migrant Background Children' initiative, involving collaborators from UBC, York, and Western universities. Dr. Kendrick leads international research teams across Canada, Uganda, and Kenya, developing community-engaged approaches to literacy education that bridge academic research and classroom practice.
Dr. Christina Leslie is a Research Professor and Member of the Computational & Systems Biology Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). She leads an active research laboratory focused on developing computational approaches to understand complex biological systems. Dr. Leslie earned her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and has established herself as a leading computational biologist in cancer research and immunology. Computational & Systems Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Dr. Leslie's research focuses on developing novel computational methods to study cellular biological systems from a global and data-driven perspective. Her lab exploits diverse high-throughput functional and genomic data to understand molecular networks underlying fundamental cellular processes, including transcription regulation, pre-mRNA processing, signaling, and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Her algorithmic methods draw heavily on machine learning to build accurate predictive models from noisy and high-dimensional biological data. Key areas of interest include modeling cell-type specific transcriptional programs and dissecting co- and post-transcriptional regulation, particularly microRNA-mediated gene regulation. Analysis of Dr. Leslie's publication record over the last five years reveals a strong focus on computational approaches to cancer genomics, immunology, and epigenetics. Her work bridges multiple disciplines, with a particular emphasis on developing machine learning methods to interpret complex biological data. The publications demonstrate increasing sophistication in integrating multiple data types (genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic) to understand cancer biology and immune responses. Recent work shows a growing emphasis on single-cell technologies and spatial analysis of tumor microenvironments. Introduction of string kernel methodology for SVM classification of biological sequences Development of algorithms for predictive modeling of gene regulation First systems-level analyses of competition between microRNAs and between target transcripts Dr. Leslie actively mentors numerous graduate students and research associates, with current lab members including Vianne Gao, Alireza Karbalaghareh, Erik Ladewig, and several others. Her lab has received significant research funding to support their work on computational approaches to cancer biology and immunology. The Leslie Lab maintains close collaborations with multiple experimental groups at MSK, facilitating the translation of computational insights into biological understanding. The Leslie Lab operates within the Computational & Systems Biology Program at MSK, with strong ties to both the research and clinical missions of the institution. The lab maintains state-of-the-art computational infrastructure for analyzing large-scale genomic and proteomic datasets and collaborates extensively with wet-lab researchers to validate computational predictions experimentally.
Jochen Hellbeck is a Distinguished Professor of History and Vice Chair for Graduate Education in the Department of History at Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences, where he has been teaching since 2003. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University and specializes in the history of the Soviet Union, with particular focus on individual life stories and the shaping of the self in modern Europe. Professor Hellbeck's research centers on the place and self-understandings of individuals during cataclysmic 20th century events, including the Russian Revolution, Stalin's terror regime, and World War II. His work examines how narratives of redemptive violence and transformation attached themselves to individuals on the ground, revealing how authors of diaries and personal texts became co-authors of the revolutionary script. More recently, he has explored comparative and transnational aspects of how Soviet, German, and British states mobilized citizens during World War II, highlighting the centrality of the Soviet war effort to the broader history of the conflict. His acclaimed book Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich (2015) was the first Western study to probe the meaning of the Battle of Stalingrad for Soviet soldiers and civilians. The book draws on dozens of oral histories recorded by Moscow historians during and after the battle. Hellbeck's research consistently focuses on personal narratives and eyewitness accounts to provide grounded perspectives on major historical events. Morphomata Fellowship, Cologne (2019) Guggenheim Fellowship (2017) Short list, non-fiction prize of the Moscow Book Fair (2017) Davis Center Fellowship, Princeton (2016) Damals prize for best historical monograph (2013) American Academy in Berlin Fellowship (2009) Rutgers Board of Trustees Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence (2007) Michigan Society of Fellows (1997-1999) As a member of the Rutgers graduate faculty, Professor Hellbeck works with students interested in modern Russia and the Soviet Union, and in transnational explorations of Communism, World War II, and the Cold War. He encourages prospective graduate students to contact him before application deadlines. His website, Facing Stalingrad , features portraits and voices of veterans he interviewed during his research.
