Alfred W. McCoy is the Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His work spans modern empires, Philippine political history, global drug trafficking, and CIA covert operations. He holds a Ph.D. from Yale University, alongside an M.A. from the University of California-Berkeley and a B.A. from Columbia College. His research has produced seminal works such as The Politics of Heroin (1972), which exposed CIA complicity in drug trafficking, and To Govern the Globe (2021), analyzing imperial systems from the Black Death to climate crisis. His investigations into torture, surveillance, and Philippine military culture have won major awards, including the Wilbur Cross Medal (2012) and the Association for Asian Studies’ Kahin Prize (2011). McCoy has advised students like Christopher Hulshof and Daniel Jackson. His teaching focuses on Southeast Asian history, U.S. foreign policy, and imperial studies. Courses include The Vietnam Wars and CIA Covert Warfare . His contributions include exposing Marcos’s 'fake medals' in the New York Times and co-editing award-winning volumes on Philippine historiography. He currently holds the J.R.W. Smail Chair in History and has received the Hilldale Award for Arts & Humanities.
Gregory Mann is a Professor of African History at Columbia University, specializing in 20th-century West Africa and the Sahel, with particular focus on Mali. His work bridges colonial and postcolonial studies, analyzing governmentality, migration, human rights, and the historiography of Africa. Education: Ph.D. from Northwestern University (2000) M.A. from Northwestern University (1995) B.A. from University of Georgia (1993) Research interests center on colonial and postcolonial governance, African historiography, and the interplay between state and society. His publications explore themes like military veterans, Islamic policy, citizenship, and NGO transitions. Recent articles examine democracy, human rights, and archival preservation in Mali. Key article trends include historical analysis of French colonial law, transnational citizenship, and postcolonial political crises. Co-authored works reflect collaborative research with scholars in Africa and Europe. Scientific awards: David Pinkney Prize (2007) Melville J. Herskovits Prize Finalist (2007) Choice Outstanding Academic Title (2015) Stanford Humanities Center Fellow (2009-10) NEH Summer Stipend (2005) Fulbright-IIE Fellowship (1998-99) Mann has advised doctoral and Master’s students in History, Anthropology, and Political Science. He directed Columbia's M.A. program in History and Literature (Paris) and co-organized seminars on African temporality. Current projects include preserving Malian feminist archives and writing a synthetic book on Franco-African historical relationships.
Morgan G. Ames is an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information and serves as Associate Director of Research for the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society. She chairs the Designated Emphasis in Science and Technology Studies and is affiliated with multiple research centers including the Algorithmic Fairness and Opacity Working Group, the Center for Science, Technology, Society and Policy, and the Berkeley Institute of Data Science. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in Communication with a minor in Anthropology from Stanford University (2013), an M.S. in Information Management and Systems from UC Berkeley (2006), and a B.A. in Computer Science from UC Berkeley (2004). Prior to her academic career, she worked as a researcher at Google, Yahoo!, Nokia, and Intel. Ames researches the ideological origins of inequality in the technology world, with a focus on utopianism, childhood, and learning. Her work critically examines how technology design practices shape identities and social structures. Current projects include 'Seeing Like a Valley: the Moral Visions of Silicon Valley,' 'Algorithms in Culture,' and 'Countercultures of Technology Use.' She has published extensively on One Laptop per Child, Minecraft, and the social implications of algorithmic systems. Her publication record shows a consistent focus on the cultural dimensions of technology, particularly examining how utopian visions shape technology design and implementation. Recent work increasingly addresses algorithmic systems and their cultural impacts, while maintaining her longstanding interest in educational technology and youth technology practices. Ames has received significant recognition for her scholarship, including: 2020 Best Information Science Book Award 2020 Sally Hacker Prize 2021 Computer History Museum Prize She advises students on interpretive research methods, particularly ethnography, and serves on doctoral committees though cannot be a primary advisor for PhD students. Her research has been supported by multiple interdisciplinary collaborations, including the 'Algorithms in Culture' conference series she co-organized through the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine & Society. Ames leads the 'Seeing Like a Valley' research collective that brings together scholars from across UC Berkeley and Silicon Valley to examine how the region's industrial practices shape moral visions that influence global technological development and social values.
Prof. Dr. Julia A. B. Hegewald is a Professor of Oriental Art History at the University of Bonn, Germany, affiliated with the Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies (IOA) and the Department of Asian and Islamic Art History (AIK). Her research focuses on artistic expressions of dependency in Asian art, particularly South Asian, using 're-use' theory to explore cultural integration and creativity under adversity. She holds a Ph.D. from SOAS, University of London, and a Habilitation from RWTH Aachen. Key academic roles include founding the Cam-Kar Research Institute in Mysore (since 2002) and serving on editorial boards for journals like the Journal of Global Archaeology and Veranda . She has led major projects, including the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group on Jainism in Karnataka (2005–2014). Awards include the DFG Emmy Noether extension (2011–2014) and the Prix en études indiennes (2010). Hegewald has authored over 3 books, edited 6 volumes, and published 77 academic articles. Her work bridges art history with cultural studies, addressing themes like Jaina temple architecture, Indo-Islamic syncretism, and modern Indian urban planning. She actively contributes to global academic networks, including the European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA).
Ahmed Ferhadi is a Clinical Professor of Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at New York University (NYU), specializing in linguistics with a focus on Second Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics, and Language Testing. He holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan (1990), an MA in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL) from the same institution, and an M.S. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh. His teaching career spans institutions like Princeton University, Columbia University, and Kurdish universities such as Salahuddin and Suleimaniyya Universities. He pioneered video-based language performance evaluation methods during his tenure at Middlebury College in 1991, which became a standard practice. Ferhadi has also served in high-level advisory roles, including President of the Association of American Teachers of Arabic (AATA) since 2017 and Distinguished Global Scholar of Kurdish Studies at American University (2010). Research interests include Kurdish language standardization, advanced Arabic pedagogy, and the sociopolitical dimensions of language. His projects include a Kurdish standardization initiative and curriculum development for advanced Arabic learners. Ferhadi has received numerous accolades, including the Golden Teaching Award (NYU 2000) and Top Language Award (U.S. Department of State 2006). His publications span linguistic theory, pedagogical techniques, and cultural studies, with recent works addressing Arabic dialect dynamics and Kurdish language policy. Ferhadi’s work bridges academic rigor with practical applications, emphasizing technology’s role in modern language education.
Remco Breuker is a Professor of Korean Studies at Leiden University’s Humanities Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), specializing in medieval Korean and Northeast Asian history, North Korean affairs, and contemporary issues. His research bridges historical analysis with modern geopolitical challenges, particularly focusing on marginalized voices and historical narratives. He leads ERC-sponsored and LeidenAsiaCentre-funded projects on Manchurian histories and North Korean forced labor in the EU. Breuker holds a PhD from Leiden University and has held post-doctoral and visiting researcher roles at institutions like the Australian National University. Education: MA in Japanese Studies (Leiden University, 1997) MA in Korean Studies (Leiden University, 1997) MA in Korean History (Seoul National University, 2001) PhD in Korean History (Leiden University, 2006) Research Interests: Breuker’s work examines medieval Korea’s Koryŏ dynasty, Northeast Asian historiography, and modern North Korean political dynamics. He translates modern Korean literature into Dutch, emphasizing marginalized perspectives and cultural hybridity. Recent projects include analyzing North Korean forced labor networks and reinterpreting ancient Manchurian histories’ contemporary relevance. Awards: 2010 KNAW Heineken Young Scientist Award Academy of Korean Studies Translation Grants (2010, 2008) NWO VENI Research Grant (2008) Advisees & Grants: Supervises PhD candidates researching Korean-Vietnam War linkages, Japanese-Korean relations, and North Korean forced labor. Secured grants exceeding €600,000 for translation projects and interdisciplinary research. Leads LIAS initiatives and serves on Leiden’s Slavery Studies Association. Labs/Teams: Coordinates the History as Social Practice project and the Slavery Studies Leiden network, fostering collaborative research on historical narratives and modern exploitation systems.
Dr. Julieta Chaparro-Buitrago is a Wellcome Trust Early Career Fellow in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, specializing in decolonial approaches to reproductive justice across Latin America. Her work bridges anthropology, gender studies, and environmental sociology through critical examinations of colonial power structures. Her educational foundation includes a PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received the Oriol Pi-Sunyer Dissertation Prize and multiple research awards recognizing her groundbreaking work on forced sterilization in Peru. Chaparro-Buitrago's research centers on how colonial legacies and extractive industries shape reproductive experiences of indigenous and peasant women. She develops innovative frameworks like Reproductive Extractivism to analyze connections between land exploitation, environmental contamination, and bodily sovereignty, challenging Western-centric reproductive rights paradigms through decolonial feminist methodologies. Her publication trajectory reveals expanding scope from Peru-focused ethnography to transnational comparisons (US, China) and environmental dimensions, consistently centering peasant epistemologies while critiquing state violence and repro-normative hierarchies. Her scientific recognition includes: Wellcome Trust Early Career Award (2022) Oriol Pi-Sunyer Dissertation Prize (2021) Armelagos-Swedlund Graduate Research Award (2018) Richard B. Woodbury Award (2015) Pre-Dissertation Research Award (2013) Her Wellcome-funded project on reproduction in Peru's extractive zones drives interdisciplinary collaboration with Cambridge Reproduction and the Cambridge Lactation Network, generating policy interventions for environmental reproductive justice amid climate crisis. She actively shapes discourse through the Cambridge Reproduction Forum and Reading Group, fostering cross-departmental dialogue on decolonizing reproduction research while mentoring emerging scholars in critical feminist methodologies.
Dr. Zhiying Ma is an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice , with faculty affiliations at the Center for East Asian Studies, Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, and Global Studies Program. She holds a joint PhD in Comparative Human Development and Anthropology from the University of Chicago and bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from Peking University. Research Focus: Examines biopolitical paternalism in China's mental health governance Develops peer support systems for persons with serious mental illnesses Investigates intersections of disability rights, care ethics, and welfare systems Conducts ethnographic fieldwork in psychiatric hospitals and community teams Key Projects: Led a CBPR pilot project (2019-2021) to create peer support manuals in Guangzhou, and currently scales services in Guangzhou/Yunnan with Cyrus Tang Foundation support. Collaborated with the WHO on community mental health models. Scientific Recognition: 2021 Ford Global Fellow Published in SSM-Mental Health , Cultural Anthropology , and Disability Studies Quarterly Advocacy & Impact: Combines scholarship and activism , consulting for NGOs on disability livelihoods and gender equality. Collaborates with China's community mental health teams to improve service fidelity and client satisfaction.
Przemysław Kordos is a Professor at the University of Warsaw , affiliated with the Faculty of Liberal Arts , where he serves as Coordinator for the Development of the Modern Greek Philology Program . He holds two PhDs in Humanities (2007, 2019) and was awarded the Loukis Papaphilippou Seat of Advancement in Modern Greek scholarship. Education: MA in Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology (University of Warsaw, 2001) MS in Sociology (University of Warsaw, 2002) PhD in Humanities (University of Warsaw, 2007) Second PhD in Humanities (University of Warsaw, 2019) His research interests span: Contemporary Modern Greek and Cypriot literature Polish-Greek cultural relations (philhellenism) Social and ethnographic issues in Greece and Cyprus Travel literature analysis Fantasy literature's cultural implications His scientific work reveals a focus on linguistic assimilation in foreign language learning (via fMRI studies), historical parallels between Polish and Greek independence movements, and critical analyses of Cypriot folk culture's politicization. Key scientific awards include: Loukis Papaphilippou Seat (University of Warsaw) Internships at EKPA and IKY (Greece) Scholarships at IMXA (Greece) and MUNI (Czech Republic) His academic contributions include cataloging 60+ Polish travel accounts to Greece, analyzing the shift from travel literature to tourism discourse, and examining the Hellene-Romios dichotomy's role in modern Greek identity construction.
Henrique Varajidás is a lecturer at Universidade Lusófona (Lusophone University), with a focus on political science and historical analysis of totalitarianism. He holds a Licenciatura in Political Science and International Relations, a PhD in the same field with specialization in security and defense, and a Master’s in Law focused on cross-cultural business practice. Licenciatura: Political Science and International Relations PhD: Political Science and International Relations (Security and Defense) Master: Law (Cross-Cultural Business Practice) His research primarily examines totalitarianism through comparative frameworks, analyzing regimes like Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR, and Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Key themes include: Historiographical methodology in totalitarian studies Counterfactual analysis of political violence Racial sciences in early Nazi ideology Philosophical foundations of authoritarian power Foreign policy villainization techniques Ends vs means in totalitarian governance His publications reveal a strong focus on circular causality in regime analysis, Kantian moral philosophy, and technological implications in authoritarian systems. Awards and recognition are not explicitly mentioned in available sources. Varajidás has advised students on topics related to totalitarianism and regime analysis. His work appears in journals like Frontiers in Political Science and Práticas da História . He maintains contact via email at hen***@ulusofona.pt .
Sharryn M. Kasmir serves as Professor of Anthropology at Hofstra University, where she conducts critical research on labor, capitalism, and working-class communities through ethnographic fieldwork in Spain's Basque region and the U.S. South. Her institutional affiliation centers within the Department of Anthropology, though the specific school/college structure isn't explicitly stated in available materials. Her academic credentials include: PhD from CUNY Graduate School and University Center MPhil from CUNY Hunter College BA from University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Kasmir's research program critically interrogates Global Capitalism's impact on working-class lives, with specialized focus on Labor and Working Classes, Nationalist Movements and Identity, and Popular Culture across Western Europe and North America. Her fieldwork at Mondragon's worker cooperatives challenged idealized narratives through working-class perspectives, while her Saturn factory research exposed how auto workers navigate perpetual plant closure threats and economic insecurity. As co-editor of the seminal volume Blood and Fire: Toward a Global Anthropology of Labor , she established foundational frameworks for contemporary labor anthropology that bridge ethnographic detail with macro-political economic analysis. Her publication trajectory since the 1990s reveals persistent engagement with labor anthropology's core questions: analyzing worker cooperatives as contested sites within global capitalism (1996-2016), documenting working-class dispossession amid industrial restructuring (2008-2016), and developing theoretical tools like 'unevenness' for cross-cultural labor studies (2016). This body of work consistently synthesizes cultural anthropology, political economy, and critical theory to center workers' lived experiences within broader capitalist transformations. Available documentation contains no references to scientific awards, research grants, student advising activities, laboratory facilities, or collaborative research teams.
Professor Marinella Marmo is a leading academic in criminology, human rights, and gendered migration studies at Flinders University's College of Business, Government and Law . She serves as a Professor and contributes to institutions like the Centre for Social Impact and the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies . Education: PhD in Applied Social Science (University of Lancaster, UK), LLB (Honours) (Università di Salerno, Italy). Her research spans international criminal justice , transnational crime , modern slavery , and gendered border control , with work influencing national policies and documentaries. She has secured funding from the Australian Research Council and EU-Australian Government initiatives . Recent publications focus on state-corporate harm and migrant deportation regimes , reflecting her commitment to human rights centred criminology . Awards include the 2023 BGL Team Teaching Award and the 2018 ANZ Society of Criminology Excellence in Teaching Award . She supervises projects on modern slavery , gig economy exploitation , and state crime , aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals like SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work).
Katrin Bromber is a German Researcher at the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin, where she has led the research group "Progress and its Discontents: Ideas, Practices, Materiality" since 2014. Her career spans senior research roles at ZMO and academic teaching positions at the University of Vienna. Nationality: German. Language skills: Native German, fluent English/Swahili, moderate Amharic, good reading knowledge in French/Russian, basic Tigrinya. Habilitation (2009–): African Studies, University of Vienna PhD (1993): African Linguistics, University of Leipzig MA (1988): Swahili Studies, University of Leipzig Katrin Bromber's research interrogates intersections of body politics , sports history , Swahili linguistics , and Ethiopian modernity . Her work traces how physical culture, media representation, and colonial/imperial narratives shape national identities across Africa and Asia. Current focus: "Progress" as contested concept in Ethiopian and Gulf urbanism. Key article trends reflect her translocal methodology: 2017 studies on Ethiopian stadiums and fitness culture ; 2014-2013 publications analyzing East African military press , sports branding in the Gulf , and Swahili poetry ; 2007-2000 works on colonial linguistic politics , Indian Ocean slavery , and German colonial Swahili promotion . Recurring sub-fields: body as political text, translocal modernity, media historiography. Scientific Awards: Research Grant of the Berlin City Council (1999-2000): Gendered Slavery study Service to the Scientific Community: Chairwoman, Academic Association for Horn of Africa Studies (2012–) Editorial Advisory Board - Stichproben. Vienna Journal of African Studies (2015–) Editorial Advisory Board - Studies of Department of African Languages and Cultures (2015–) Teaching Experience: Textlinguistics, Mediacommunication, African Linguistics, Swahili (elementary/advanced), Swahili Literature, Swahili in Arabic Script at Leipzig, Humboldt-Berlin, Free Berlin, and Vienna universities Anthropology of the Body at Mekelle University Summer School Field Research: Tanzania (1993-2003): Swahili Poetry, Intellectual History Kenya (2005): Indian Ocean WW2 UAE/Bahrain (2009): Sports and Body Cultures Ethiopia (2009-2015): Sports, Body Politics
Nikhil Anand is the Daniel Braun Silvers and Robert Peter Silvers Family Presidential Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania , where he serves as Interim Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) and Director of Envirolab . His research explores the political ecology of cities through the lens of water infrastructure, focusing on urbanism, state power, and climate change in South Asia and the United States. Education: Ph.D. in Anthropology, Stanford University (2011) MESc in Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University (2004) B.A., Reed College (1998) His research examines how water infrastructure shapes citizenship and state formation , particularly in coastal cities facing climate change. Key projects include Hydraulic City (award-winning book on Mumbai's water systems), Urban Seas (coastal planning), and collaborative initiatives Rising Waters and Inhabited Sea , which analyze climate-induced urban transformations. Themes in his recent 15 articles span infrastructure breakdowns, climate adaptations, and water-related citizenship struggles. These works often intersect urban anthropology , political ecology , and postcolonial studies , emphasizing coastal vulnerability , hydraulic governance , and slow violence against marginalized communities. Scientific Awards: Junior Scholar Prize, Anthropology and Environment Society (2014) Fellowships at Princeton's IAS, University of Minnesota, and Stanford Grants: National Science Foundation Wenner-Gren Foundation SSRC Penn Global Inquiries Fellowship Anand leads collaborative research initiatives involving architects, scientists, and policymakers to reimagine coastal cities. His work bridges anthropology, environmental humanities, and urban planning , with a focus on Mumbai and Philadelphia as sites of climate vulnerability and innovation.
Dorothea Schulz is a Professor of Anthropology at the Institute of Ethnology, University of Münster, where she has been serving since March 2018. She is a Principal Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence, a member of the Board of Directors, and a member of the General Assembly. Her research focuses on religious diversity and legal-political unity, with particular emphasis on Muslim communities in Africa. She leads two major projects: B3-48 on 'The role of social identities in interreligious arrangements' and B3-20 on 'Testing and contesting religious pluralism in Uganda'. Professor Schulz received her academic training at several prestigious institutions: 2005: Postdoctoral Degree (Habilitation), Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Freie Universität Berlin 1991-1996: PhD in Anthropology, Yale University 1984-1990: Study of Anthropology, Sociology and Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 1990: Master of Arts in Anthropology, Sociology and Biology, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz 1982-1983: Study of Art History, Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier Dorothea Schulz's research spans several interconnected fields within anthropology and religious studies. Her work primarily examines the dynamics of religious diversity, particularly focusing on Muslim communities in Africa. She investigates how religious identities intersect with political structures, social formations, and media technologies. Her anthropological approach emphasizes the lived experiences of Muslim communities, especially regarding gender relations, youth aspirations, and educational systems. Professor Schulz has made significant contributions to understanding how religious pluralism functions in contemporary African contexts, with particular attention to Uganda and Mali. Her research on media and religion explores how digital technologies reshape religious practice and authority in African Muslim communities. Professor Schulz has received numerous recognitions for her scholarly work: 2016: Fellow, Center for African Studies – Harvard University 2010: Teaching Prize – Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Cologne 2005: Fellow – Society for the Humanities, Cornell University 2000: Visiting Scholar – Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago 1996: Frobenius Society's Research Award – Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main Throughout her career, Professor Schulz has been actively involved in mentoring students and securing research funding for her projects. She has served on numerous academic committees and editorial boards, contributing significantly to the development of her field. Her leadership as Academic Director of the Research and Teaching Unit 'Media, Culture and Society' at the University of Cologne (2008-2018) demonstrates her commitment to interdisciplinary research collaboration. She currently oversees major research projects examining religious pluralism in African contexts, which involve international teams of researchers and provide opportunities for doctoral students. Professor Schulz co-leads research initiatives within the Cluster of Excellence, working with interdisciplinary teams to investigate religious diversity and legal-political unity. Her projects B3-48 and B3-20 bring together scholars from anthropology, religious studies, political science, and African studies to examine how social identities shape interreligious arrangements and how religious pluralism is tested and contested in specific African contexts, particularly Uganda.
