Michael Lucey is the Sidney and Margaret Ancker Chair and Distinguished Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley. His work bridges French literature from the 19th to 21st centuries with social theory, sexuality studies, and linguistic anthropology. He has authored the critically acclaimed What Proust Heard: Novels and the Ethnography of Talk (2022) and Thinking about Sexuality with Novels (forthcoming). As founding director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Culture , he has shaped interdisciplinary research in queer theory and gender studies. Current research focuses on novels as ethnographic tools Specializes in Proust, Balzac, Woolf, and contemporary French fiction Translation work includes Didier Eribon and Édouard Louis His recent articles explore phonetics in narrative, readability frameworks, and sociological implications of literary form. He actively engages with comparative methodologies and critical theory, while his teaching spans British and American literature’s intersections with French modernism. Lucey’s academic leadership includes directing Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Sexual Culture, which supports global discourse through fellowships and conferences. His office hours are held in Dwinelle Hall and via Zoom. Contact: mlucey@berkeley.edu
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.
Sigrid Schmalzer is a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in the history of science and modern China. She holds a Ph.D. in History and Science Studies from the University of California, San Diego (2004). Her research bridges the social, cultural, and political dimensions of science in China, with a focus on the intersections of agriculture, activism, and revolutionary movements. Schmalzer is the author of *Red Revolution, Green Revolution: Scientific Farming in Socialist China* (2016), winner of the Joseph Levenson Book Prize, and *The People's Peking Man: Popular Science and Human Identity in Twentieth-Century China* (2008), recipient of the Allan Sharlin Award. Her current projects include a book on agricultural heritage in the People’s Republic of China and leadership roles in organizations like the Critical China Scholars and Science for the People. She co-edits the *Activist Studies of Science and Technology* series for UMass Press, emphasizing socially engaged scholarship. Schmalzer also serves as Co-President of the MSP faculty union at UMass Amherst. Research interests span the history of science activism, transnational movements, and the legacy of Maoist science. Notable awards include the Freeman Book Award (2018) for her children’s book *Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean*, which integrates science education with historical narratives. Her work often critiques capitalist and authoritarian structures while advocating for science as a tool for justice and sustainability. Recent publications explore themes like agroecology, science policy, and the global dimensions of China’s scientific history. She teaches courses on modern China, science in society, and radical science movements, blending interdisciplinary approaches to engage students in critical analysis of historical and contemporary issues.
Professor David A Palmer is a distinguished academic jointly appointed by the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong, where he has been teaching since 2008. His interdisciplinary work bridges anthropology, sociology, religious studies, and Sinology, establishing him as a leading scholar in Chinese religious studies and transnational religious movements. Palmer's educational background includes a PhD in Anthropology of Religion from Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne, Paris), an MPhil in Clinical Psychology/Medical Anthropology from University of Paris-VIII, and a BA in Anthropology and East Asian Studies from McGill University. His scholarly contributions span multiple disciplines with particular emphasis on Chinese religious traditions and their global manifestations. His research interests focus on the anthropology and sociology of spirituality and religion, especially Daoism and Chinese religion; religion in modern and contemporary China; inter-Asian and transnational religious circulations; Baháʼí Faith; civil society, volunteering, philanthropy, community engagement; and cultural and religious interactions on the Belt and Road. His work examines how religious traditions navigate modernity, state power, and globalization, with particular attention to the Belt and Road Initiative's cultural dimensions. Palmer's publications reveal a consistent focus on understanding Chinese religious traditions within broader theoretical frameworks of social theory, civil society, and transnational religious networks. His articles demonstrate how Chinese religious practices and institutions both adapt to and shape contemporary social and political contexts, with particular attention to the intersections of spirituality, modernity, and state-society relations. Joseph Levenson Award of the Association for Asian Studies PROSE award of the American Publishers' Association Francis L.K. Hsu Award of the Society for East Asian Anthropology Edward Bruner Prize for the best book in Anthropology of Tourism HK Research Grants Council RGC Research Fellowship (2021-2025) HK Research Grants Council Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship (2019) Palmer currently leads multiple significant research projects including 'Global China, Local Cultures: Chinese Modernity and Soft Power on the Belt and Road' (RGC Research Fellowship, 2021-2025), 'Infrastructures of Faith: Religious Mobilities on the Belt and Road' (CRF, 2019-2023), 'Rituals and Manuscripts of the Lanten Yao (Laos)' (GRF, 2021-2024), and 'Religious Cosmopolitanism in China, 1895-1927' (GRF, 2021-2024). He leads the 'Asian Religious Connections' research cluster at HKIHSS, co-convenes the 'Culture, Community and Social Equity' research cluster in the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences, and serves as co-convenor of the HKU Anthropology Research Network. As President of the East Asian Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, he plays a key role in advancing scholarly understanding of religion in the region.
James A. Robinson is a University Professor at the University of Chicago with joint appointments in the Harris School of Public Policy and Department of Political Science. An economist and political scientist, he conducts influential research on political and economic development, examining how political power, institutions, and prosperity interact through both quantitative economic modeling and qualitative fieldwork methodologies. Robinson's research focuses on institutional analysis and political economy, with deep regional expertise in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. He has conducted extensive fieldwork across Bolivia, Colombia, Haiti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, investigating how historical institutions shape contemporary economic outcomes. His interdisciplinary approach integrates economic theory with anthropological and historical case studies to explain patterns of economic divergence and political stability. Recent publications (2023-2025) reveal persistent themes in institutional persistence, state-society dynamics, and the cultural foundations of development. His work increasingly examines the interaction of economic and political inequality, the role of non-institutional factors in leadership strategies, and the historical roots of peripheral development trajectories across diverse global contexts. Scientific recognition includes: 2024 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Fellow, Institute of African Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka Robinson co-authored three seminal books with Daron Acemoglu: Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy (theoretical foundations of regime stability), Why Nations Fail (translated into 41 languages, arguing inclusive institutions drive prosperity), and The Narrow Corridor (analyzing state-society struggles for liberty). He maintained a 28-year summer school at Colombia's University of the Andes (1994-2022) and continues active research collaborations across Africa and Latin America.
Ricky Ini Liu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Washington. Previously, he held positions at North Carolina State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D. in Mathematics from MIT in 2010 under Alexander Postnikov. His research focuses on algebraic combinatorics, particularly its intersections with algebraic geometry, combinatorial geometry, and representation theory. Key interests include Schubert polynomials, polytopes, Hopf algebras, and Kronecker coefficients. He has contributed to foundational work on birational rowmotion, Gelfand-Tsetlin polytopes, and Fomin-Kirillov algebras. Liu has taught a wide range of courses at UW, including special topics in dynamical algebraic combinatorics, combinatorial theory, and problem-solving. He has also been a key instructor at the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program since 2007 and mentored undergraduates in research programs at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. His publications span high-impact journals like Selecta Mathematica and Journal of Combinatorial Theory , with recent work addressing topics such as determinantal formulas for Schubert polynomials and applications of flow polytopes to diagonal harmonics. Though no specific awards are listed, his extensive publication record and academic roles reflect significant contributions to combinatorial mathematics.
Boris Hanin is an Associate Professor at Princeton University's Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORFE) and Associated Faculty at the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics (PACM). Prior to Princeton, he held academic positions at Texas A&M University (Assistant Professor of Mathematics), MIT (NSF Postdoctoral Fellow), and Northwestern University (PhD in Mathematics under Steve Zelditch). He works part-time at Foundry, an AI/computing startup, leading the Foundry Institute. PhD in Mathematics, Northwestern University NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, MIT Mathematics Associate Professor, Princeton ORFE Part-Time Leader, Foundry Institute His research spans machine learning, probability theory, and mathematical physics, focusing on neural network theory (approximation power, optimization guarantees), random matrix theory, and spectral asymptotics. He has made foundational contributions to understanding gradient behavior, initialization, and infinite-width limits in deep learning. Boris has supervised numerous PhD students and postdocs, with former members securing prestigious positions at Harvard, MIT, and Huawei. He serves as Associate Editor for journals like Pure and Applied Analysis and Mathematics of Operations Research , and has taught short courses at Oxford, Luxembourg, and Tor Vergata on statistical physics of neural networks and deep learning theory. 2024 Sloan Fellowship in Mathematics NSF CAREER grant DMS-2143754 NSF grant DMS-2133806 His research group collaborates on topics including hyperparameter transfer, architecture-aware scaling, and spectral analysis of random waves and neural networks. He actively contributes to theoretical machine learning through foundational publications in venues like Probability Theory and Related Fields , Journal of Machine Learning Research , and Communications in Mathematical Physics .
Andrea Voyer is a Professor of Sociology at Stockholm University , focusing on social norms, boundaries, and their role in shaping social inequality , particularly in the context of immigrant integration , class disparities, and ethnic inequality. She employs both qualitative and computational methods , including large-scale text analysis and cultural theory, to explore these themes. Her research has received funding from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond , the Swedish Research Council , the National Science Foundation (USA) , and the Russell Sage Foundation . Voyer serves as a program coordinator for master's programs in sociology and applied social research, and leads the department's research groups in qualitative methods , computational sociology , and cultural sociology . She is also an editorial board member for Sociological Theory and American Journal of Cultural Sociology , and contributes to public discourse on immigration, segregation, and social norms. Her recent publications highlight the use of computational techniques to analyze immigrant incorporation through shifts in mainstream discourse, the cultural processes of inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic , and the evolving role of class distinction-making in etiquette literature. These works bridge cultural theory with empirical analysis, offering actionable insights for addressing social inequality.
Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of BonnGermany
Gül Şen is a Senior Lecturer and Privatdozentin at the Institute of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Bonn, and also serves as a Lecturer at the University of Heidelberg. Her academic work focuses on premodern Ottoman history, historiography, and the dynamics of dependency, particularly in maritime contexts such as galley slavery and war captivity. She is actively involved in major research programs including the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica' and the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies. Her research areas include: Premodern Ottoman historiography and narrative strategies Legitimacy of rule and political transitions Maritime unfree labor and galley slavery War captivity and captivity narratives in the 18th century Dependency and asymmetrical power relations in the early modern Mediterranean Her recent publications reveal a strong thematic trend centered on the interplay between narrative construction and social power, particularly in contexts of slavery and captivity. She investigates how historical actors used storytelling to assert legitimacy, cope with crises, and negotiate identity. Her work bridges literary analysis with social history, offering nuanced understandings of agency within systems of dependency. She frequently collaborates with leading scholars like Stephan Conermann and contributes to major edited volumes and series in Ottoman studies. Her scientific awards include: DAAD Award for outstanding academic achievements (2012) Postdoctoral Scholarship from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation (2012–2013) Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Annemarie Schimmel Kolleg (2015–2016, 2018–2019) Postdoctoral Scholarship from the University of Bonn (2019–2020) She has supervised numerous B.A. and M.A. theses at the University of Bonn and Heidelberg and has secured third-party funding, including a DFG project (€192,000) from 2016–2018 and Fritz Thyssen Foundation grants. She is co-editor of the 'Ottoman Studies' and 'Otto Spies Memorial Series' book series, and holds leadership roles in the Society for Turkic, Ottoman and Turkish Studies (GTOT) and the International Association for Ottoman Social and Economic History (IAOSEH). Her academic activities are deeply embedded in collaborative and interdisciplinary research environments. She is affiliated with the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies and contributes to the DFG-Priority Program 'Transottomanica,' where she examines mobility dynamics and captivity narratives. Her work is supported by a strong network of international collaborations and editorial engagements.
Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyUnited States
Emily C. Bartels is a Professor of English at Rutgers University specializing in early modern literature and culture, with particular expertise in Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean drama. She has served as director, and is now dean, of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English since 2010, a summer Master's program designed for K-12 English teachers. Professor Bartels received her BA from Yale University and both her MA and PhD from Harvard University. Her academic background positioned her to become a leading scholar in Renaissance literature studies. Her research examines questions of race, cross-cultural relations, gender, genre, and performance in early modern English drama. Professor Bartels is renowned for her groundbreaking work on Shakespeare's Othello and Christopher Marlowe's plays, analyzing how these texts represent cultural and racial difference. She has significantly contributed to postcolonial approaches to early modern literature, revealing how English drama engaged with global encounters and representations of the 'other' during the Renaissance period. Her scholarship demonstrates how early modern writers both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Professor Bartels' publications reveal a consistent scholarly trajectory examining racial and cultural representation in early modern England. Her work spans from detailed analyses of specific plays like Hamlet and Julius Caesar to broader studies of how England conceptualized Africa and non-Christian cultures during the Renaissance. A recurring theme throughout her career is the analysis of how early English drama both reflected and shaped contemporary attitudes toward difference, particularly regarding race, religion, and national identity. Roma Gill Prize for Best Work on Christopher Marlowe (1993-94) for Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperialism, Alienation, and Marlowe Board of Trustees Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence (1993) School of Arts and Sciences Award for Distinguished Contributors to Undergraduate Education (2008 & 1993) Warren I. Susman Award for Excellence in Teaching (2008) Solmsen Fellowship at the Institute of Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin (1995) Black Atlantic Project fellowship from the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis Professor Bartels has demonstrated exceptional commitment to both research and teaching excellence. She has developed innovative courses exploring the intersections of literature, history, and cultural studies, including undergraduate seminars on Othello and Hamlet, and graduate courses on Shakespeare Page and Stage. Her administrative role as dean of the Middlebury Bread Loaf School of English demonstrates her commitment to education beyond traditional university settings. Her fellowships from prestigious institutions indicate successful grant acquisition throughout her distinguished career. Professor Bartels has been actively involved with the Shakespeare Association of America and has collaborated with international scholars like Emma Smith of the University of Oxford. Her work has positioned her at the forefront of conversations about early modern literature, race studies, and postcolonial approaches to Renaissance drama, influencing how scholars understand the intersections of literature, race, and cultural identity in the early modern period.
Roger Giner-Sorolla is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Kent's School of Psychology, where he has been a faculty member since 2001 after completing his PhD at New York University in 1996. He served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology from 2016-2022 and currently leads a Leverhulme Foundation grant examining moral heroism across professions. His academic journey includes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Virginia and has established him as a leading figure in social and moral psychology. Professor Giner-Sorolla's research focuses on the social role of emotions, particularly moral emotions including self-condemning emotions (guilt and shame) and other-condemning emotions (anger, contempt, and disgust). His work extends to intergroup apologies, dehumanization, emotionally driven prejudice, and collective moral roles, with a notable side interest in the ironic enjoyment of music and aesthetic experiences. He is a strong advocate for transparency in scientific reporting, having written extensively on improved reporting guidelines, pre-registration, and open science practices. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent focus on moral psychology with expanding interdisciplinary reach. His work bridges traditional social psychology with emerging areas including cross-cultural emotion research, replication science, and historical memory. The trend shows increasing attention to methodological rigor while maintaining core interests in emotion and morality, with growing emphasis on practical applications in conflict resolution and intergroup relations. Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science Member of Rising Stars selection committee (2023-2024) Promising Scholars Award (University of Kent, 2006) Vacation Research Scholarship (Wellcome Trust, 2005) Multiple ESRC grants totaling over £400,000 European Science Foundation Workshop Award (2004) Professor Giner-Sorolla has supervised an impressive number of PhD students, with 17 doctoral candidates listed in the documentation including both current and past students. His grant portfolio demonstrates significant research impact with funding from major organizations including ESRC, Wellcome Trust, and Leverhulme Foundation. His supervision style appears to encourage students to pursue research that aligns with his core interests in moral emotions while allowing exploration of novel applications and contexts. While the documentation doesn't specify laboratory or research team structures, his extensive collaborative work suggests leadership of research groups focused on moral psychology and emotion research. His numerous international collaborations and invited workshops indicate an active research program with global reach, likely involving multiple research teams working on interconnected projects related to his core interests in moral psychology and scientific methodology.
Professor Timothy J. Power is Head of the Social Sciences Division and Professor of Latin American Politics at the University of Oxford, affiliated with the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA) and the Department of Politics. He previously directed the Latin American Centre from 2008 to 2012 and has been a leading scholar in comparative politics since 2005. Research Interests: Democratization, political institutions (parties, legislatures, elections), coalitional presidentialism, Brazil, Latin America, new democracies. Awards: None listed in provided text. Advising: No specific students mentioned. Grants: No explicit grants listed, but research involves long-term projects like the Brazilian Legislative Surveys. Labs/Teams: Co-directs the Brazilian Legislative Surveys with Fundação Getúlio Vargas and contributes to cross-regional comparative studies at OSGA. His work analyzes democratization in Latin America, particularly Brazil, focusing on legislative dynamics, coalition governments, and political institutions. Recent articles explore cabinet proportionality, portfolio allocation, and ideological shifts in post-authoritarian settings.
Dr Kingsley Edney is an Associate Professor in International Relations of China at the University of Leeds' School of Politics and International Studies. He holds a PhD (International Relations) and MA (Political Science) from the University of Melbourne, along with a BA(Hons) in Politics and Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington. Fluent in Chinese and with experience living in Shanghai and Beijing, his research focuses on China's non-material international security dynamics, including cultural diplomacy, propaganda, and ideological strategies to manage global information flows. His expertise includes Chinese soft power, the role of ideology in foreign policy, and the intersection of domestic political cohesion with international security objectives. He teaches undergraduate and master's courses on China's domestic and international politics. Current postgraduate researchers under his supervision are Jinru Huang, Yanyu Lu, and Hengfeng Zhao. Edney's research outputs span topics like public perceptions of China in the Anglosphere, Chinese youth nationalism, and environmental governance. His work often bridges theoretical frameworks with empirical analysis of China's evolving global engagement strategies. He maintains active academic engagement through platforms like Google Scholar and ORCID.
Christopher P. Atwood is a Professor of Mongolian and Chinese Frontier and Ethnic History and Department Chair of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds a PhD from Indiana University's Central Eurasian Studies Department. His research focuses on the interplay of culture, political power, and historiography in Mongol and Inner Asian contexts. Atwood's work spans topics such as Mongol nationalism, Yuan dynasty historiography, and the socio-economic history of nomadic societies. Education: AB from Harvard University (1986), PhD from Indiana University (1994). He previously taught at Indiana University for two decades, serving in administrative roles. His affiliations include visiting scholar positions at institutions like the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) and Peking University. Research interests include environmental history (e.g., marmot-human relations), political dynamics (e.g., Mongol empires and comparative imperial formations), and literary studies (e.g., Mongolian poetry and textual canonization). He has authored works like the Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire and collaborates on projects such as the Sources of Mongolian Tradition . Teaching includes courses on Inner Asian civilizations, the Mongol Empire, and the Secret History of the Mongols . He emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches, blending philology, environmental history, and cultural analysis to reconstruct nomadic and steppe societies.
Susan Fino is a Professor at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Wayne State University. Her research focuses on public law, American constitutional law, administrative law, and the role of state supreme courts. She holds a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University, an M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. She has received the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her courses include American Government (PS1010) and Constitutional Law (PS5110/PS5120), taught across multiple terms from 2023 to 2025. Dr. Fino's research explores judicial federalism, state constitutional frameworks, and legal interpretations of rights. Her work analyzes topics like church-state relations, taxation provisions in state constitutions, and assisted suicide debates. She has written extensively on state supreme court dynamics, including landmark cases and institutional performance metrics. Her scholarship bridges legal theory with practical governance challenges at both state and federal levels. Her publications span over three decades, addressing evolving legal landscapes such as the Rehnquist Court’s federalism approach and technological impacts on criminal sentencing. She consistently engages with issues at the intersection of law, politics, and societal values.
