Margaret Robinson is an Associate Professor at Dalhousie University, holding dual appointments in the Department of English and Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She is a bisexual two-spirit scholar from Eski'kewaq, Nova Scotia, and a member of the Lennox Island First Nation. Her interdisciplinary work bridges Indigenous studies, queer theory, and intersectional feminism, with a focus on decolonizing methodologies and Indigenous oral traditions. Robinson’s research explores representation of Indigenous peoples and sexual/gender minorities in creative works, including fanfiction and popular culture. She holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Reconciliation, Gender, & Identity (2019-2023) and leads the Mi’kmaw Cultural Research Lab funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (2021-2024). Her education includes a BA from Saint Mary’s University and MA/PhD from the University of Toronto. Key research areas include Indigenous New Wave literature, Mi’kmaw spirituality, and Two-Spirit feminism. Recent grants focus on reconciliation frameworks and LGBTQ2S+ health equity. She has published widely on topics like queer mental health, animal personhood in Mi’kmaw cosmology, and decolonizing pedagogies.
Professor Nicholas McDowell is a leading scholar in early modern literature and thought at the University of Exeter , with a focus on 1500-1800 British and European contexts. His work bridges literary innovation and historical upheaval, particularly the English Civil Wars and their cultural legacy. PhD in English from the University of Oxford (2000) Former Research Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Visiting Fellow at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and CRASSH, Cambridge Research Themes : His scholarship centers on John Milton, Cavalier Poets, and Jonathan Swift, analyzing how literature navigates political and religious change. He explores translation, dissent, and the tension between liberty and constraint in poetic forms. Recent Publications (2020-2025): • 2026 Comic Enlightenment (Princeton UP) on Milton-Swift intersections • 2024 The Oxford Handbook of English Prose, 1640-1714 • 2025 The Seventeenth Century article on Milton and Cromwell’s virtue politics Awards & Grants : Philip Leverhulme Prize (2007) Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2023-5) for Poetry of Civil War John T. Shawcross Award (2014) for Milton prose edition Supervision : Mentors PhD research on early modern topics, including Milton’s materialist philosophies and 17th-century labor representations. Former advisees like Dr. Esther van Raamsdonk have published their work.
Professor Stephen Taylor is a leading historian specializing in early modern British history, particularly the religious and political history of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England. He is affiliated with the Department of History at Durham University, where he holds the rank of Professor in Early Modern British History. His scholarly work spans topics such as Anglicanism, court culture, party politics, and the relationship between church and state. Professor (Early Modern British History), Department of History, Durham University Co-Director, The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540–1835 Co-Founder, Durham University IMEMS Press His research interests include the identity of Anglicanism, religious conformity during the English Revolution, the Hanoverian monarchy and court culture (especially Queen Caroline of Ansbach), the Church of England from the 16th to 19th centuries, the Revolution of 1688, and news culture in the later seventeenth century. He has also studied figures such as John, Lord Hervey, and Edmund Gibson. Professor Taylor’s recent publications reflect a consistent focus on ecclesiastical history, political theology, and archival scholarship. His work often analyzes religious identity, state formation, and the interplay between monarchy and church. He has contributed to major scholarly editions and databases, demonstrating a commitment to both interpretive and infrastructural academic work. His editorial roles in volumes like The Nature of the English Revolution Revisited and National Prayers underscore his leadership in the field. His scholarly recognition includes multiple visiting fellowships at prestigious institutions such as the Huntington Library, Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Harry Ransom Center. These awards reflect the high esteem in which his work is held internationally. 2024: Visiting Fellow, The Huntington Library, California 2012: Woodward and Bernstein Endowment Fellow, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center 2011: Visiting Fellow, Peterhouse, Cambridge 2009: Visiting Fellow, Folger Shakespeare Library 2007: Pforzheimer Fellow, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center 2007: Visiting Fellow, Folger Shakespeare Library Professor Taylor actively supervises postgraduate research, with students working on topics such as the Earl of Danby, the transmission of taste, John Pearson, obedience and subversion under the late Stuarts, and William Laud’s economic thought. He has been involved in significant grant-funded projects, including the AHRC-supported Cultural Heritage 360 report and the long-term Clergy of the Church of England Database . His editorial and collaborative work indicates strong leadership in shaping future directions in arts and humanities research. He is a key figure in the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (IMEMS) and has helped establish Durham University IMEMS Press, further cementing his role in advancing scholarship in medieval and early modern studies.
Scott Mandelbrote is a Fellow, Director of Studies in History, and Perne Librarian at Peterhouse, University of Cambridge. His research explores early modern intellectual history with emphasis on the history of scholarship, science, and biblical interpretation. Mandelbrote teaches courses on the history of the book, nature and knowledge, and the politics of knowledge. He serves as Editorial Director of The Newton Project and General Editor for the Oxford Bibliographical Society. His current projects include digital approaches to watermark analysis using Isaac Newton's manuscripts and studies of early modern Hebrew books in Cambridge collections. Mandelbrote has published extensively on Isaac Newton, biblical scholarship, and early modern intellectual networks. His work bridges history of science, religious studies, and book history across Europe from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment.
Kathleen M. Brown is the David Boies Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Arts & Sciences, specializing in gender and race in early America and the Atlantic World. She teaches a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses on comparative slavery, colonial America, history of the body, race and sex in early America, and Atlantic history. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. (1990) and M.A. (1985) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. (1981) from Wesleyan University. Brown has been instrumental in the Penn & Slavery project since 2017 as the project's lead faculty historian. Brown's research focuses on the intersections of gender, race, and power in colonial contexts, with particular attention to bodily integrity, cleanliness practices, and the medical and legal dimensions of slavery and abolition. Her work demonstrates how bodily experiences were central to understanding power dynamics in early America and how racial categories were constructed through gendered frameworks. Her publications reveal consistent scholarly engagement with how bodies—particularly female bodies and Black bodies—were sites of political struggle, medical inquiry, and cultural meaning-making in the early Atlantic world. The trajectory of her work shows an evolution from examining colonial Virginia's gendered power structures to analyzing transatlantic abolitionist movements through the lens of bodily politics. Dunning Prize of the American Historical Association (for Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs) Organization of American Historians' Lawrence Levine Book Prize for cultural history (for Foul Bodies) Society of the History of the Early American Republic Book Prize (for Foul Bodies) Guggenheim Fellowship (2015-2016) Brown has received significant research support through fellowships from the Omohundro Institute for Early American Studies, the American Antiquarian Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe College. She serves as Co-Editor of the Early American Studies monograph series and is affiliated with Penn GSWS, the Center for Research in Feminist Queer and Transgender Studies, Africana Studies, and History and Sociology of Science.
Elizabeth Sauer is a Distinguished Professor at Brock University’s English Language & Literature department, part of the Faculty of Humanities. Her research focuses on early modern literature, particularly John Milton’s works, alongside topics like imperialism, women’s literary history, and the history of the book. She holds prestigious roles such as President of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies and has been honored with awards including the Killam Research Laureate and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Her academic leadership includes past presidencies of the Milton Society of America and editorial roles for journals like *PMLA*. She has secured extensive SSHRC grants since 1991, supporting interdisciplinary research. Notable publications include *Milton, Toleration, and Nationhood* (2014) and *Emergent Nation: Early Modern British Literature in Transition* (2019). Her current projects explore English national consciousness and transatlantic literary connections. Key achievements include mentoring Brock’s first Banting Postdoctoral Fellow and supervising research in Milton studies and early modern transatlantic contexts. Her work bridges literary analysis with historical, cultural, and global frameworks, contributing to fields like nationalism studies and material print culture.
Taylor H Black is an Associate Professor of English at Duke University, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, specializing in 20th Century American Literature , Popular Music Studies , and Queer Theory . He is currently working on two book projects: Cult of Personality: An American Romance and Butterfly on the Wheel , a critical biography of Quentin Crisp and cultural history of New York's Downtown Arts scene in the 1980s. Education: Ph.D., Rutgers University (2015) B.A., CUNY Hunter College (2007) Black's research explores the intersections of literature, music, and queer identity , focusing on how style functions as a cultural force beyond social categorization. His work traces stylistic evolution in American arts and media, particularly through figures like Bob Dylan and Quentin Crisp. His scientific award includes the Langford Lectureship Award (2025) from Duke University. Black's teaching portfolio includes courses on American literature, film, and critical theory, such as America Dreams American Movies II and Criticism and the Arts .
Kristen Poole is the Ned B. Allen Professor of English at the University of Delaware's College of Arts & Sciences. She specializes in early modern literature, with a focus on the intersection of religion, science, and historical thought in the 16th and 17th centuries. Her work spans Shakespeare, Milton, and lesser-known pamphleteers, exploring themes like time perception, theological debates, and environmental ethics. Education: BA from Carleton College; MA and PhD from Harvard University; STM (Master of Sacred Theology) from United Lutheran Seminary, specializing in historical theology. She has held research fellowships at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Huntington Library, and Penn Humanities Forum. Research Interests: Early modern theology, history of science, temporal theory, climate ethics, and digital humanities. Her recent publications include analyses of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials , histories of time periodization, and climate change ethics framed through Christian theology. Publications & Awards: Award-winning essay on Paradise Lost (James Holly Hanford Award, 2015). Editor of Routledge Resources Online: The Renaissance World . Over a dozen authored/co-edited volumes with Cambridge and Penn Press. Current projects integrate climate ethics with historical theology. Teaching & Leadership: Courses bridge digital archives and early modern texts. Graduate seminars on Renaissance anatomy, time theory, and allegory. Active in interdisciplinary scholarship and public-facing humanities initiatives.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Hahn-Bruckart is Professor of Church History at the Faculty of Theology, University of Rostock, a position he has held since 2021. He previously served as a Research Associate at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (2011–2019), the Institute of European History in Mainz (2010–2011), and the University of Hamburg (2020–2021). He completed his habilitation (Dr. theol. habil.) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in 2020 and was a Private Lecturer there. His academic journey began with studies in Protestant Theology at the University of Bonn, the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem (on a DAAD scholarship), and the University of Kiel, where he earned his doctorate (Dr. theol.) in 2011, winning the Faculty Prize for his dissertation. His research focuses on Church and Dogmatic History, with particular emphasis on Pietism , revival movements , free churches , Reformation history , transconfessional and transatlantic religious exchange , and the cultural history of religious emotions . He has made significant contributions to the study of 19th-century transatlantic evangelical networks, the history of tract societies, and the spatial and social dynamics of early Reformation communities. The trends in his publications reveal a consistent engagement with marginalized religious movements, the formation of religious identities, and the interplay between theology and social context. His work spans monographs, critical editions, editorial leadership (e.g., Pietism Handbook ), and numerous scholarly articles in leading journals and collected volumes, covering themes from emotional cultures in Methodism to church-state relations in free church theology. Faculty Prize of the Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel for Dissertation Prof. Hahn-Bruckart has been actively involved in academic administration, serving as Vice Dean and Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Theology, University of Rostock, from 2021 to 2024. He has led and contributed to multiple editorial projects, including bibliographies on Free Church theology and co-editing the Ebernburg-Hefte . His work reflects a strong commitment to both scholarly research and the dissemination of theological knowledge through teaching, leadership, and public engagement. He is currently on part-time parental leave and plans a research semester in the summer semester of 2025. He is engaged in ongoing editorial and research collaborations, particularly in the fields of Pietism and Reformation history, and continues to publish extensively in German and international academic venues.
Dr. Laura Copier is an Assistant Professor in Media and Performance Studies within the Department of Media and Culture Studies at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities. Her academic work bridges film studies, religious studies, and gender/sexuality studies with a particular focus on transnational contexts. She is affiliated with the Institute for Cultural Inquiry and contributes to research themes including Institutions for Open Societies (IOS) with emphasis on Gender, Diversity and Global Justice, as well as Dynamics of Youth (DoY) and Higher Education Research. As a film scholar trained in cultural analysis, Dr. Copier's research centers on expressions of religion and gender/sexuality in popular culture, particularly examining how Hollywood cinema and global media transform religious themes into secular contexts. Her work emphasizes close textual analysis with attention to film form and engages interdisciplinary scholarship connecting media studies with religion studies and biblical studies. She has made significant contributions to the academic discourse around trans* representation in media and the cinematic adaptation of biblical narratives. Dr. Copier's publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output across multiple disciplines, with recent work focusing on trans* representation in European television, martyrdom narratives in contemporary cinema, and the intersection of biblical themes with blockbuster filmmaking. Her research shows a clear trajectory from biblical reception studies toward increasingly focused examinations of gender and sexuality in media, particularly trans* representation. She has published in prestigious venues including Biblical Interpretation, Feminist Media Studies, and various academic edited collections. Teaching is integral to Dr. Copier's academic profile, with experience developing curriculum and teaching in mixed classrooms at both BA and MA levels. She has contributed to educational projects like the EUFA Project at Utrecht University, demonstrating her commitment to innovative pedagogical approaches in media studies.
Dr. Christoph Günther is a researcher at the Institute of Ethnology and African Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where he leads a BMBF-funded Junior Research Group on Jihadism on the Internet since 2017. Previously, he served as a Guest Professor at the same institution during Summer Semester 2016, hosted by Prof. Dr. Matthias Krings. His academic journey includes research positions at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale until 2016 and teaching appointments at the Universities of Marburg and Leipzig. PhD from University of Leipzig (2013) MA in Islamic Studies, History and Arabic Studies from University of Bamberg (2002-2008) Studies at University of Cairo (2004/2005) DFG Research Training Group Fellow at University of Leipzig (2010-2013) Dr. Günther specializes in the ideology and visual culture of the Islamic State (IS), with particular focus on jihadist online propaganda, visual communication strategies, and the intersection of religious ideology with state-building aspirations. His research examines how IS constructs authority through visual media and how these materials are received and appropriated by various audiences. He is recognized as an expert in this field and is frequently consulted by media outlets for his in-depth knowledge of IS propaganda mechanisms. His research has identified significant shifts in jihadist propaganda quality since 2013, moving beyond traditional political or Islamic studies approaches to incorporate media-cultural and media-anthropological perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach provides novel insights into jihadists' self-perception and how their messaging resonates with different audiences, including non-regional viewers in the 'Global North' and regional Arabic-speaking populations. Regular media commentator on IS ideology and visual culture Organizer of the 'Jihadi Audiovisualities' conference (October 2018) Conducted research on IS propaganda targeting Western audiences Investigated regional Arabic material from Syria and Iraq Analyzed Boko Haram's Hausa-language propaganda Dr. Günther's work bridges academic research and practical counter-terrorism efforts through his contributions to understanding jihadist justification narratives and potential counter-narratives. His research has significant societal relevance given the evolving nature of online radicalization and the professionalization of jihadist media production.
Vanja Hamzić is a Research Professor in Law, History, and Anthropology at SOAS University of London, serving as Equalities Lead and Director of Research within the School of Law, Gender and Media. He holds a First Class Honours degree from the University of Sarajevo, an LLM with Distinction from the University of Nottingham, and a PhD from King’s College London. His research focuses on human subjectivity formation, particularly through the lens of gender, sexual, class, race, linguistic, and religious differences, with fieldwork in Pakistan, Indonesia, Senegal, and Louisiana. Dr. Hamzić’s work interrogates the intersections of Islamic legal traditions with global legal and social theories, including racial capitalism, Marxism, decolonial studies, and queer legal frameworks. His current book project explores gender nonconformity and legal pluralism in 18th-century Senegambia and the survival of enslaved West Africans’ gender practices during the Middle Passage. He co-directs the Centre for the Study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law and has held roles at Harvard’s Institute for Global Law and Policy and the Inner Temple. His research emphasizes marginalized communities’ vernacular knowledge, challenging colonial archives and legal systems. He advises PhD students on topics ranging from queer politics in India to postcolonial legal narratives. His work bridges critical legal theory, anthropology, and philosophy, with contributions to debates on alegality, distemporality, and Third World feminisms. Qualifications: BFA (Sarajevo), BDes (Sarajevo), LLM (Nottingham), PhD (London), SFHEA Institutional Roles: Co-Director of Colonialism Studies Centre, Member of Academic Senate External Affiliations: Harvard’s Institute for Global Law and Policy, Inner Temple Fellow His publications span authored books, edited volumes, and over 50 articles addressing legal violence, decolonial methodologies, and the archival silences of gender-variant histories. He actively participates in institutional decolonization initiatives at SOAS.
Angelika Berlejung is Professor of Old Testament Studies with a focus on the History and Religious History of Israel and its Environment at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Leipzig, Germany, a position she has held since November 2007. She also serves as Co-Director of multiple archaeological projects including the excavation at Tell el-Badawija/Hannathon (2023-2030), Ashdod-Yam, and Qubur al-Walaydah, and as Co-Director of the Minerva Center for Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times with Professor Aren Maeir of Bar Ilan University. Dr. Berlejung received her education at the Universities of Heidelberg and Munich, studying Protestant Theology (1980-1984) followed by Assyriology and Semitic Studies (1985-1988). She completed her doctorate in Heidelberg in 1997 under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Manfred Weippert and Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Mathys, with the Assyriological portion supervised by Prof. Dr. Karlheinz Deller. Her doctoral work was recognized with the Ruprecht-Karls-Prize of the University of Heidelberg for outstanding scientific achievements. Professor Berlejung's research spans multiple interconnected fields within biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. Her work focuses on the material culture of ancient Israel and its environment, with particular attention to votive offerings, amulets, and ritual objects as sources for social and religious history. She has pioneered research on West Semitic text amulets from the first millennium BCE to the rise of Islam, examining the intersection of materiality and scribal practices. Her archaeological work at various sites in Israel provides crucial context for understanding the historical and cultural settings of biblical texts. Berlejung also contributes significantly to gender studies in ancient contexts, particularly examining representations of women and foreignness in biblical literature. Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on the material dimensions of ancient religious practice, with increasing attention to the intersection of text and material culture. The trend in her work shows movement from textual analysis of biblical literature toward interdisciplinary approaches that integrate archaeological evidence, material culture studies, and textual analysis to reconstruct ancient religious practices and social dynamics. Ruprecht-Karls-Prize of the University of Heidelberg for outstanding scientific achievements in her dissertation (1998) Opus Magnum Project "Weihegaben" funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (2021) Professor Berlejung has been principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous significant research grants, including the GIF project "Between Materiality and Scribal Magic" (2018-present), the DFG-funded SFB 586 project on "Space and Mobility in Syro-Palestine during the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires" (2009-2012), and the Volkswagen Foundation's Opus Magnum project on votive offerings from Palestine-Israel as sources for social and religious history. She has also served as co-applicant and co-supervisor for the Graduate College "Religious Nonconformism and Cultural Dynamics" in Leipzig. Her international collaborations include the Minerva Center RIAB (since 2015) and the excavation project at Tell el-Badawija/Hannathon with Ben Gurion University of Negev. Berlejung leads the research unit "Geschichte und Religion Israels und seiner Umwelt" (History and Religion of Israel and its Environment) at the University of Leipzig, which conducts interdisciplinary research combining textual analysis, archaeology, and material culture studies. She co-directs multiple excavation projects in Israel including Qubur al-Walaydah, Ashdod-Yam, and Tell el-Badawija/Hannathon. Her team also manages the "Encyclopedia of Material Culture in the Biblical World (EBW)" project, which has been ongoing since 2010, creating a comprehensive reference work on material culture related to biblical studies.
Jeremy Moss is an Associate Professor of Film and Director of the Film and Media Arts Program at Franklin & Marshall College. His work bridges experimental filmmaking, surrealist aesthetics, and critical engagement with themes of fluidity and transgression. Born in Saint George, Utah, his films critically explore cultural norms and environmental landscapes through non-normative cinematic forms. Moss' films have screened globally at venues like TIFF Bell Lightbox, Anthology Film Archives, and festivals such as Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival. Education details are not explicitly stated, but his training in independent narrative and documentary filmmaking informs his pedagogical approach. Research interests center on avant-garde film practices, the materiality of film media, and cultural critique through experimental forms. Moss co-founded the Gleaners Film Festival (2022), a platform showcasing non-normative works, and programs for Moviate Underground Film Festival. His films are distributed by Light Cone. Key themes across his works include resistance to fixed narratives, boundary exploration, and sensory experimentation. Advising details are unavailable, but his teaching includes courses on film production, experimental techniques, and documentary practices.
Kenneth L. Campbell is a Professor of History at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, specializing in British and Irish history, as well as cultural history of the 1960s with a particular focus on The Beatles. He teaches in the Department of History and Anthropology and has been honored with Monmouth University's Distinguished Teacher Award. His research interests span British history, Irish history, the cultural impact of The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen's America, and the transformative decade of the 1960s. Campbell takes an interdisciplinary approach that connects political, social, cultural, and religious history through the lens of popular culture and major historical events. Professor Campbell's scholarly publications demonstrate a consistent focus on British and Irish historical narratives, with significant contributions to understanding the Beatles' historical significance. His works show an evolving trajectory from traditional historical studies toward cultural history and the intersection of music with social change, particularly evident in his recent publications about The Beatles and their reception during the 1960s. Monmouth University's Distinguished Teacher Award American Library Association Choice Outstanding Academic Title (2017) for A History of the British Isles: Prehistory to the Present As an educator, Campbell has developed and taught numerous courses that bridge traditional historical scholarship with contemporary cultural phenomena, including specialized courses on Bruce Springsteen's America and American Popular Culture and the Beatles. His current projects include a forthcoming book on Bruce Springsteen's music and a work tentatively titled 'A Short History of the 1960s,' indicating his continued engagement with the relationship between music, culture, and historical change.
