Yunxiang Yan is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His work focuses on China and Cultural Anthropology , with specific expertise in Economic Anthropology , Family and Kinship , and Individualization . Education: Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University (1993). Yan’s research explores the intersection of social change , moral theory , and family dynamics in modern China. His ethnographic studies in rural villages provide foundational insights into exchange theory and cultural globalization . Recent publications analyze food safety , medical ethics , and moral crises in China, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach combining anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. Articles span themes like intergenerational intimacy , political oppression , and networked social structures . Scientific Awards: Guggenheim Fellowship Levenson Prize-winning Research Yan’s work bridges local Chinese studies with global anthropological discourse. He has held positions at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Johns Hopkins University, and UCLA since 1996. His career reflects a commitment to documenting the lives of ordinary people, rooted in his early experiences as an expelled villager during Maoist China. Contact: yan@anthro.ucla.edu
Adam Hollowell is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Program in Education at Duke University, where he also serves as Senior Research Associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and Director of the Inequality Studies Minor. His teaching spans ethics, inequality studies, and history across Duke’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, Sanford School of Public Policy, and Department of History. Hollowell holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh (2009). His research focuses on inequality, higher education, public policy, and ethics, with notable work on pandemic impacts, telemedicine in education, and reproductive health access during crises. In Inequality Studies , Hollowell emphasizes understanding policies to drive social change, as highlighted in recent media coverage. His publications explore topics like student behavior shifts during the pandemic, telemedicine adoption in universities, and James Baldwin’s ethical challenges. He is a finalist for the Judith Deckers Prize (2024). Professionally, Hollowell leads projects such as Bass Connections on college contraception access and Story+ initiatives. His work bridges academia and public engagement, addressing systemic inequities through interdisciplinary approaches.
Walid Magdy is a Professor at the School of Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, where he is a faculty member at the Institute for Language, Cognition and Computation (ILCC). He holds a PhD from Dublin City University's School of Computing and has been a faculty fellow at The Alan Turing Institute. With substantial industry experience, he has worked for Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), Microsoft, and IBM, where he filed nine patents. His research spans computational social science and natural language processing. In computational social science, he focuses on social content analysis, political bias detection, polarization, and users' behavior analysis/prediction, with particular attention to understudied communities. His natural language processing work centers on social applications including sentiment analysis, sarcasm detection, and hate-speech identification, with specialized expertise in Arabic and its dialects as well as Persian. Professor Magdy's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on Arabic language processing and social media analysis, with growing attention to cultural factors in NLP systems. His work bridges computational methods with social science questions, particularly regarding misinformation, cultural differences in online behavior, and the impact of platform policies on diverse linguistic communities. He has expanded his research to include Persian language processing and continues to explore social dynamics across different cultural contexts. His significant contributions have been recognized with multiple awards: Best Demo Award for TwiXplorer at CSCW 2024 Outstanding Paper Award at ACL 2024 Best Paper Award Runner-up at SocInfo 2022 Best Paper Award at WANLP-EMNLP 2022 Best Paper Award at AIRS 2015 Best Dataset Award at ICWSM 2013 Professor Magdy serves as an editor for Springer's Social Network Analysis and Mining journal and has held leadership roles in major conferences including ACL 2023, ArabicNLP 2023, ICWSM 2022, and ASONAM 2022. He has co-organized numerous shared tasks focused on Arabic language processing and social media analysis, contributing significantly to community resources and benchmarks. He founded and directs the Social Media Analysis and Support for Humanity (SMASH) research group at the University of Edinburgh, which has organized the Summer School in Computational Social Science (SICSS-Edinburgh) in 2022, 2023, and 2025, training researchers in computational social science methodologies.
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.
David Glovsky serves as Assistant Professor of History and African and African American Studies within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, focusing on 19th-20th century West Africa with regional expertise in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. His research examines borderlands through lenses of mobility, citizenship, and alternative geographies, challenging state-imposed borders with community-driven spatial narratives. His educational foundation includes a B.A. in History and Human Geography from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in African History from Michigan State University. Prior academic appointments include the Department of Africana Studies at University at Albany and the Department of History at Boston University, following Peace Corps service in southern Senegal that redirected his career from sports media into academia. Glovsky's research program centers on social justice-oriented historical narratives of marginalized West African communities, particularly Fulbe populations. His work synthesizes oral histories and archival research across six nations to analyze how borderland residents construct fluid geographies that transcend colonial/postcolonial boundaries. Key themes include migration as resistance , gendered border experiences , and Islam's role in transnational community formation , with methodological innovation in spatial history and decolonial approaches. Analysis of his nine recent publications (2019-2023) reveals consistent engagement with West African borderland resilience , demonstrating how communities maintain cross-border networks despite state fragmentation. His work bridges historical scholarship and contemporary migration debates , employing interdisciplinary frameworks from anthropology, geography, and postcolonial theory to document alternative spatial organizations that challenge Western cartographic traditions. ACLS Fellowship supporting book project Borderlanders: Popular Geographies, Mobility, and Belonging in West Africa Glovsky actively mentors graduate students interested in African history, emphasizing pathways for underrepresented scholars into U.S. academia. His research has received competitive external funding including the ACLS Fellowship, while his collaborative work on the NEH ‘Ajamī Project advanced accessibility of Pulaar manuscripts through digitization and multilingual translation. He maintains strong community ties with West African scholars and institutions, particularly in Senegambia. Though not leading a formal laboratory, Glovsky collaborates with international research teams across West Africa on borderland studies and manuscript preservation, working closely with scholars in Kolda (Senegal), Dakar, and Guinea-Bissau to document community histories through participatory methodologies.
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.
Tanya Trussler is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. Her research examines structural determinants of violent crime, policing practices, crime prevention strategies, and public perceptions of criminal justice systems. Research explores police-community relations across different contexts, including recent projects on rural versus urban policing perceptions in Alberta and religious influences on policing in Pacific Island countries. Methodologically specializes in survey research and comparative analysis. Recipient of multiple research grants including from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and British Columbia's Crime Reduction Research program. Actively presents findings at major conferences including Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Mulki Al-Sharmani is a Professor at the University of Helsinki, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Cultures (specializing in Middle Eastern Studies). Her research focuses on Islamic feminism, Muslim family law, gender studies, and transnational migrant communities. She examines how religious texts and practices intersect with legal frameworks and social dynamics in contexts like Egypt, Finland, and the Somali diaspora. Her work includes analyzing Islamic legal reform, gender equality in marriage, and the lived experiences of Muslim women. Key publications explore Qur'anic hermeneutics, the role of feminist activism in legal change, and the wellbeing of transnational families. She has contributed to projects like 'Reclaiming Adl and Ihsan in Muslim Marriage' and co-edited volumes on Islamic ethics and family law reform. Research interests: Islamic feminist theory, Middle Eastern legal traditions, transnational family dynamics, and religious praxis. Recent articles highlight themes like Qur'anic ethics of marriage, legal pluralism in Finland, and the political dimensions of Egyptian family law reform. Active in international conferences, including presentations at SOAS University of London, American University in Cairo, and panels on Islamic law and gender at venues like MESA and EASR. Involved in interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Africa Research Forum and Musawah's global network for equality in Muslim family laws.
Prof. Dr. Olena Palko is a historian specializing in Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and Ukraine. She holds the SNSF Professorship at the University of Basel's Department of History, focusing on East European History. Her research emphasizes Soviet minority policies, cultural politics, and national identity formation in interwar Ukraine. She is a leading scholar with notable works including Making Ukraine Soviet (2021), awarded the 2023 Alexander Nove Prize. Her current SNF-funded project, Red Tower of Babel , examines Soviet minority experiments in Ukraine. Education: PhD from University of East Anglia (2017); Kandydat nauk from National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2013). Research Interests: Soviet nationality policy, minority history, Ukrainian twentieth-century history, transnational border dynamics. Her work bridges archival analysis with transnational perspectives, addressing contested borderlands between Poland and the USSR. Key publications include co-edited volumes like Making Ukraine (2022) and Ukraine's Many Faces (2023). She actively contributes to academic governance roles, including co-convening the BASEES Study Group for Minority History and serving on the Scientific Advisory Council of the Council of Europe's history observatory.
Patrick Overeem is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), specializing in Political Science and Public Administration. He holds a PhD from Leiden University (2010) and advanced degrees in Public Administration and Political Science from the same institution. His research focuses on democratic theory, value pluralism, statesmanship, and EU governance. He is affiliated with the Multi-layered Governance (MLG) research group and serves on editorial boards, including the American Review of Public Administration . Overeem's work emphasizes ethical leadership, compromise in politics, and the interplay between democracy and pluralism. Key contributions include his 2012 book on the politics-administration dichotomy and his neo-Aristotelian analyses of political virtue. He has led projects like the EU-funded RECONNECT initiative (2018–2022), exploring democratic reconciliation in Europe. He advises Dutch parliamentary integrity committees and contributes to public debates on ethics and governance through media engagements. His research bridges classical political theory with contemporary challenges, addressing topics like postliberalism, moral dilemmas in governance, and constitutional frameworks. Overeem teaches courses on political theory, democratic systems, and the history of political thought, fostering critical engagement with ethical and institutional dimensions of power.
Andrew Connor is a Senior Lecturer in Archaeology and Ancient History at Monash University. He specializes in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, papyrology, and the social and religious history of ancient Egyptian communities. His research focuses on Egyptian temples during the Roman period, ancient economic practices, and the editing and publication of documentary papyri. Connor has particular expertise in the Fayum depression and Dakhleh Oasis regions. Connor's publications demonstrate a consistent focus on Egyptian religious institutions, economic systems, and textual evidence from archaeological sites. His recent work includes publications on temple administration, Greek papyri, and digital archaeology. He has received multiple teaching awards including the Faculty Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2017), Faculty Citation for Overseas Programs (2018), and Vice Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2018). Connor teaches courses on Greek and Roman history, archaeology, and ancient languages at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He serves as Honours Coordinator for the School of Philosophical, Historical, and International Studies.
Anna Morcom is Professor and Mohindar Brar Sambhi Chair of Indian Music in the Department of Ethnomusicology at UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music. She previously held a professorship at Royal Holloway, University of London, and earned her Ph.D. from SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) in 2002, where she also completed her undergraduate studies in Ethnomusicology and Hindi (1993-1996). Her research spans music and dance in India and Tibet, employing ethnographic and oral historical methods to examine the intersections of musical culture with politics, nationalism, identity, gender, inequality, economic development, and media. Morcom's scholarship is notable for its interdisciplinary approach that bridges traditional and popular musics with contemporary theoretical frameworks. Her work demonstrates significant trends toward examining music within economic frameworks, particularly through her founding of SEM's Special Interest Group on Economic Ethnomusicology. Recent publications increasingly focus on cultural economies, performance labor, and the relationship between artistic practice and economic systems in South Asia. Society of Ethnomusicology's Allan Merriam prize (2014) Marcia Herndon prize of SEM's Gender and Sexualities section (2014) Morcom's research has been supported by multiple grants from the Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy. She has been interviewed by prominent media outlets including BBC Radio 4's Thinking Allowed, The Hindu, Tehelka, and Scroll regarding her influential work on Indian dance cultures. As founder of SEM's Special Interest Group on Economic Ethnomusicology, she has shaped scholarly discourse on the economic dimensions of musical practice. Her current projects include the monograph on Hindustani music and co-editing two significant volumes: Creative Economies of Culture in South Asia: Craftspeople Performers (Routledge) and the Oxford Handbook of Economic Ethnomusicology (OUP).
Jon Singletary serves as Dean and holds the Diana R. Garland Endowed Chair of Child and Family Studies at Baylor University's Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. He joined Baylor in 2003 after earning his PhD in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), alongside an MSW from VCU and MDiv from Baptist Theological Seminary. His career includes prior roles as Associate Dean (2010–2015) before becoming Dean in 2015. Before academia, Singletary worked as a pastor, community organizer, and social service administrator. His research focuses on strengthening congregational ministries, community development, and advocacy for vulnerable populations. Notable projects include launching the Texas Hunger Initiative and directing the Strengthening Congregational Community Ministries Project. He co-founded the Faith and Service Technical Education Network (FASTENnetwork.org) to bridge faith-based organizations and social service sectors. His publications explore spirituality's role in social work, faith-based program development, and community organizing strategies. Recent work examines career resilience among professionals in aging care and leadership development through Enneagram frameworks. Earlier research addressed child food security, orphan care in Kenya, and rural community capacity building. Singletary's leadership emphasizes integrating faith and practice, evidenced by his edited volumes on Christianity and social work, and his advocacy for competency-based education models. He holds leadership roles in national organizations like the North American Association of Christians in Social Work and has advised global initiatives in Africa.
Prof. Dr. Eva Spies is a Professor for the Study of Religion with Focus on Africa at the University of Bayreuth within the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences . She holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Mainz and leads the Research Section Moralities in the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence (EXC 2052). Key Roles : Principal Investigator, Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) Vice Dean of Research Co-founder, German Association for the Study of Religion's Africa working group Research Interests span religious plurality, development cooperation, and transformative practices. She coined the concept of religious engineering to analyze how religious resources shape social/political worlds. Regional expertise in Niger/West Africa and Madagascar/Indian Ocean , with focus on: South-South mission Religion and pandemic response Intercultural hermeneutics Epistemological conflicts Material culture in development Projects : Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence (2025): "Religious engineering. The making of moralities, development and religion in Niger" Humboldt Research Hub (2021): "Fighting pandemics with religion?" (with Moi University and University of Zimbabwe) Education : PhD in Cultural Anthropology, University of Mainz
Albrecht Fuess is a Professor of Islamic Studies at Philipps University of Marburg since 2010, specializing in Middle Eastern History (13th–17th centuries), Mamluk socio-cultural dynamics, and contemporary European Islamic discourses. His research spans historical continuity in Ottoman-Mamluk-Safavid interactions, Islamic youth cultures, and Mediterranean geopolitics. Research Focus: Medieval Islamic history, Transottomanica mobility studies, Islam in Europe, and cultural integration of Muslim migrants. Awards: Le Studium Fellowship (2007–2009) at Université de Tours. His publications emphasize military-economy interplay, legitimacy through religious narratives, and resource management in empires, with a focus on Mamluk and Ottoman transformations. He has advised on doctoral projects covering topics like Islamic welfare, Arabic ʾAmālī literature, and Cypriot-Ottoman relations. Leadership: Co-coordinator of Transottomanica (DFG-SPP 1981), member of ANR and DAAD committees, and liaison professor for the German National Academic Foundation. Editorial Roles: Co-editor of 'Transottomanica' and 'Muslim Worlds' series, and advisory board member for journals in Cairo, Paris, and Leuven.
