Julie Orlemanski is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. and MA from Harvard University (2010) and a BA from the University of Georgia (2004). Her scholarly work bridges late medieval literature with contemporary theoretical debates in literary criticism, the history of science, and the philosophy of fictionality. Harvard University - Ph.D. and MA (2010) University of Georgia - BA (2004) Her research focuses on medieval medical discourse, the poetics of literary personhood, and the historiography of fiction. She is currently completing Making Literary Persons: A Poetics of Voice in Chaucer , which explores Chaucerian narratology, and developing a book on Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons on the Song of Songs , considering how medieval writing virtualized embodied speech. Her 2019 monograph Symptomatic Subjects examines medical causation in pre-modern literature. Julie serves as Book-Review Editor for Exemplaria: Medieval, Early Modern, Theory (2025–) and has edited special issues on trans-regional medieval studies. Her recent publications analyze medieval fictionality, personification, and the ethical stakes of literary voice. She has presented at the English Institute Annual Conference and organized graduate research symposia.
Rana Jaleel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of California, Davis, within the College of Arts & Sciences. She holds multiple leadership roles, including Chair of the Cultural Studies Graduate Group, Chair of the Designated Emphasis in Feminist Theory and Research, Faculty Advisor for the Sexuality Studies Minor, and Co-Director of HATCH: The Feminist Arts & Sciences Initiative. She is also a 2021–2024 College of Arts & Sciences Dean's Faculty Fellow. Education: Ph.D. in American Studies, New York University J.D., Yale Law School MFA in Poetry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Rana Jaleel’s research centers on the politics of evidence, examining how harm is recognized or erased in legal, cultural, and political contexts. Her work critically engages with reproductive labor, race, gender, sexuality, property, and international law. She draws from feminist theory, critical ethnic studies, legal studies, and decolonial thought to interrogate the intersections of power, knowledge, and violence. Her interdisciplinary approach is reflected in her contributions across law, cultural studies, and creative writing. Her publications and editorial projects reveal a strong focus on racial capitalism, settler colonialism, queer/trans of color critique, and feminist legal theory. She explores how international legal frameworks for sexual violence are shaped by imperial and racial power. Her work frequently appears in journals such as Critical Ethnic Studies Journal , Cultural Studies , and Brooklyn Law Review . She has co-edited special issues on democracy, gendered citizenship, and racial capitalism, demonstrating a commitment to collective scholarly work. Scientific Awards: Author of Color First Book Award from Duke University Press for The Work of Rape Rana Jaleel is actively involved in academic service and mentorship. As Co-Director of HATCH and leader of the Write the Future! Lab, she fosters creative and critical scholarship among undergraduate students, particularly from women/queer/trans of color and transnational feminist perspectives. She serves on the Editorial Collective and Board of The Critical Ethnic Studies Journal and is a member of the American Association of University Professors’ Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure. Her leadership extends to admissions and curriculum development in interdisciplinary programs. She is co-editing a forthcoming issue of South Atlantic Quarterly on 'Queer/Trans of Color Transits and the Global Imaginaries of Racial Capitalism' and continues to develop projects that bridge creative practice, legal critique, and feminist theory.
Lara C. W. Blanchard is the Luce Professor of East Asian Art and Lloyd Wright Professor in Conservative Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she has been a faculty member since 2001. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Michigan and specializes in Chinese pictorial arts from the Song dynasty to the present. Her interdisciplinary research integrates art history, gender studies, and literary analysis. Her education includes: Ph.D., Art History, University of Michigan (2001) M.A., Art History, University of Michigan (1992) B.A., Art History and Mathematics, College of William & Mary (1988) Her research focuses on gender in Chinese art, particularly women as artists and patrons, text-image relationships, and the construction of gendered subjectivity in painting and poetry. She examines how visual culture reflects and constructs ideals of femininity and masculinity, especially during the Song dynasty. Her work often bridges art historical analysis with literary and philosophical contexts, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches. Her recent publications and lectures reveal a strong trend in analyzing emotional interiority, political allegory, and gendered representation in East Asian visual culture. She frequently explores how poetic themes are visualized in painting and how female subjectivity is constructed across historical periods. Her scientific awards include: 2020 Joseph Levenson Pre-1900 Book Prize (China) 2016 Franklin R. Buchanan Prize for Asia Curriculum Materials 2020 Faculty Prize for Scholarship, HWS Lloyd Wright Professorship in Conservative Studies (2018–) Lara Blanchard has been actively involved in mentoring through curriculum development, textbook authorship, and graduate advising. She has received multiple research grants from Hobart and William Smith Colleges and external foundations such as the Freeman Foundation. Her collaborative projects, such as the textbook Asian Art , demonstrate her commitment to pedagogy and accessible scholarship. She is affiliated with several academic organizations, including the Association for Asian Studies, College Art Association, and Cornell University’s East Asia Program as an Associate in Research. She has delivered lectures at institutions like Stanford, Princeton, and the University of Kansas, and has participated in panels and symposia on gender, Buddhism, and visual culture in Asia.
Shady H. Nasser is an Associate Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, holding a faculty position within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Previously, he served as a University Lecturer in Classical Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (2013–present). His academic journey includes a PhD from Harvard University in Arabic and Islamic Studies (2011), supervised by Wolfhart Heinrichs, and prior roles as Senior Lector of Arabic and Coordinator of the Arabic Language Program at Yale University (2009–2012). His research focuses on Qur’anic Studies, particularly the text’s transmission history, linguistic analysis, and early Muslim reception. Related interests include pre-Islamic poetry, Akhbār literature, and Ḥadith transmission studies. His scholarship bridges textual criticism with historical analysis of early Islamic intellectual traditions. Nasser’s publications explore canonical recitation debates, grammatical aspects of Qur’anic recitation, and the socio- intellectual networks shaping early Islamic textual traditions. His 2012 monograph on variant readings and a series of articles in journals like Journal of Qur’anic Studies and Oriens demonstrate engagement with both primary sources and methodological debates in the field. No scientific awards or grants are explicitly mentioned in the provided text. He has advised no listed students, though his roles in language program coordination suggest potential teaching mentorship roles.
Sophie Seita is a London-based artist, researcher, and Lecturer in Fine Art & History of Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she also serves as Director of Critical Studies for the BA Fine Art Extension Degree and Deputy Director of Research for the Department of Art. Her interdisciplinary practice spans performance, video, sound, textiles, books, and installations, with language as a central material. Previously, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at Boston University (2019-2022) and a Junior Research Fellow at Queens' College, University of Cambridge (2016-2019). Seita's research interests encompass lecture-performances, poetic essays, video essays, practice-based research, queer studies, trans studies, affect theory, disability studies, deaf studies, creative access, experimental captions and audio descriptions, speculative approaches to archives, fictional collectives, concepts of play, difficulty, opacity, absurdity, ornamentation, deep listening, histories of avant-garde group formation, translation studies, multilingualism, queer ecology, decolonial ecology, and experimental pedagogy. Her creative curiosities include opacity, playfulness, difficulty, artifice, queer abstraction, minor genres, ornamentation, materiality beyond objects, the materiality of language, listening beyond hearing, ambiguity, non-linear narratives, and provisional ideas. Her recent publications demonstrate strong trends in examining the intersections of performance, language, and experimental publishing, particularly focusing on lecture-performances as critical knowledge production, the materiality of language, and speculative approaches to archives. Her work consistently engages with queer and feminist perspectives on avant-garde practices while exploring experimental forms of documentation and presentation. Werner Düttmann Fellowship at Akademie der Künste Berlin (2024) Vice-Chancellor's Public Engagement Award (University of Cambridge) Eccles Centre Fellowship (British Library) PEN/Heim Translation Award Wonder Book Prize Dorothea Schlegel Artist in Residence Seita supervises and examines PhD projects at Goldsmiths and has secured numerous research grants, including funding from the British Academy, Arts Council England, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Early Career Research Fund Award from Goldsmiths. She is co-founder of The Hildegard von Bingen Society for Gardening Companions, an ongoing queer collaborative project with musician Naomi Woo that explores speculative archives and queer ecology through sound, performance, and publications. Her artistic practice often involves collaborative work across disciplines, particularly with The Hildegard von Bingen Society for Gardening Companions, which creates experimental pedagogical frameworks and community-based environmental projects.
Craig E. Bertolet is a Professor of English at Auburn University , affiliated with the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts . He is Co-Director of the AU Summer in London Program and has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies in his department. PhD, Pennsylvania State University Research Interests include medieval literature , Chaucer and Gower , cultural studies , and critical theory , with a focus on late 14th-century London’s commercial practices and sovereignty in medieval texts . His current book projects explore money and sovereignty and the state as exception in medieval literature, alongside a fantasy murder mystery novel titled The Swelling Flood . His publications span journals like Chaucer Review and Studies in the Age of Chaucer , with recent contributions to the 2024 Routledge Companion to Global Chaucer . Teaching emphasizes medieval literature , English comedy , and historical context , blending cultural analysis and language studies . Scientific Awards : College of Liberal Arts Teaching in the Humanities Award (2010-2011) Outstanding Faculty Member in CLA (2010) CLA Excellence in Advising Award (2004-2005, 2006-2007) Department of English Excellence in Administration Award (2015) Department of English Excellence in Research Award (2018) Students : No formal advisees listed in provided texts. Labs & Teams : Collaborates with Anna Riehl Bertolet in the AU Summer in London Program and has co-edited works with Robert Epstein and Susan Nakley.
Samuel Hodgkin is an Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature at Yale University with a secondary appointment in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC). His research bridges medieval and modern Eurasian literary studies, focusing on Persianate poetry, Soviet internationalist literary projects, and world literature frameworks. He holds a PhD from the University of Chicago (2018) and BA/MA from Harvard University (2008). Key research areas include the transformation of Persianate literary traditions in Soviet contexts, transnational canon formation, and the intersection of Romanticism with postcolonial poetics. His book manuscript Red Nightingales examines Soviet-era Eastern internationalism's literary foundations. Hodgkin co-organizes the Cultures of World Socialism Working Group and guest-edits a Comparative Literature Studies special issue on "Communist World Poetics." Publications span Iranian Studies , Routledge Handbook of Persian Literary Translation , and Philological Encounters . He translates modern Central Asian literature and edits anthologies of transregional poetry.
Hui Luan Tran is a Junior Professor (Assistant Professor) at the Institute of Art History and Musicology, Department of Art History, at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz since May 2022. Previously, they served as Research Assistant at the University of Bonn (2020-2022), Central Institute for Art History Munich (2019-2022), and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2014-2016). Holding a PhD in Art History from LMU Munich (2018), their dissertation focused on 'Pre-Ideological Dying: The Death of Cleopatra as a Motif in Image Theory' under Prof. Dr. Ulrich Pfisterer. Their research explores early modern art theory, visual arts (Italy 16th-17th centuries, France 17th-18th centuries), image theory, ecological and economic dimensions of artistic creation, and the history of optics and visual perception. They are co-leader of the working group 'Ecology of Premodern Art' and involved in research networks like the Postdoc Forum for French Studies. Publications include a monograph on Cleopatra's death motif (2020), chapters on military art, Aby Warburg's education, and interdisciplinary studies in journals like Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte. Their work bridges art history, historiography, and scientific visualization. Current projects examine printing press logos at the Gutenberg Museum, funded by Tavolozza-Stiftung and Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung. Scientific Awards: DAAD-funded Research Stay (Florence, 2017-2018) Postdoc Fellowship at Central Institute for Art History Munich (2018-2020) Gielen-Leyendecker-Stiftung Funding for Warburg Research Grants: Gefördert u.a. von der Tavolozza-Stiftung und der Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
Karen Jaime is an Associate Professor at Cornell University within the College of Arts and Sciences, jointly appointed in Performing and Media Arts and Latina/o Studies. An interdisciplinary scholar, her work bridges performance studies, queer studies, and Latinx studies to analyze racialized sexualities and aesthetics in Loisaida (Lower East Side) communities. Education: Ph.D., Performance Studies, New York University M.A., Performance Studies, New York University B.A., History and Spanish Literature, Cornell University Karen's research interrogates queer nightlife cultures, minoritarian aesthetics, and spoken word poetry as political acts. She explores how marginalized communities use performance to challenge norms and preserve cultural memory, particularly in Latinx and Afro-Caribbean contexts. Her award-winning monograph The Queer Nuyorican reclaims the Nuyorican Poets Cafe as a historically queer space. Other publications in journals like TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly and anthologies such as Flicker and Spark further expand these themes. Scientific Awards: 2023-2024 Schomburg Center Fellowship 2023 Cornell Faculty Champion Award 2022 Victor Villaseñor Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book Award 2019-2020 Career Enhancement Fellowships Karen also curates courses like Nightlife and Performance Studies: Theories and Methods , emphasizing intersectional pedagogy. As a spoken word artist and co-editor of Memorias de Miguel , she actively bridges academia and community engagement.
Maryemma Graham is the University Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Kansas, affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences. She specializes in African American literature with a focus on 20th-century authors, literary historiography, and transnational cultural studies. Her research bridges critical race theory, gender studies, and diaspora narratives. Key research interests include Toni Morrison’s spatial narratives, Margaret Walker’s legacy, and trans-American cultural exchanges. She has conducted seminal studies on the Harlem Renaissance, the New Negro movement, and Caribbean diasporic literature. Graham has authored/co-edited over 30 books and numerous articles across literary criticism, biography, and pedagogy. Her work frequently explores intersections between oral tradition and written text, with notable contributions to understanding historical consciousness in African American writing. Recent scholarship examines mobility studies and entangled histories in transnational frameworks. Graham has organized major conferences like the 1994 Furious Flower Poetry Conference and serves as a leading scholar in Toni Morrison studies. Her editorial work revitalizes overlooked texts by figures like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and promotes marginalized narratives through academic publishing.
María Teresa Vilariño Picos is a Full Professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela, specializing in Digital Humanities, Comparative Literature, and Cyberculture studies. Her academic work bridges Literary Theory with technology, urban studies, and education. She coordinates the Ñínós Project for Sustainable Development education and participates in multiple academic committees within the Faculty of Philology. She is affiliated with research centers including CEFILMUS (Film Studies), CIPPCE (Emerging Processes), CEGAL (Galician Supercomputing), and international groups like NUPILL (Brazil) and Narratopedia (Colombia). Doctorate in Theory of Literature and Comparative Literature (USC) MSc in Rare Congenital Metabolic Diseases Her research explores transmedia narratives, interactive digital art, and the intersection of literature with virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and urban architecture. Key projects include Crossed Narratives (2016), Trans-Architectures (2011), and Connected but Alone (2021), which examines digital narrative's impact on education and social interaction. Her work spans cyberpoetry, video game narratives, and digital cartographies of cities. She has contributed to 15+ publications since 2001, with recent work focusing on educommunication 3.0, intermediality, and performative digital spaces. She teaches courses on Text/Image relationships and Literary Theory, and leads research on educational innovation through social pedagogy.
Andrés C. López is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Carleton University's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. An Afro-Indio-Jamaican-Guatemalan-Trans-Queer scholar, López employs Indigenous and Black feminist methodologies, focusing on Maya backstrap weaving approaches to reconstruct memory narratives from the Guatemalan Civil War while centering erased queer and trans Maya ancestors. Research Interests Indigenous and Black feminist theorizing Queer Indigenous Two-Spirit Studies Decolonial historiography Cultural rhetorics Transnational diaspora analysis Interdisciplinary memory studies Editorial Roles Managing Editor, Constellations: A Cultural Rhetorics Publishing Space Editorial Board Member, Feminist Formations Academic Contributions 2022: Interdisciplinary analysis of trans Indigenous resistance histories 2021: Collective grief frameworks in queer Indigenous scholarship 2020: Mythohistorical approaches to diasporic identity 2019: Revolutionary Indigenous knowledge systems 2018: Poetic memory recovery in critical ethnic studies
Seyran Zaven Grigoryan is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of History and Criticism of Modern Armenian Literature at the Faculty of Armenian Philology , Yerevan State University . A prolific scholar born in 1962, he is equally at home in Armenian, Russian and English and has published extensively on modern and contemporary Armenian poetry, comparative literature and cultural memory. His research trajectory focuses on the intricate interplay between Armenian poetry and world literary traditions, with particular emphasis on the works of Yeghishe Charents, Paruyr Sevak, Vahagn Davtyan and other towering figures of the 20th century. He examines how biblical, folkloric and Indo-European motifs are re-imagined within Armenian modernist and post-modernist aesthetics, and how memory, myth and history coalesce in poetic form. Across more than fifteen major articles and three monographs published between 2015 and 2025, Grigoryan has traced recurring themes such as sacred beverages in world literature, the reception of Rig-vedic thought by Armenian poets, the genre of memoir-poem, and the symbolic afterlives of Komitas. His comparative studies extend from Marina Tsvetaeva’s dialogue with Paruyr Sevak to Charlotte Salzmann’s echoes in Abovyan and Charents, revealing dense networks of trans-national literary exchange. Labs & Teams: As Head of Department, he leads a research group dedicated to textual criticism and digital humanities approaches to Armenian literary corpora, while mentoring graduate projects on modern Armenian poetry.
Michael Levenson is the William B. Christian Professor of English at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on 19th and 20th century British and American literature, with particular emphasis on modernism and Victorian studies. Ph.D., Stanford University (1979) B.A., Harvard University (1973) Levenson's work explores the intersections of modernism with urban studies, gender theory, and cultural philosophy. He has published extensively on figures like T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Joseph Conrad, and his projects include the digital initiative Monuments and Dust: The Culture of Victorian London . His recent lectures examine topics like Marclay's The Clock and the environmental dimensions of Dickensian London. His publications span avant-garde movements, literary violence, narrative experimentation, and psychoanalytic theory. Collaborations with Karen Chase have produced significant scholarship on London's cultural history. Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences Fellow, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities Director, NEH Summer Seminar on London culture Levenson has held visiting positions at Harvard and Union College, and has served on the MLA Executive Committee. His critical reviews address diverse topics including Graham Greene, Genet, and Bertrand Russell.
Marilyn Miller is a Professor of Spanish & Portuguese and Sizeler Professor of Jewish Studies at Tulane University's School of Liberal Arts. She has held academic roles since 2001, including department chair (2009–2012). Her research focuses on Caribbean literatures, Jewish Latin American studies, and postcolonial discourses. She has supervised six theses/dissertations in the past five years. Miller holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature (University of Oregon) and M.A. degrees in Comparative Literature (University of Oregon) and English Literature (University of Washington). Her research interests include the intersection of race, slavery, and trans-Atlantic cultural exchanges. Notable projects explore José Martí’s Jewish supporters, Holocaust consciousness in Latin America, and the legacy of WWII enemy alien internment in New Orleans. She has conducted fieldwork in Argentina, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Spain. Miller’s publications span academic monographs, journal articles, and conference proceedings. Her recent work examines memory in Latin American literature, the cultural politics of Cuban identity, and the representation of slavery in colonial texts. She has received fellowships from the Fordham University Judaic Studies Program, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Fulbright Program. Her professional service includes editorial roles for Comparative Literature , Revista de Estudios Hispánicos , and Latin American Music Review . She has organized major conferences such as Tropical Exposures: Photography, Film and Visual Culture in a Caribbean Frame (2016) and Virtual Caribbeans (2008). Miller’s teaching portfolio includes courses on Latin American cultural studies, Caribbean migrations, and film studies.
