Prof. Ahmet Atay holds the rank of Professor of Communication Studies at the College of Wooster, serving as Program Chair of Global Media & Digital Studies and liaison to the Digital Visual Storytelling Pathway. His academic journey includes degrees from Marmara University (B.A., 1998), Ohio University (M.A., 2001), University of Northern Iowa (M.A., 2003), and Southern Illinois University (Ph.D., 2009). His research focuses on transnational communication, digital media's societal impact, cultural identity formation in global contexts, and queer diasporic experiences. He actively explores media representation of gender/sexuality, critical pedagogy, and autoethnography as research methodologies. Notable projects include editing works on millennial media ecology, intercultural communication pedagogy, and transnational queer cinema. Teaching responsibilities include courses on intercultural communication, mediated gender studies, and digital storytelling for social justice. He has held leadership roles in professional organizations like the National Communication Association and Central States Communication Association. Prof. Atay's recent publications emphasize digital ethnography, decolonizing communication studies, and queer pedagogy innovations. His work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical educational applications, addressing contemporary issues like diversity in academia and media's role in shaping cultural narratives.
Amir Ahmadi Arian is an Iranian-American writer and Assistant Professor in the Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric at Binghamton University (College of Arts and Sciences). He holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Queensland, Australia, an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, and a BSc in Metallurgy Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran. His research and teaching focus on creative writing, world literature, postcolonial novels, and Persian poetry. He has published two novels, a story collection, and a nonfiction book in Persian, and translated works by E.L. Doctorow, Paul Auster, P.D. James, and Cormac McCarthy into Persian. His English-language publications include fiction in Harper’s , The Paris Review , The New York Times , and other prestigious venues. His debut English novel Then the Fish Swallowed Him (HarperVia/HarperCollins, 2020) received critical acclaim from The New Yorker , Publishers Weekly , and Kirkus Reviews for its political themes and interior portrayal of oppression.
Laurie Shannon is the Franklyn Bliss Snyder Professor of English at Northwestern University, with a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. She studies English literature and culture in the long sixteenth century, focusing on the history of ideas in language, stakeholdership, embodiment, and cross-species relations. She serves as convener of The Anne Lister Society and is collaborating with Oxford University Press on a scholarly edition of Anne Lister’s Journal. Education: J.D., Harvard Law School; Ph.D., University of Chicago Shannon’s research explores the political imagination in early modern literature, particularly through friendship (Sovereign Amity: Figures of Friendship in Shakespearean Contexts) and animal studies (The Accommodated Animal: Cosmopolity in Shakespearean Locales). Her current monograph, 'Frailty’s Name: Shakespeare and the Natural History of Human Being,' examines human negative exceptionalism in Renaissance thought and its implications for climate crisis ethics. Her publications span Shakespeare studies, queer theory, environmental humanities, and textual editing. Notable awards include the Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Teaching Award, and Dean’s Award for Graduate Mentoring. She has held NEH, ACLS, and Guggenheim fellowships. Scientific Awards: Elizabeth Dietz Memorial Award, Robert B. Cox Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award, Dean's Award for Graduate Mentoring, NEH Fellowship, ACLS Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship Shannon contributes to the Anne Lister Diary Transcription Project and has served as English Department Chair at Northwestern. Her recent articles focus on Shakespeare’s engagement with natural history, queer cosmology, and animal sovereignty, reflecting her interdisciplinary approach.
Oleksandr Kapranov is an Associate Professor of English at NLA University College's Teacher Education program. His work intersects discourse analysis, climate change communication, and English language teaching (ELT), with a focus on sustainable development education and intercultural communication. Research areas include political speeches (e.g., Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak), corporate disclosures (Bank of England, Vedanta Resources), and media framing (Greenpeace branches, King Charles III). Key pedagogical interests: digital competence, beginner EFL training, and discourse markers in academic writing. His recent publications analyze climate change discourse through syntactic structures, metonymy, modality, and evidentiality, emphasizing institutional and political narratives. While no formal awards are listed, his work spans interdisciplinary collaborations with NGOs, governments, and universities.
Genesea M. Carter serves as the Associate Director of Composition and Associate Professor in the English and University Composition Program at Colorado State University. She holds a PhD from the University of New Mexico. Her research focuses on administrative systems in higher education, including curriculum design, teacher training, and workload equity, and their impact on instructors’ well-being. She also investigates how students from diverse backgrounds navigate academia, with a focus on working-class pedagogy and identity development. Her recent co-edited collection Systems Shift: Creating and Navigating Change in Rhetoric and Composition Administration (2023) addresses institutional transformation. Earlier work includes Class in the Composition Classroom: Pedagogy and the Working Class (2017), exploring socioeconomic diversity in education. Her articles span topics like digital literacy, interdisciplinary pedagogy, and critical theory in composition studies. Dr. Carter’s scholarship emphasizes equity, intersectionality, and dismantling neoliberal structures in academia. She has contributed to journals such as Composition Studies , Journal of Teaching Writing , and Open Words , and her work bridges practical administration with theoretical frameworks in rhetoric and composition.
Timothy Hampton is a Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Berkeley , and serves as Director of the Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities . He was previously the Director of the Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies and co-chairs the Democracy, Free Speech, and Values study group. His research explores intersections of literature and politics , poetry and song , and the history of emotion and diplomacy in Renaissance and early modern periods. Recent projects include a 2022 France-Berkeley Fund grant on poetry translation and a Diebold Foundation grant for interdisciplinary cultural studies. Notable publications include Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work (2019) and Cheerfulness: A Literary and Cultural History (2022). Upcoming works address premodern colonialism and American education through memoir and cultural critique. His scholarship appears in MLN , Critical Inquiry , and public venues like Salon and Aeon/Psyche .
Megan Sweeney is Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of English, Afroamerican and African Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of Michigan. Her research examines African American literature, reading practices in carceral settings, and autotheory through works like Reading Is My Window and the lyric essay collection Mendings . Her scholarship has been supported by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Ford Foundation, and Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Sweeney received the university's highest teaching awards including the 2021 John D'Arms Award for graduate mentoring and 2014 Thurnau Professorship. She serves as Director of Graduate Studies in English and Interim Editorial Director for Feminist Studies .
Megan Callow serves as an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of English at the University of Washington, Seattle, and holds the position of Director of Writing for the campus. Since 2019, she has directed the Program for Writing Across Campus (PWAC), advancing writing instruction across academic disciplines. Her educational background includes: Bachelor of Arts in English from University of California, Berkeley (2003) Master of Arts in Liberal Arts from St. John's College (2006) Doctor of Philosophy in English Education from University of Maryland (2015) Dr. Callow specializes in Writing in the Disciplines (WID) and science writing, with deep expertise in rhetoric and composition, writing pedagogy, and faculty development for writing instruction. Her research examines how writing is taught and learned across scientific and technical fields, develops cross-disciplinary writing curricula, and explores online learning environments for writing education. She investigates genre theory, interdisciplinary writing practices, and science/technology writing integration. No scientific awards were documented in the source material. Information regarding graduate student advising or research grants was not provided in the available text. No dedicated research labs or collaborative teams were mentioned in the source documentation.
Nathaniel Street is Associate Professor and Writing Minor Coordinator in the English Department at Mount Saint Vincent University. He holds a PhD in English (Composition and Rhetoric) from the University of South Carolina. His research examines the intersections of philosophy, rhetoric, and pedagogy, with particular focus on the performative power of writing. Street's scholarly work analyzes persuasion mechanisms and figuration in rhetorical traditions, drawing on thinkers like Deleuze and Guattari. His recent publications explore philosophical approaches to writing practice and pedagogical frameworks. His articles demonstrate consistent engagement with rhetorical theory across historical and contemporary contexts, examining writing as both theoretical concept and practical discipline. No awards listed
Martin Kern is the Joanna and Greg Zeluck ’84 P13 P18 Professor in Asian Studies at Princeton University. He specializes in ancient Chinese literature, philology, and textual studies, with a focus on poetry, ritual, and cultural memory. Kern co-edits T'oung Pao and directs the "International Center for the Study of Ancient Text Cultures" at Renmin University, Beijing. Education: Ph.D. in Sinology, Cologne University M.A. in Sinology, Cologne University His research spans early Chinese rhetoric, authorship debates, manuscript analysis, and the intersection of writing/orality. He has led Princeton's "Comparative Antiquity" initiative (2018–2022) and co-directs the Princeton-Venice Summer School in Classical Chinese. Recent publications include studies on the Classic of Poetry , Chuci , and Zuozhuan , emphasizing newly discovered manuscripts and their impact on understanding ancient Chinese textuality. His work often bridges philological rigor with comparative theoretical frameworks. Scientific Awards: Member of the American Philosophical Society President of the American Oriental Society (2023–2024) Kern's editorial roles include co-editing the monograph series Studies in the History of Chinese Texts and the Handbook of Oriental Studies: Section 4 China . He has held leadership positions in major academic initiatives on ancient China.
Justin Russell Greene serves as an Advanced Instructor in the Department of English within Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. With over 15 years of teaching experience across multiple institutions, he currently teaches courses in film, literature, and writing at Virginia Tech, where he has been employed since 2019. His academic journey spans various teaching positions at Virginia Tech, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and several community colleges. Greene earned his BA, MA, and PhD in English and Media, Art, and Text from Virginia Commonwealth University. His educational background reflects his interdisciplinary approach that bridges traditional literary studies with contemporary media and cultural analysis. He has also completed professional development certifications in Anti-Racist Teaching and Foundations of Online Teaching at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the intersections of cinema, media, and cultural studies, with particular attention to authorship, celebrity, and gender performance. Greene examines how authors and celebrities construct their identities across various media platforms, exploring topics ranging from Quentin Tarantino's cinematic masculinity to Roxane Gay's digital presence. His work often analyzes the performative aspects of identity in contemporary culture, particularly through fashion, social media, and visual storytelling. Greene's scholarly output demonstrates a consistent focus on authorial identity construction across media platforms. His publications reveal a trajectory from examining literary authors' fashion choices to analyzing digital performances of identity on social media, and more recently to cinematic studies of directors like Quentin Tarantino and Jordan Peele. The evolution of his work reflects broader cultural shifts toward digital and visual media while maintaining a consistent theoretical framework centered on performance and identity construction. Joyce Gentry Smoot Award (2025) for Excellence in Teaching by an Instructor As an educator, Greene has served as a reader on graduate student capstones and has been actively involved in curriculum development and pedagogical innovation. He has participated in numerous professional development activities focused on writing instruction, anti-racist pedagogy, and the integration of AI in teaching. His teaching philosophy emphasizes building student confidence in writing abilities, recognizing diverse student backgrounds, and providing individualized feedback to help students develop their unique voices. Greene is currently working on projects examining Jordan Peele's Nope (2022) regarding point-of-view and gore, as well as speculative adaptations in contemporary US media. His research interests continue to evolve with cultural trends while maintaining his core focus on performance, identity, and media representation.
Jiwon Min serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Emory University, teaching undergraduate courses including ENG 185 Writing and Inquiry in the Liberal Arts and ENG 256 Survey of English Literature since 1660. Her academic position places her within Emory's humanities division with direct responsibility for literary curriculum development and student mentorship. Her educational foundation includes: BA in English Literature from Seoul National University (2003) MA in English Literature from Seoul National University (2007) PhD in English from Louisiana State University (2021) Dr. Min's research interrogates the intersection of Victorian-era literature with contemporary ecological crises through decolonial frameworks. She specializes in EcoGothic studies, examining how 19th-century texts like Mary Shelley's The Last Man encode environmental anxiety and colonial violence. Her work bridges literary analysis with climate discourse, emphasizing global perspectives and non-Western epistemologies in Victorian scholarship. Particular focus areas include pestilential colonialism, weather weirding narratives, and the rhetoric of empire in periodical literature. Analysis of her publications and 12 conference presentations since 2020 reveals consistent engagement with environmental humanities and global Victorian studies. Her scholarship demonstrates how historical literary representations of ecological disruption inform modern climate discourse, particularly through decolonial reinterpretations of Gothic and nature writing traditions. The recurring emphasis on Korean Victorianist perspectives highlights transnational scholarly networks and challenges Eurocentric academic frameworks.
Professor Roel Sterckx is the Joseph Needham Professor of Chinese History, Science, and Civilization at the University of Cambridge, affiliated with Clare College. He specializes in pre-imperial and early imperial Chinese thought, classical Chinese language, and natural history. His research bridges anthropology and the history of science, focusing on topics like ritual, economic thought, and animal studies. He has authored influential books including Food, Sacrifice, and Sagehood in Early China and Animals through Chinese History . Sterckx is a Fellow of the British Academy (since 2013) and holds leadership roles at the Needham Research Institute. He supervises PhD students on subjects ranging from Warring States rhetoric to Han Dynasty apocrypha. Education: BA/PGCE in Sinology and History, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Masters in Classical Chinese and Philosophy, National Taiwan University PhD in Chinese History, University of Cambridge Research Interests: Early Chinese cultural ecology, ritual economy, and the interplay of moral and material values. His work analyzes texts like the Rites of Zhou , Mozi , and Huainanzi , emphasizing agricultural thought and animal symbolism. Awards: British Academy Fellowship (2013) Grants and Labs: Directs the Cambridge-based Needham Research Institute, focusing on East Asian science and technology history. Current projects include studies on Han perceptions of southern regions and the economics of ritual in early China.
John Gallagher is Associate Professor in English and Information Sciences at UIUC. His research examines how writers adapt to participatory audiences in digital environments, including social media interactions and AI writing tools. Using case studies and computational methods, he explores algorithmic audiences, ethical implications of AI, and technical communication in institutional contexts. He teaches courses in professional writing, digital rhetoric, and research methodologies. Recent projects analyze content creators' narratives about platform algorithms, inclusive emoji design, and academic integrity challenges posed by generative AI.
Stephen Cushman is the Robert C. Taylor Professor at the University of Virginia, specializing in American literature and poetry. His interdisciplinary work bridges Civil War studies, 19th-century poetry, and environmental literature. He earned his Ph.D. (1982), M.Phil. (1981), and M.A. (1980) from Yale University, and a B.A. from Cornell University (1978). His research explores how literary forms shape historical understanding, particularly through works like *The Generals' Civil War* (2021) and *Belligerent Muse* (2014). He has edited major volumes such as *The Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms* (2016) and *Civil War Writing* (2019). His poetry collections include *Keep the Feast* (2022) and *Hothead* (2018), blending personal reflection with historical inquiry. Cushman has received prestigious awards including the Cavaliers' Distinguished Teaching Professorship (2014–2016) and the All-University Teaching Award (1992). His writing often intersects with Virginia’s literary landscape, as seen in *After Great Pain, Dickinson in Charlottesville* (2018). He actively engages with environmental themes in works like *Pope Francis, Laudato Si’, and U.S. Environmentalism* (2017). His articles critically analyze figures like Lincoln, Sherman, and Thoreau, while exploring modernist engagements with biblical texts and Civil War memory. He serves as a leading voice in American literary history, emphasizing the interplay between form, content, and cultural context.
