10 AND 12 DECEMBER 2024

CLASP FELLOWS COHORT '24 CAPSTONE CONFERENCE

CLASP Fellows Cohort '24 will share the results of teacher research projects that are the culmination of their work in the Fellows Program. Please join in listening to their presentations, discussing their research, and celebrating their work!

CLASP Fellows Program

The CLASP Fellows Program is a 2-year professional development opportunity for early to mid-career faculty from OSUN institutions who show potential for pedagogical leadership.

Register for an Info Session

Info Session 1: Thursday, July 6, 8:30–9:30 AM (NY) / 14:30–15:30 (Vienna)
Info Session 2: Thursday, July 20, 8:30–9:30 AM (NY) / 14:30–15:30 (Vienna)

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Apply

Applications were due July 31. If you have questions about the application or recommendation process, please join an info session or write to us at [email protected].

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Join Your Cohort

Application decisions will be announced in early September. Cohort ’25 will meet online in the fall, and will come together in-person for the first time in January 2024 at the CEU campus in Budapest, Hungary.

About the CLASP Fellows Program

The CLASP Fellows Program is a 2-year professional development fellowship for early to mid-career faculty who show potential for pedagogical leadership within their home institutions. Each cohort is interdisciplinary, offering the benefit of collaboration across areas of study as well as campuses. The overarching goal of the CLASP Fellows Program is to support faculty fellows as they deepen their skillset to apply and promote student-centered, writing-rich teaching methods central to Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) education.

Upon completion of the program, Fellows will have gained significant training in writing-based student-centered pedagogical strategies and will be able to translate these approaches into their classes. Fellows will also understand the impact of this pedagogy on their own students and be able to communicate with faculty peers the how and why of these teaching and learning strategies. Their classrooms and institutions will benefit by a heightened level of attention paid to how classes are crafted and facilitated as communicated through workshops offered through CLASP and informal faculty peer support on individual campuses. Finally, the Fellows Program also creates a global community of faculty who are deeply committed to student-centered pedagogical innovation.

Structure and Expectations

Each year involves six virtual modules and two in-person week-long intensives. Fellows are expected to be active participants in all activities across the two-year program. Each virtual module involves 3 hours of on-line synchronous work along with 3-6 hours of asynchronous reading and activities. In-person sessions are convened on OSUN campuses. CLASP staff help facilitate travel, covering travel, accommodation, and per diem expenses. Each fellow is assigned a faculty mentor from the prior cohort early in Year 1. While the first year curriculum focuses primarily on understanding and practicing pedagogical approaches, the second year focuses on achieving further mastery through additional modules, a teacher research capstone project, and providing mentorship for the entering cohort.

Eligibility

The CLASP Fellows Program is restricted to individuals who are based at Open Society University Network (OSUN) partner institutions.

The CLASP Fellows Program is aimed at early to mid-career university faculty and administrators who focus on teaching and learning, and who demonstrate a commitment to writing-based, student-centered pedagogies. The core activities enable a deep exploration of Writing to Learn and Writing Across the Curriculum practices. Previous participation in IWT CLASP workshops is preferred, but not required.

Outcomes

Upon completion of the 2-year CLASP Fellows Program, faculty will

Be eligible to apply to become an IWT CLASP Faculty Associate, a position that offers opportunities to develop and facilitate CLASP workshops for the OSUN network
Complete a substantial academic study (in English) of publishable quality and have the opportunity to share research with the broader OSUN community
Participate in annual CLASP Fellows gatherings intended to continue to foster the development of innovative pedagogical practices specific to LAS and OSUN
Receive a $1000 (USD) stipend in acknowledgement of the work accomplished through participation in the program

Announcing CLASP Fellows Cohort '25!

Begimai Abdraeva

American University of Central Asia

Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program, Business Administration Department

Begimai is a full-time Assistant Professor and Director of Undergraduate Program of the Business Administration Department at AUCA. Her interests include climate change and sustainability topics. At AUCA she teaches such classes as Managerial Accounting, Corporate Governance and Business Ethics.

Degrees:
Ph.D. In Progress (Kyrgyz State Technical University)
Masters of Economic Governance and Development (OSCE Academy)

Alisa Alybaeva

American University of Central Asia

Assistant Professor, Master of Arts in Teaching Program

Research Interests: Education; Student-Centered Teaching; Learning by doing; Teaching English as a Foreign Language; Student Motivation.

Degrees:
M.A. in Teaching (American University of Central Asia)
B.A. in Management (International University of Kyrgyzstan)

Néka Da Costa

University of the Witwatersrand

Theatre and Performance Department

Néka Da Costa (she/her) is a theater-maker, collaborator and academic at the Theatre and Performance department at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is currently studying towards a Ph.D. at the Wits School of Arts in which she intends to design and mobilize a radical pedagogy in Theatre and Performance which prioritizes disabled students and centralizes difference to create inclusive access in the university space. As a creative researcher, Néka is interested in the dynamics of theater and inclusivity in all its permutations: economic access, physical access, linguistic access and access in terms of intersectional representation, politics and power dynamics.

Degrees:
M.A. in Text and Performance (Birkbeck, University of London and RADA)

María Lucía Guerrero Farías

Universidad de los Andes

Leader of Faculty Development (Teaching), DIDACTA (Academic, Curricular, Technological and Pedagogical Innovation Direction)

María’s research interests include teaching and learning, citizenship education.

Publications:
Cifuentes, G., Guerrero Farías M., Solano, A. (2023). Promoviendo la excelencia del profesorado: visión, direccionamiento y trayectoria del Centro de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje (CEyA) de la Universidad de los Andes. En Khouri, F, y Manotas, E. (Compiladoras). Inspiración, acción, transformación. ¿Cómo funcionan los centros de desarrollo pedagógico en Colombia? (168-190). Centro de Excelencia Docente CEDU, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia.

Guerrero Farías, M.L. (2021) Elite global citizenship, a case of a secondary school in Bogotá, Colombia. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 30:3, 268-286, DOI: 10.1080/09620214.2020.1819373.

Guerrero Farías, M. L. (2021) The enactment of the neoliberal citizen: evidence from a case study in Bogota, Colombia. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 51:8, 1101-1117, DOI: 10.1080/03057925.2020.1715789

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Education (University of Bristol, 2018)
Masters in Geography (Universidad de los Andes, 2011)
Undergraduate in History (Universidad de los Andes, 2009)

Esther Afoley Laryea

Ashesi University

Lecturer, Business Administration Department

Esther is passionate about improving financial development in Africa by supporting individuals and businesses on the continent to acquire the skills of financial management and financial storytelling. She is interested in understanding how soft issues such as societal structures, human behavior, emotions and culture intersect with financial and economic constructs. This interest springs from her belief that economic and financial models fail to reflect reality when they ignore such fundamental issues.

Aside from researching behavioral and social finance/economics, she is also interested in developing case studies for teaching. The scarcity of business teaching cases that reflect African business contexts and nuances drives her interest in case writing. Lastly, she is also keenly interested in pursuing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. When she is able to make the time, Esther loves to blog and read novels.

Reginald Louis

Haitian Education and Leadership Program

Senior English Instructor

Reginald is the Senior English Instructor at the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP). He studied Living Languages at Haiti's State University Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS). Reginald has worked at HELP for over 6 years, and has seen several cohorts of students put the instruction they have received at HELP to good use and add significant value to their communities. Through his observation of students he knows that he is part of something big and wants to keep doing his part–for as long as possible and as well as possible.

Ibrahim Marazka

Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences

Ph.D. Division Head of Core Curriculum

Ibrahim's research interests include social-political philosophy and the history of philosophy from the 19th century to the present. His research focuses on investigating conceptually the relation between space and human agency, with the aim of developing a materialist, communal account of human freedom. He approaches this relation by examining critically different philosophical analyses of modern political rationality, as well as by analyzing the representation of this relation in literature and the arts.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Philosophy and Literature (Purdue University)
Magister Artium (M.A.) in Philosophy (Free University)

Birsha Ohdedar

SOAS, University of London

Lecturer in Climate Change and Environmental Law and Governance

Birsha’s research focuses on environmental and climate justice, human rights, climate litigation and water. His work interrogates the role of law in the broader political economy of the environmental and climate crisis. Birsha is an editor of the Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD Journal), and Deputy Director of the SOAS Law, Environment and Development Centre.

Publications:
"Climate Adaptation, Vulnerability and Rights-Based Litigation: Broadening the Scope of Climate Litigation Using Political Ecology." Journal of Human Rights and Environment. 2022. 13:1; 137-156.

'Climate Change Litigation in India and Pakistan: Analyzing Opportunities and Challenges' in In: Alogna, Ivano, (eds.), Bakker, Christine, (eds.) and Gauci, Jean-Pierre, (eds.), Journal of Human Rights and Environment. Leiden: Brill. 2021. pp 103-123

"Loss and Damage from the Impacts of Climate Change: A Framework for Implementation." Nordic Journal of International Law. 2016. 85:1; 1-36.

Degrees:
Ph.D. (SOAS, University of London)
LL.M. (SOAS, University of London)
BA/LLB (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

Dorota Ostrowska

Birkbeck, University of London

Senior Lecturer in Film and Modern Media
Faculty of Creative Arts, Culture and Communications

Dorota’s main research focus is history and contemporary practices of film festivals, particularly in Europe. Most recently she has been working on ethics and aesthetics of care in relation to film festival programming and curating. She has also written about French and Eastern European cinemas from a historical perspective. As an educator she is committed to all forms of experiential pedagogy which has been important in her work on student employability and university external partnerships.

Publications:
Contours of Film Festivals Practice, co-edited with Tamara Falicov (Amsterdam University Press, forthcoming 2023 open access).

Popular Cinemas in Central Europe: Film Cultures and Histories, co-edited with Francesco Pitassio and Zsuzsanna Varga (I.B. Tauris, 2017).

Reading the French New Wave: Writers, Critics and Art Cinema in France (Wallflower Press: 2008).

European Cinemas in the Television Age, co-edited with Graham Roberts (Edinburgh University Press, 2007).

Degrees:
D.Phil. French Cinema and Literature (Oxford)
M.Phil. European Literature (Cambridge)
B.A. Political Science (Columbia)

Gracy Pelacani

Universidad de los Andes

Assistant Professor and Director of Legal Clinic for Migrants at the Law Faculty

Gracy Pelacani’s research focuses on Migration, Legal Clinical Education and Comparative Law.

Publications:
"Perspectivas sociojurídicas de la migración. Aprendizajes a partir de la experiencia venezolana", Carolina Moreno V., Gracy Pelacani, 2023, Ediciones Uniandes.

"La respuesta del Estado colombiano frente a la migración proveniente de Venezuela: la regularización migratoria en detrimento del refugio", G Pelacani, C Moreno, Derecho PUCP 90, 495-520.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Comparative and European Legal Studies (Universitá degli Studi di Trento)
Law Degree (Universitá degli Studi di Trento)

Erzsébet Strausz

Central European University

Assistant Professor in Global Governance, Department of International Relations

Erzsébet's research focuses on critical pedagogy, alternative knowledge practices as well as creative and narrative methods in the study of world politics. She is particularly interested in exploring the transformational potential of writing in and beyond academia, and collaborates with artists, NGOs and communities in co-creating empowering processes.

Publications:
Strausz, E. (2018) Writing the Self and Transforming Knowledge in International Relations: Towards a Politics of Liminality. London: Routledge.

Choi, S., A. Selmeczi and E. Strausz (eds.) (2019) Critical Methods in Studying World Politics: Creativity and Transformation. London: Routledge.

Nieuwenhuis, M. and E. Strausz (2023) “Atmospheric Pedagogies: Everyday Ethnographies of the (Post) Pandemic Classroom.” Theory & Event. 26:3, 597-625.

Strausz, E. (2022) “Writing with Foucault: openings to transformational knowledge practices in and beyond the classroom.” Critical Studies on Security. 10:3, 144-156.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in International Politics (Aberystwyth University)
M.A. in International Relations and European Studies (Central European University)

Liliana Tymchenko

European Humanities University

Associate Professor, Academic Department of Social Sciences

Liliana Tymchenko is an Associate Professor at the Academic Department of Social Sciences at the European Humanities University (Vilnius, Lithuania). Her areas of interest include issues such as teaching methods, academic freedom, philosophy of international law, problems of combating terrorism, recognition of states, existential issues of state development.

Degrees:
Doctor in Law (International Independent University of the Republic of Moldova)

Dan Wessner

Parami University

Faculty of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics

Dan's research addresses post-war sustainable redevelopment and resilience in Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on education systems; natural, cultural, and historical assets; and strategies of climate accommodation.

His current writing project in the Mekong Delta is ""Bending Bamboo,"" an interdisciplinary curriculum on sustainability, resilience, and English acquisition (in process with the Department of Education, Viet Nam).

Degrees:
Ph.D. in International Studies (University of Denver)
J.D. (School of Law, University of Virginia)
M.Div. (Princeton Theological Seminary)
B.A. in History (Stanford University)

CLASP Fellows Cohort '24

Maha AbdelMegeed

American University of Beirut

Assistant Professor of Arabic Literature

Maha’s current research focuses on rethinking the narratives of the origins of literary modernity in Arabic as well as on the changing conceptions of Arabic language from the mid 18th century till the early decades of the 20th century.

Giovany Alsaint

Haitian Education and Leadership Program

English Instructor, Academic Department

Giovany is interested in project -based learning (PBL), learning commons, and student-centered learning. He was recently nominated by the U.S. Embassy in his country to participate in the Online Professional English Network-OPEN course on teaching grammar communicatively.

Degrees:
Bachelor's in Language Sciences (Faculty of Applied Linguistics, State University of Haiti)

Edmund Ankomah

Ashesi University

Instructor

Edmund Ankomah is a 4th year PhD candidate in Literary and Cultural Studies at Illinois State University. Edmund has served as Faculty at the Department of English, University of Ghana, and also with the Writing Team at Ashesi University. His research considers genre science fiction, particularly black science fiction that interrogates the alien body and extraplanetary figurations and the latent politics that attend it.

Degrees:
M.Phil. (University of Ghana)
B.A. (University of Ghana)

Fouad Asfour

University of the Witwatersrand

Writer, lecturer, and current Ph.D. candidate in Fine Arts at Univerisity of the Witwatersrand / Senior Writing Fellow at the Wits Writing Programme

Fouad is a writer, editor, and education practitioner, turning theory into practice through publishing, teaching, researching, and organizing spaces of formal and non-formal discourse production. Currently, he facilitates collaborative writing projects, working towards experimental publishing formats. He researches hauntologies of silenced first languages in visual artists' studio practice, translanguaging as epistemic becoming in creative and academic writing, in the context of decolonising art history and visual art curricula.

Degrees:
M.A. in Linguistics (University of Vienna)
M.A. in Creative Writing (Rhodes University)

Görkem Atsungur

American University of Central Asia

Associate Professor and the Head of the International and Comparative Politics Department

Görkem’s research interests include: Russian and Post-Soviet Politics, including Central Asian International Relations.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Political Science: Major in International Relations and Minor in Nationalism Studies (Central European University)
Magister in Political Science European Politics (Masaryk University)
M.A. in European Studies (Istanbul Bilgi University)
B.A. in International Relations (Cyprus International Relations)

Jennifer Eccher

BHSEC Cleveland

Faculty associate in the Arts Department

Jenny’s curriculum consists of dance theory/practice, composition, and performance. She is currently serving as the Chair of the Performing Arts Department for Bard Early College Cleveland. In addition to her teaching, she is also artistic director of the Marquez Dance Project, a project based contemporary dance company that explores human complexity through a creative lens.

Makenson Elva

Haitian Education and Leadership Program

English Instructor

Born and raised in Port au Prince, Haiti, Makenson now teaches English to top Haitian high school graduates. Makenson has been teaching English in both private and public high schools and institutes for more than a decade. His research interests include English pronunciation, phonology, writing, and educational games.

Degrees:
Living Languages (State University Ecole Normale Superieure)

Aideen Foley

Birkbeck, University of London

Senior Lecturer in Physical and Environmental Geography

Aideen's research lies at the intersection of climate science and society, with an emphasis on local experiences of extreme weather and climate change, and how diverse climate and environmental data can inform decision-making.

Publications:
“Small Island Developing States in a post-pandemic world: Challenges and opportunities for climate action” in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
“Extreme weather, climate variability, and childhood: A historical analogue from the Orkney Islands (1903-1919)” in Island Studies Journal

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Geography (Maynooth University)
B.Sc. in Applied Mathematics and Experimental Physics (Maynooth University)

Lorenzo Moralez

Universidad de los Andes

Associate Professor and Investigative Reporter in the Graduate School of Journalism and Digital Narratives

Lorenzo is the founder of Cerosetenta, an online features magazine.

Publications:
"Adentro: vida en Bogotá" (2020)

Neada Mullalli

European Humanities University

Lecturer in the Academic Department of Social Sciences

Neada Mullalli is an Albanian lawyer, researcher and academic with nineteen years of overall experience in the legal field. Amongst the subjects she teaches are WTO Law, International Financial Law, International Intellectual Property Law, and International Corporate Law and Governance. Neada’s research interests include International Trade Law, IP Law, International Financial Law, Corporate Law and Bankruptcy Law. Prior to focusing on her academic career, Neada worked as a legal advisor for governmental institutions, as well as private corporations. Her latest position was that of Legal Advisor for the U.S Modernization Team, attached to the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Albania.

Publications:
The Albanian Monograph on Corporations and Partnerships, part of the International Encyclopedia of Laws series by Kluwer Law International (last update December 2017)
"The Influence of Supreme Court's Decisions in Shaping Commercial and Human Rights Law in Albania" (March 2014)

Degrees:
LLM in International Business Law (Central European University)
Second Level Integrated Degree (B.A. + M.A.) in Economics and Agricultural Policies (Agricultural University of Tirana)
B.A. in Law (University of Tirana)

Pușa Năstase

Central European University

Senior Program Manager for the Yehuda Elkana Center for Teaching, Learning, and Higher Education Research OSUN/DTP

Pușa conducts research on higher education topics and teaches degree and non-degree courses on higher education policy and management. Currently, she also leads the Global Professional Development Program, which is designed for university managers and administrators in the Open Society University Network and is part of the faculty teaching GlobalEd, an OSUN certificate program in education.

Degrees:
Ph.D. (University of Bristol)
M.A. in Human Rights (Central European University)
Undergraduate Degree in Law (University of Bucharest)

S M Mahfuzur Rahman

BRAC University

Lecturer in the School of General Education

S M teaches Cultural and Media Studies, History of World Civilizations, and Philosophy. Currently a lecturer at the School of General Education, BRAC University, he has previously taught at the Department of English and Humanities, University Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) and the Department of English and Modern Languages, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).

Degrees:
M.A. in Literatures in English (BRAC University)
B.A. in English (Independent University)

Mia Sasaki

Parami University

Faculty of English Composition

Mia's research interests include immigration and education and student-designed learning. (At the same time, she enjoys tinkering in philosophy and literature.)

Publications:
"Teaching in Emergencies: Building Resilient Practices as Language-Learning Teachers" in English Teaching Forum, 2022.
"Deep change in low-resource classrooms: Data-driven teacher professional development for educators from Burma using a choice-based approach" in International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, 2021.
"This Is Our Dream: A Crowdsourced Poem To Inspire Hope" in NPR, 2021.
"Gambling for Life" in Fifth Wednesday Journal, 2018.

Degrees:
M.S. in International Education Development (University of Pennsylvania)

Jarkyn Shadymanova

American University of Central Asia

Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology

Jarkyn’s research interests include gender studies, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and sustainable consumption practices. Jarkyn was a research fellow at The Global Dialogues & Women’s Empowerment in Eurasian Contexts Feminist Mentoring (WEF) Fellowship Programme, IGS, LMH, Oxford University, January-July 2018. She was also a postdoctoral researcher at the Sociology Consumption and Household Group, Wageningen University and Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam. Jarkyn is an author and co-author of numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters on social issues.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Sociology

Andrea Solano

Universidad de los Andes

Leader of Pedagogical Innovation at DIDACTA (Academic, Curricular, Technological and Pedagogical Innovation Direction)

DIDACTA supports faculty professional development with a specific emphasis on innovative pedagogical practices for the teaching of disciplinary content.

Publications:
“Promoting Faculty Excellency: Vision, Management and Pathways of the Center of Teaching and Learning, Universidad de los Andes” (in Spanish, 2022)
"Teaching Excellence at the Universidad de los Andes:Challenges, Tensions and Possibilities” (in Spanish, 2021)

Degrees:
M.A. in Psychology (Universidad de los Andes)
B.A. in Psychology (Universidad de los Andes)

Krasimir Spasov

American University in Bulgaria

Adjunct Professor of Composition and Writing, Literature and Theater Department

Krasimir's research interests include information packaging, contemporary interdisciplinary pedagogical practices, creative writing, as well as information, media, digital, and visual literacies.

Publications:
Spasov, K. “The Era of Critical Digital Literacy“. In EDULEARN 21 Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Spain, 2021.
Spasov, K. “Packaging Information or Information Packaging: The Bulgarian Experience of Good Educational Practices at the University Level“. In EDULEARN 21 Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies, Spain, 2021.
Spasov, K. “Co-designing and Beyond: The Evolution of the AUBG Information Literacy Program as Inspired by the ACRL Framework“. Faculty-librarian Collaborations: Integrating the Information Literacy Framework into Disciplinary Courses, edited by M. Stöpel, et al., ACRL, 2020, pp. 131-141.
Stöpel, M., et al. “Insights into Faculty-librarian Collaborations Around the Framework: Findings from the 2018 Co-Design Survey“. Faculty-librarian Collaborations: Integrating the Information Literacy Framework into Disciplinary Courses, edited by M. Stöpel, et al., ACRL, 2020, pp. 21-34.

Degrees:
Ph.D. student in English Linguistics
M.A. in English Philology
M.Sc. Library Science and Cultural Policy

Simona Vittorini

SOAS, University of London

Associate Professor in Politics and Director of Learning and Teaching in the Department of Politics and International Studies

Simona lectures undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the comparative politics of Asia and Africa. She also convenes the B.A. Politics & IR Final Year dissertation module. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA, 2020). She specializes in South Asian politics and the main focus of her work is on postcolonial nationalism, processes of construction of collective identities, and performative and symbolic politics. Simona’s book, Rituals, Symbols and Politics of Indian Nationalism was published in 2009 and she is the author of other articles and book chapters on post-independence nation-building and symbolic politics in India.

Her research also focuses on India as an emerging power. With David Harris, she has co-authored a number of chapters and articles on India’s expanding presence in (West) Africa and South-South development cooperation.

Publications:
“‘Modi à la Mode.’ Narendra Modi’s Fashion and the Performance of Populist Leadership’. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics.” 2022.
“Modi and the Mahatma– The Politics of Statues and the Saffronisation of India-Africa relation”. In King, K. And Venkatachalam (eds.). 2021. India’s Development Diplomacy and Soft Power in Africa. Oxford: James Currey.
“Taking ‘Development Cooperation’ and South-South Discourse Seriously: Indian claims and Ghanaian responses.” Commonwealth and Comparative Politics. 2018. 56:3; 360-378 With David Harris

Degrees
Ph.D. (SOAS)
M.A. (SOAS)
B.A. (University of Bologna)

CLASP Fellows Cohort '23

Meem Arafat Manab

BRAC University

Writer, researcher, and teacher, School of Data and Sciences

Meem joined BRAC University's School of Data and Sciences in 2020 as a lecturer in computer science after finishing a B.Sc in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Dhaka and working as an independent researcher for a while. So far, they have taught discrete mathematics, digital logic, introductory graphics, theory of computation, and simulation and modeling. Their research interests lie in the intersection between social sciences and data science, especially how our conception of data subverts, enhances, and altogether influences our understanding of society and its structure. Their other interests include machine translation, econometrics, and the pedagogy of sciences.

Degrees:
B.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering (University of Dhaka)

Julia Carey Arendell

Bard Early College New Orleans

Faculty and Writing Studio Director

Narrowly dodging a life as a restaurateur, Julia Carey Arendell received her M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a minor in American Literature from Louisiana State University after completing a fellowship at Harvard. Pushcart Prize nominated for her fiction, she was also a winner of the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Prize in Poetry. Publications can be found at Heavy Feather Review, VIDA, Mason’s Road, and Psychopomp Magazine, among others, as well as the anthologies Louisiana in Words and New Orleans: What Can’t Be Lost. She has joined the editorial boards of The Dudley Review, The New Orleans Review, and New Delta Review.

Degrees:
M.F.A. in Creative Writing, minor in American Literature (Louisiana State University)

Lynn Clausen

Black Mountains College

Faculty associate

Lynn is working with the Black Mountains College to develop teacher-training strands / INSET / student provision while harnessing the overarching principles of the college which holds at its core how we can create and maintain a sustainable and fair society during the challenging times we face. Lynn also facilitates and tutors online workshops and short-courses, with participants largely drawn from a range of teaching settings, but also including those from different and varied backgrounds. Building upon a 20 year teaching career (English and drama) and now operating as a creative practitioner, Lynn's research interests are focused around how we can apply our learning - how we can encourage ourselves and our students to consider, propose and problem solve with climate change at the heart of the enquiry.

Degrees:
M.A. (Dist) TEES Creative Writing
PGCE English UWE
B.A. (Hons) Drama, English HUDD

Makafui Aku-Sika Cudjoe

Ashesi University

Adjunct lecturer and interim Co-Director at the Ashesi University Writing Center

Makafui’s previous work experience includes Teaching Assistant and Academic Writing lecturer at the University of Ghana Language Center as well as Writing Center Coordinator at Ashesi University. Currently, she is an adjunct lecturer and interim Co-Director at the Ashesi University Writing Center. Her research interests span writing center studies and gender relations in literature with a focus on African oral literature and popular culture.

Degrees:
Ph.D. student in English (University of Ghana)
M.Phil. in English (University of Ghana)
B.A. in English (University of Ghana)

Romina de Jong

Parami University

Director of Academic Affairs

Romina's research interests include pedagogy, teacher education, gender, sports, and development.

Publications:
“Student Teachers' Discipline Strategies: Relations with Self-Images, Anticipated Student Responses and Control Orientation” (Educational Studies, 2013)

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Education Studies
M.A in Pedagogy
B.A in Social work

Juan Carlos Duran-Uribe

Universidad de los Andes

Coordinator for the Judicial Training Program and adjunct professor of Contract Law

Juan Carlos currently works as a coordinator for the Judicial Training Program, and is also an adjunct professor of Contract Law at the Universidad de los Andes. Research interests include contract law, comparative private law, and legal education. Juan Carlos is passionate about innovative practices for the teaching of complex legal subjects, i.e. contract law, tax law, and procedural law.

Publications:
"Studies on Contract Law: From the Sales Agreements to Collaborative Businesses" (in Spanish, 2021)
"How to Teach and Learn the Complex Colombian Tax Law: Taxation Storytellings as a Pedagogical Proposal" (in Spanish, 2020)

Degrees:
Law Degree (Universidad de los Andes)
Master's in Education (Universidad de los Andes)

Ekaterina Galimova

American University of Central Asia

Associate Professor in the Division of Arts, Humanities and Communication

Ekaterina is a professor with two decades of successful experience in teaching English as a Foreign Language. She is also the recipient of several faculty development fellowships as well as travel grants that inspired her to specialize in teaching Civics Education and Modern Classroom Technology. Ekaterina regularly speaks at national and international conferences about new tools for both online and offline teaching and evaluating. In addition, she gives effective workshops at the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology at the American University of Central Asia. She has more than 20 articles published in Kyrgyz, Russian, and Kazakh journals on pedagogy and the humanities. The most recent one was published on the OSUN website devoted to The International Virtual Discussion. A strong believer in the power of positive thinking in life, Ekaterina Galimova supports her colleagues in need and takes good care of her elderly mother and cat.

Degrees:
Ph.D. (Academy of Education in Kyrgyzstan)

Issam Khoury

Al-Quds Bard College of Arts and Sciences

Education Above All Program Manager and Visiting Assistant Professor

Issam comes to AQB after having worked in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and India. It is these diverse experiences that have shaped how Issam sees the world and engages as a professor deeply committed to a student-centered classroom rooted in the liberal arts. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Penn State Universities, Issam's academic background is a combination of the social sciences and the humanities, and he brings that perspective into his work and teaching.

Senem Yuseinova Konedareva

American University in Bulgaria

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Language and Culture Studies in the Modern Languages and Arts Department

Senem's research interests include intercultural communication, linguistic anthropology and language use, as well as modern interdisciplinary approaches to language teaching and learning.

Publications:
“The Condition of the Evidential Forms in Wallachian-Bulgarian Legal Documents (the Period End of XIV – XV AD)” (Linguistic Problems, Blagoevgrad, 2021)
“The Omission of the Auxiliary in 3rd Person Singular and Plural from the Re-Narrative Paradigm – a Specificity of Bulgarian Evidential System (Bulgarian Studies Readings, Sofia, 2019)

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Bulgarian Linguistics
M.A. in Bulgarian Language and Culture Studies

Sanjay Kumar

Central European University

Senior Lecturer at the Center for Academic Writing

Sanjay's research interests include the teaching of academic writing in English in liberal arts, humanities and social sciences, Indian drama, theater and performance studies, Indian cinema (Bollywood and Malayalam), storytelling and narratives, and intellectual histories of South Asia.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in English Language and Literature (IIT Delhi)

Amanda Landi

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Faculty of Mathematics

Amanda's research interests include but are not limited to statistical learning methods and machine learning techniques involving big data, the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization and its applications, sequence prediction, convex optimization, data fusion, and applications such as image processing, video processing, spectral analysis, and networking.

Publications:
Landi, A., Minden, K. Alternative Assessments for Undergraduate Mathematics Courses in the Time of COVID-19. (2021)
Landi, A. Almost Predicting "Natural" Sequences. Mind and Machine. Springer. (2021)

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics

Dale Mineshima-Lowe

Birkbeck, University of London

Acting Programme Director of the MSc Global Environment & Sustainability Programme (University of London) and a lecturer in the Departments of Geography and Politics

Dale currently teaches modules for first-year undergraduates on Humans & the Environment, the Study of Politics and Comparative Government; as well as leading the postgraduate module – Masterclass in Social Research. She has also been Managing Editor for the think tank Center for International Relations, based in Washington, D.C., part-time for the last several years. Her research interests span active learning/student-centered pedagogy for higher & further education, to issues related to democratic transitions and governance, and currently is exploring the intersection of social capital development in both environmental policymaking as well as anti-corruption efforts.

Degrees:
PGCE (University of Westminster)
Ph.D. M.A., PG Diploma (University of Durham)
B.Sc.(Santa Clara University)

Jazmin Puicon

Bard High School Early College Newark

Assistant Professor of History

Jazmin's research interests include Afro-Latinx and Afro-Latin American History & Culture as well as Women's and Gender History.

Degrees:
Ph.D. in Latin American History (Rutgers University)
M.A. in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (NYU)
B.A. in Spanish Language & Culture/History (Union College)

Fahmida Rahman

BRAC University

Lecturer and Program Coordinator at the School of General Education

Fahmida obtained her Masters degree from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK in Public Policy and Management where her research explained the absence of disability facilities in higher educational policy in Bangladesh. She completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology from BRAC University, Bangladesh. Currently, she is a Lecturer and Program Coordinator in the School of General Education at BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh, teaching Political Science and Anthropology. She also worked as a guest lecturer (project position) for ULAB, Dhaka, Bangladesh where she talked about building resilient universities. In addition to being involved in academia, she is also the manager for Chattagram Division Girls’ Basketball Team in Bangladesh. Her current research interests include higher educational policy improvements, sports, pedagogic curricula, gender, criminology, social justice, and corporate anthropology.

Publications:
"Addressing Racial, Economic and Educational Inequalities through our University Network", Published: Future World Center Publications, 2021.

Degrees:
Masters (University of Glasgow)

Mayur Suresh

SOAS, University of London

Senior Lecturer at the school School of Law, Gender and Media

Mayur's research interests include legal anthropology and emergency legislations. He has published articles in Law and Society Review, Contributions to Indian Sociology, Indian Law Review, and Australian Journal of Asian Law.

Publications:
Terror Trials: Life and Law in Delhi's Courts (Fordham University Press, 2023)

Degrees:
Ph.D. (Birkbeck, University of London)
LL.M. (Columbia Law School)
B.A. LLB (Hons) (National Law School of India)

R. A. M. Hasan Talukder

BRAC University

Lecturer in the School of General Education

Hasan is a lecturer in the School of General Education at BRAC University, Bangladesh. His research interests include teaching pedagogy, comparative literature, postmodern and post-colonial literature.

Degrees:
Master of Arts

Jane Wanninger

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Assistant Professor of Literature in the Division of Languages and Literature at Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Jane's research interests include early modern drama, critical theory, gender and sexuality studies, and adaptation studies.

Publications:
“’Hello, people of the Internet!’: Nothing Much to Do and the Young Adult Creators and Communities of Vlog-Shakespeare,” book chapter in the collected volume Liberating Shakespeare: Violence, Trauma and Empowerment for Young Adult Audiences, eds. Deborah Uman and Jenny Flaherty. (Bloomsbury Arden).
“Riddling Shrift: Confession, Speech, and Power in Romeo and Juliet and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore,” (issue 25.2 of Early Theatre)
“Maybe Baby: Pregnant Possibilities in Medieval and Early Modern Literature,” with Holly Barbaccia and Bethany Packard. In Gendered Temporalities in the Early Modern World. Edited by Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks. Amsterdam University Press. 2018. pp 213-234

Degrees:
Ph.D. (Vanderbilt University)
M.A. (Vanderbilt University)
B.A. (University of Wisconsin-Madison)