Previous Speakers

David T. Mitchell, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of English, George Washington University

Professor David Mitchell is a leading scholar in the field of Disability Studies and has been studying the Aktion T4 program and related histories for nearly 20 years. He teaches a yearly class in the English Department titled, "Origins of Nazi Genocide: Disability and the Holocaust", which has also been selected as a study abroad course in 2014 and 2015. I have previously created a short documentary film, A World Without Bodies, that is featured as a required text on many university syllabi in Disability Studies nationally and internationally. The film has won multiple awards including Best Documentary, The Achievement Award, and Best Film at the Picture This! Film Festival in Winnepeg, Canada, the Breaking Barriers Film Festival in Moscow, Russia, and at the Superfest Disability Film Festival in Oakland, California, among others. My scholarship on Aktion T4 is featured as a chapter in my third book, Cultural Locations of Disability (U of Chicago P, 2006), as a featured essay in a special issue on Public Memory in the peer reviewed journal, Parallax (October 2017), and as a chapter in my most recently published edited collection, The Matter of Disability (U of Michigan P, 2018). He has also published several articles for the general public on the German website Gedenkort-T4.com. This substantive duration of investment in the topic has built upon his career as a filmmaker who can draw upon his dedication to this topic.

Enrique Mallen, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of World Languages and Cultures, Sam Houston State University

Dr. Enrique Mallen earned his PhD in Theoretical Linguistics from Cornell University. He is Professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Sam Houston State University. He has published numerous articles and books on linguistics, poetic language, semiotics and art history. Since 1997 he is director of the Online Picasso Project, a Digital Humanities publication dedicated to the analysis and dissemination of the works by the multilingual and multidisciplinary Pablo Picasso. Among his books are: Pablo Picasso: A Period of Transformation (1906-1916) (Liverpool University Press, Forthcoming 2023), Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar: A Period of Conflict (1936-1946) (Sussex Academic Press. 2021), Pablo Picasso: The Aphrodite Period (1924-1936) (Sussex Academic Press. 2020), Eduardo Espina: Poesía del Deslenguaje (Amargord Ediciones, 2019), Pablo Picasso: The Interaction Between Collectors and Exhibitions, 1899-1939 (Sussex Academic Press, 2018), Pablo Picasso: A Critical Chronology (Lumme Editor, 2017), La Pulsión del Lenguaje: Diálogos y Poemas de José Kozer (Lumme Editor, 2015), La Muerte y la Máscara en Pablo Picasso (Peter Lang, 2013), A Concordance of Pablo Picasso's French Writings (Edwin Mellen Press, 2010), A Concordance of Pablo Picasso's Spanish Writings (Edwin Mellen Press, 2009), Antología Crítica de la Poesía del Lenguaje (Editorial Aldus, 2009), Poesía del Lenguaje: De T. S. Eliot a Eduardo Espina (Editorial Aldus, 2008), La Sintaxis de la Carne: Pablo Picasso y Marie-Thérèse Walter (Red Internacional del Libro, 2005), The Visual Grammar of Pablo Picasso (Peter Lang, 2003) and Con/figuración Sintáctica: Poesía del Des/lenguaje (Red Internacional del Libro Editores, 2002).

Oksana Afitska, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics and English Language, Lancaster University

Dr. Oksana Afitska is an Associate Professor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and a Director of Postgraduate Taught Programmes at the department of Linguistics and English Language at Lancaster University, UK. She is a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy. Dr. Afitska joined Lancaster University in 2018. Prior to that she worked as a lecturer in applied linguistics at Sheffield University and as a tutor and a research assistant at the University of Bristol. Dr. Afitska's research interests lie in the areas of educational linguistics, (formative) language assessment, curriculum design and materials development. She has extensive experience in teaching across various contexts (University level teaching as well as teaching in primary and secondary schools in the UK and abroad) and in research methods (action research, classroom-based research, intervention research, mixed methods research). In 2015, in collaboration with Sheffield City Council, she developed teaching, learning and assessment resources for English language learners learning Science in primary mainstream classrooms. These resources were shortlisted by British Council in 2017 for a prestigious international ELTons award in the local innovation category. Dr. Afitska published papers in Science Education Journal, The Language Learning Journal, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching Journal, The European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL, Journal of Comparative Education, and International Journal of Educational Development. She reviews manuscripts for academic journals such as Language Teaching Research, the International Journal of Educational Development, Journal of Applied Linguistics, Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Language Assessment Quarterly, Science Education, Education Sciences and Sustainability.

Nafhesa Ali, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University

Dr. Nafhesa Ali is a Lecturer in Sociology at Northumbria University and is an interdisciplinary Sociologist with expertise in the everyday lives of racialized and minority communities. Nafhesa's interest include ageing, migration, sexualities and environmental sustainability. Her forthcoming book titled Older South Asian women's experiences of ageing in the UK: Intersectional feminist perspectives will be published with Palgrave Macmillan. Nafhesa's previous publications include on co-authored book Storying Relationships (2021), and edited collection A Match Made in Heaven: British Muslim Women write about Love and Desire (2020) and several journal publications in Sexualities, Ethnicities, Ethnic and Racial Studies and Cultural Geographies. Nafhesa has previously worked at the various UK institutions which include the University of Huddersfield, University of Sheffield and the University of Manchester. Nafhesa's other roles include lead for the Power and Intersecting Identities (PII) Research Cluster Group at Northumbria University and Honorary SCI Fellow at the University of Manchester.

Cristinel Munteanu, Ph.D.

Professor, Faculty of Communication and International Relations, Danubius University of Galati

Cristinel Munteanu (PhD 2006 and 2018) is currently full professor at "Danubius" University of Galați (Romania) and director of the Center for Hermeneutics "Symbols and Texts" at the same university. He is also affiliated to the Doctoral School of Philology, within IOSUD University of Pitești. He earned his first PhD (in philology) in 2006 with a thesis on phraseological synonymy in Romanian and his second PhD (in philosophy) in 2018 with a thesis on John Dewey's "theory of inquiry" considered as a sui generis type of hermeneutics. His main research interests lie in phraseology, text linguistics, hermeneutics, semiotics, philosophy of language and the history of linguistic ideas, with a special focus on Integral Linguistics. His books include Sinonimia frazeologică în limba română (2007), Lingvistica integrală coşeriană (2012), Frazeologie românească (2013), Tradition and Innovation in Language and Linguistics (Peter Lang, 2017), John Dewey și problema sensului (2019). He has published over 200 articles and edited texts by Tobias Peucer, Bogdan P. Hasdeu and Eugenio Coseriu. He also edited (in collaboration with Klaas Willems) the volume Eugenio Coseriu. Past, Present and Future (De Gruyter, 2021). He is the editor-in-chief of Acta Universitatis Danubius. Communicatio (Galați) and a member of the editorial board and/or scientific board of journals such as Fonetică și Dialectologie (Bucharest), Limba română (Chișinău) and Energeia. Online Journal for Linguistics, Language Philosophy and History of Linguistics (Zürich).

Aquasia Shaw, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin

Aquasia Shaw Ph.D. is an assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Shaw received a Ph.D. in Kinesiology from the University of Houston, with certifications in Women & Gender Studies, and African American Studies. Shaw has published in the Sociology of Sport Journal and the Physical Educator and has presented work at the International Conference on the Health Risks of Youth, the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation, the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, and the North American Society for Sport Management. Shaw teaches in the area Physical Culture and Sport Studies, including the areas of mass media, public relations in sport and the sociological, philosophical and ethical aspects of sport and physical activity. Her research focuses on sociology of sport and cultural studies, sport management, and diversity, inclusion, and social justice. The research specifically engages sociocultural, historical, and philosophical experiences of participants in sport and physical activity. Primarily focusing on individuals of color and individuals with intersectional identities in a multitude of settings that may include leisure, recreation, management, interscholastic, intercollegiate, and professional areas.

Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Ph.D.

Researcher, Department of Financial Economics and Accounting,
University of Murcia

Javier Cifuentes-Faura works in the Department of Financial Economics and Accounting at the University of Murcia (Spain). He graduated in Business Administration and Management from the University of Murcia with the Extraordinary End of Degree Award and the best grade of the promotion. He has completed postgraduate studies such as the Master in Business Administration MBA and the Master in Commercial and Marketing Management at the European Business School of Barcelona, both with Cum Laude recognition for academic excellence. He has been awarded the "Economics and Business 2018" prize by the Official Association of Economists. His lines of research include those related to public administration and economics, business, education, and those related to sustainability and environment. He is a member of the work plan of the EDINSOST2 project: Integration of sustainable development objectives in sustainability education in Spanish university degrees. He has published in JCR and Scopus impact journals, such as Educational Review, Social Indicators Research, Evaluation Review or Journal of Policy Modeling. He has participated in several international conferences, being invited to some of them as keynote speaker.

Abdullah Laghari, Ph.D.

Lecturer, Department of English, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology

Dr Abdullah Laghari is working as Lecturer at the Department of English, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, Nawabshah, Pakistan. He possesses a vast teaching experience at the university level. His research expertise lies in English Language Teaching, Professional Development, Teacher Education, etc. At his university, he has conducted several teacher education workshops, and seminars for novice and prospective teachers and professionals respectively. He has authored and co-authored many research articles in national and international journals. Dr Laghari has also presented many research papers at national as well as International conferences. He is recently done with his PhD research in Applied Linguistics from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan. He has completed a course "Professional Development of Teacher Trainers from Arizona University USA. He is also the reviewer of the International Journal of English Teaching and Learning. He is an Alumni of the Online Professional English Network OPEN. Besides, he is a member of 'The Society for Pakistani English Language Teachers' SPELT which is loacated in Karachi. At his University, he is a member of the Vice Chancellor's special committee 'The students' Consultative Bureau' SCB. Within a short period, Dr Laghari has emerged to be an innovative teacher, active researcher and master trainer.