Stephen Duncombe
Gallatin School, New York University
1 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 USA
(001) 212.998.7327
stephen.duncombe@nyu.edu
Stephen Duncombe
Gallatin School, New York University
1 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 USA
(001) 212.998.7327
stephen.duncombe@nyu.edu
Stephen Duncombe is Professor of Media and Culture at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study and the Department of Media, Culture and Communications at the Steinhardt School of New York University. He is the author, co-author, editor, and co-editor of eight books, including The Art of Activism; Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy; Notes From Underground: Zines and the Politics of Underground Culture; The Activist Angler; The Bobbed Haired Bandit: Crime and Celebrity in 1920s New York; the Cultural Resistance Reader; White Riot: Punk Rock and the Politics of Race; and (Open) Utopia. He has written numerous articles on the intersection of culture and politics, lectured at venues around the world, and once even debated the political impact of the arts at the Oxford Union. Duncombe is also the creator of the Open Utopia, an open-access, open-source, web-based edition of Thomas More’s Utopia, co-creator of Actipedia.org, a user-generated digital database of creative activism case studies, and creator of the ÆffectApp, an interactive assessment tool for artistic activists. In 1998, he was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching by the State University of New York , was presented with the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at NYU’s Gallatin school in 2012, and received New York University’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2020. Duncombe is a life-long political activist, co-founding a community based advocacy group in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which won an award for “Creative Activism” from the Abbie Hoffman Foundation, and working as an organizer for the NYC chapter of the international direct action group, Reclaim the Streets. He is co-founder and Research Director of the Center for Artistic Activism, a research and training institute that helps activists to create more like artists and artists to strategize more like activists. Duncombe is currently writing a book on the effect and affect of artistic activism, and his scholarly and activist work has been supported by, among others, the Open Society and Fulbright foundations and the National Endowment for the Humanities and National Endowment for the Arts.
EDUCATION
City University of New York, Graduate Center, M.Phil. 1993, Ph.D. 1996 with Distinction, Program in Sociology.
State University of New York, College at Purchase, B.A. Cum Laude, Sociology, 1988.
TEACHING
Professor, New York University, Gallatin School for Individualized Study & Department of Media, Culture and Communications, Steinhardt School, 2015–present.
Associate Professor, New York University, Gallatin School, 2002-2015; Department of Media, Culture and Communications, Steinhardt School, 2011-2015.
Assistant Professor, New York University, Gallatin School, 1999-2002
Assistant Professor, State University of New York, College at Old Westbury, American Studies/Media & Communications. 1994-1999.
Instructor, New School for Social Research, Master of Arts in Media Studies. 1992-94.
Other:
Co-Creator and Instructor, Center for Artistic Activism training programs, 2011-present
Visiting Professor, Department of Society and Globalization, Roskilde University, Denmark, May 2014
Lead Instructor, Fulbright Summer School in the Humanities, Moscow State University, Russia, June 2009
CENTERS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Co-Founder, Center for Artistic Activism, 501c3 not-for-profit training and research organization, 2010-present.
BOOKS
Æffect: The Affect and Effect of Artistic Activism, New York: Fordham University Press, 2024.
The Activist Angler, New York: O/R Books, 2023
The Art of Activism: Your All Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible, with Steve Lambert, New York: O/R Books, 2021.
(open) Utopia, by Thomas More, editor and introduction, Wivenhoe/New York/Port Watson: Minor Compositions/Autonomedia, 2012
White Riot: Punk Rock and the Politics of Race, co-editor with Maxwell Tremblay, London and New York: Verso, 2011.
Dream: Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy, New York: The New Press, 2007. Spanish edition, Tinta Limón Ediciones, Argentina, 2018. Re-issued with a new forward as Dream or Nightmare: Reimagining Politics in an Age of Fantasy, New York: O/R Books, 2019
The Bobbed Haired Bandit: A True Story of Crime and Celebrity in 1920s New York, with Andrew Mattson, New York: New York University Press, 2006. Paperback with a new afterword: New York: Mortalis/Random House, 2007.
Cultural Resistance Reader, editor, London and New York: Verso, 2002.
Notes from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture, London and New York: Verso, 1997. Second edition with a new afterword: Bloomington, IN: Microcosm, 2008. “20th Anniversary” Third edition, Portland, OR: Microcosm, 2017.
DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS & PROJECTS
Æffect App, aeffectapp.org, with the Center for Artistic Activism, 2020.
Actipedia, actipedia.org, with Jacques Servin/Yes Labs, 2013.
Open Utopia, theopenutopia.org, 2012.
ARTICLES, ESSAYS AND REVIEWS
“A Theory of Change for Artistic Activism,” commissioned article, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Issue 81 (2) 2023.
“The Soup Protesters Grabbed the World’s Attention. But Were They Effective?” Op-Ed, The Guardian, October 20, 2022.
“The Copenhagen Experiment: Testing the Effectiveness of Creative vs. Conventional Forms of Activism,” with Silas Harrebye, Social Movement Studies, 20:6, 2021.
“Art of the Impossible: The Fear (and Pleasure) of Designing Utopia,” Cornell Journal of Architecture, 11, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 2020
“The Power of the Imaginary in Activist Arts,” The Large Glass: Journal of Contemporary Art, Culture and Theory, 25/26, 2018
“Lessons from Utopia,” with Steve Lambert, Visual Inquiry: Learning & Teaching Art, 6:2, 2017. pp. 253–72
“Protest Sign,” as part of the Political Objects series, HiLoBrow, posted January 21, 2017. http://hilobrow.com/2017/01/21/political-objects-8-2/
“Can Art Save Us from Bullshit? The Practice of Making Political Art that Works,” with Silas Harrebye, in Public Seminar, New School for Social Research, posted December 8, 2016. www.publicseminar.org/2016/12/can-art-save-us-from-bullshit/
“Does it Work? The Æffect of Art Activism,” Social Research, Volume 83, Number 1 Spring 2016.
“It Happened and Somebody Noticed,” catalog essay for Museum of Urban Reclaimed Space, New York, December 2013.
With Sam Gould, “On Pedagogy, Countercultures, and the Theory of Utopia,” The Third Rail, #1, Fall 2013.
With Steve Lambert, “Activist Art: Does it Work?” Open: Platform for Art, Culture and the Public Domain (web) Fall, 2013.
“Protest Scenography,” in Performance Research, 18 (3) Summer 2013.
“It Stands On Its Head: Commodity Fetishism, Consumer Activism, and the Strategic Use of Fantasy,” in Culture and Organization, 18 (5) Winter 2012.
“Adam Curtis: Dystopian Dialectics,” Photoworks, 18, Spring-Summer 2012.
“Imagining No-place,” Symposium, Transformative Works and Cultures, 10, Summer 2012.
“The Fantastic Form of a Relation Between Things,” catalog essay, Savage, Bristol, UK: Spike Island, 2012.
“Political Faith” in freq.uenci.es, on-line, posted October 5, 2011.
“Dreampolitik in the United States: Obama, the Tea Party, and the Future,” in Open: Cahier on Art and the Public Domain, Rotterdam, Winter 2010, in Dutch and English.
“When Truth is Not a Casualty: The Performative Protest of the Iraq Veterans Against the War,” catalog essay for Intrusive Thoughts art show at the National Veterans Art Museum, Chicago, November 2010.
“Power of Appearance,” catalog essay for Ritratti del Potere/Portraits and Power, art exhibit in Palazzo Strozzi, Centro di Cultura Contemporanea Strozzina, Florence, Italy; Book: Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2010, in Italian and English.
“Imagination Nation: The Tea Party,” in Playboy magazine, September 2010.
with Sam Gould, “Utopian Theory,” edited dialogue, Journal of Radical Shimming, #10, Summer 2010
“Times of the Future,” in “Noted” section in The Nation, December 8, 2008
With Benjamin Shepard and L.M. Bogad, “Performing vs. The Insurmountable: Theatrics, Activism and Social Movements,” Liminalities: Journal of Performance Studies, 4 (3) October 2008
“They Believe, Can I ?” Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural Criticism, 36 (1) July/August 2008
With Henry Jenkins, “Politics in the Age of YouTube,” edited dialogue, Electronic Journal of Communication, double issue on “Irony and Politics: User-Producers, Parody, and Digital Politics,” 18 (2&3) 2008
“FDR’s Democratic Propaganda,” The Nation, special issue on “The New Deal Turns 75,” April 7, 2008
“The Art of the Impossible,” catalog essay for Packard Jennings and Steve Lambert’s Wish You Were Here! Postcards from our Awesome Future, San Francisco Arts Commission, April 2008.
“(From) Cultural Resistance to Community Development,” Community Development Journal, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 42 (4), Fall 2007
“Why Don’t Liberals Dream?” political essay in Playboy magazine, November 2007
“Do Zines Still Matter?” catalog essay for The Art of Zines, exhibit at ABC No Rio gallery space, NYC, October 2007
“Taking Celebrity Seriously,” The Nation, October 29, 2007
“Politics Past Reason: Walter Lippmann and the Manufacture of Dissent,” Radical Society, 32, Summer 2006
with Andrew Mattson, “Armed and Adorable,” New York Times, The City, February 12, 2006
“Impossible Dreams,” The Brooklyn Rail, December 2005 – January 2006
“Think Different: Lessons for the Left from Madison Avenue,” in Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, on-line, 1(4), Fall 2005
“Tale of Two Cities: Bush in New York” in Anandabazar Patrika, Sunday supplement, September 12, 2004, in Bengali
“Carnivals Against Capitalism: Culture and Politics in Contemporary Activism” in Pugwash Mexico Magazine, (1)1, 2004, in English and Spanish
with Andrew Boyd, “Manufacturing Dissent: What the Left Can Learn from Las Vegas,” in Journal of Aesthetics and Protest, 1(3), 2004.
“The Poverty of Theory: Anti-Intellectualism and the Value of Action” in Radical Society, 30 (1), 2003
“Reclaim the Suits” in Other Magazine, 1, June 2003
“What’s Alternative?” in Passages/Passagen, Journal of the Arts Council of Switzerland, Zurich, Winter 2002, in English, French and German.
“D.I.Y. Nike Style,” in Z Magazine, December 1999.
“The Penalty of Leadership: Cadillac and Class Consciousness” in The Baffler, #12, 1999.
“Not Included, Assembly Required: Anti-Identity Politics in American Punk Rock” in Request, October, 1998.
“Henry Ford Aside, History Isn’t Bunk,” Op-Ed in New York Newsday, May 20, 1998.
“I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night” in The Baffler, #10, 1997.
“Quality of Whose Life?” in The Baffler, #7, 1995.
“You Say You Want a Generation,” in Dollars and Sense, #197, January/February, 1995.
“I’ve Seen the Future and it’s a Sony,” in The Baffler, #6, 1994. (Re-published in Commodify Your Dissent, New York: Norton, 1997.)
“We’re Marketed, Therefore We Are?” in The Baffler, #5, 1993.
with Andrew Mattson, “Public Space, Private Place: The Contested Terrain of Tompkins Square Park,” in Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 37, 1992.
Article Reprints:
“Can Art Save Us from Bullshit? The Practice of Making Political Art that Works,” with Silas Harrebye, The Live Art Almanac, Volume 5, Live Art Development Agency (LADA), 2018. (reprinted from Public Seminar)
“Politics as Art of the Impossible: The Case for a Dreampolitik in the United States,” Pavilion: Journal for Politics and Culture, 16, Bucharest Biennale 5, May/July 2012 (reprinted from Open, the Netherlands)
“Politics as Art of the Impossible,” in Cafe Society, New Zealand, Fall 2012 (reprinted from Open, the Netherlands)
“Dreampolitik,” in Kritiek, theme issue on Populism, Utrecht, Summer 2010, in Dutch. (Editor remix and translation of various previous writings on politics and imagination.)
“Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” in Laboratorio Invisibel (web), posted August 5, 2009, in Spanish (edited selections from Dream)
“They Believe, Why Can’t I?,” in Adbusters, Vol. 17, #2, March/April 2009 (reprinted from Afterimage)
“Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” in VOL, Japan, Spring 2008, in Japanese (edited selections from Dream)
“Taking Celebrity Seriously,” in La Nacion, Argentina, December 23, 2007, in Spanish (reprinted from The Nation)
“Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” in Turbulence, UK, June 2007 (edited selections from Dream)
“Dreaming up New Politics,” in In These Times, February 2007 (edited selections from Dream)
“Play the Game: Grand Theft Desire,” in The Brooklyn Rail, February 2007 (edited Chapter 3 from Dream)
Reviews:
Review of Radical Theatrics: Put-Ons, Politics, and the Sixties, by Craig J. Peariso, in The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics, and Culture, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2016.
Review of Benjamin Shepard, Play, Creativity, and Social Movements: If I Can’t Dance, It’s Not My Revolution in International Journal of Communication, 6, 2012.
Review of Roopali Mukherjee and Sarah Banet-Weiser’s Commodity Activism: Cultural Resistance in Neoliberal Times in International Journal of Communication, 6, 2012.
Review of Ennis Carter’s Posters for the People: Art of the WPA, Afterimage, January 2009 (short)
Review of Timothy J. Gilfoyl’s A Pickpocket’s Tale: The Underworld of Nineteenth-Century New York in Journal of American History, 94 (1) June 2007
Review of Elizabeth and Stuart Ewen’s Typecasting: On the Arts And Sciences of Human Inequality in International Journal of Communication, 1, 2007
Review of Thomas Frank’s What’s The Matter With Kansas? How Conservatives Won the Heart of America in WorkingUSA, 8 (2) December 2004
Review of David Brooks’ On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense in the San Diego Union-Tribune, May 30, 2004
Review of Thomas Frank’s One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy in Working USA, 5(1) Summer 2001
Review of Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, in the San Diego Union-Tribune, January 28, 2001
Review of Dan Schiller’s Digital Capitalism: Networking the Global Market System in Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 17(3), 2000
Review of E.J. Graff’s What is Marriage For? The Strange Social History of Our Most Intimate Institution in New York Newsday, July 22, 1999.
Review of James B. Twitchell’s Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism in the San Diego Union Tribune July 19, 1999.
Review of Larry Tye’s The Father of Spin: Edward L. Bernays and the Birth of Public Relations, in The New England Quarterly, June 1999.
Review of Edwin Schlossberg’s Interactive Excellence: Defining and Developing New Standards for the Twenty-first Century, in Beta on-line. March, 1999.
Review of Tricia Rose’s Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America, in Journal of Communication, 46(2), 1996.
Review of Camille Bacon-Smith’s Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth, in Journal of Communication, 44(3), 1994.
CHAPTERS and BOOK CONTRIBUTIONS
“Utopia: Content and Form,” concluding essay to Inhabiting the Horizon, Julia Ramírez Blanco, ed. MRA Ediciones, 2023, in Spanish.
Chapter Forward, for “A Collection of Street Theatre Scripts,” Performing Truth: Works of Radical Memory for Times of Social Amnesia, Larry Bogad, Routledge, 2022.
“A Theory of Change for Creative Activism,” in Creating Change: Exploring creative approaches to act against corruption in West Africa and the Western Balkans, Open Society Foundations, Dakar/Skopje 2021.
“Why So Much Art and Activism Fails (And What We Can Do To Fail Better),” with Steve Lambert, Design (&) Activism, Tom Bieling, ed. Mimesis International, 2020.
“Training Activists to be Fans: The ‘Moral Equivalent’ to Pop Culture,” Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination Casebook, Henry Jenkins, Gabriel Peters-Lazaro, Sangita Shresthova, eds. NYU Press, 2020.
“Manufacturing Dissent,” interview, Participatory Culture, Henry Jenkins, ed, Polity Press 2019.
“An Age of Protest, Protest for the Age,” in PROTEST: On the politics, mediality, and aesthetics of protest cultures, Zurich University of the Arts, Zurich: Lars Müller Publishers, 2018.
“Fail Better: An interview with the Center for Artistic Activism,” with Steve Lambert, Art as Social Action: An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art, Gregory Sholette, Chloë Bass, and Social Practice Queens, NY: Allworth, 2018
“Opening Up Utopia,” DIY Utopia, Amber Day, ed. Lanham, MD: Lexington Press/Rowman and Littlefield, 2017.
“Affect and Effect: Artful Activism and Political Impact,” in The Democratic Public Sphere, Henrik Kaare Nielsen, ed. Aarhus, Denmark: Aarhus University Press, 2016.
“The Art of Activism,” with Steve Lambert, in Truth is Concrete: A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics, Steirischer Herbst and Florian Malzacher, eds. Vienna: Sternberg Press, 2014.
“The Anarchist Geography of No-Place,” in The Anarchist Turn, Jacob Blumenfeld, Chiara Bottici, and Simon Critchley, eds. London: Pluto Press, 2013.
“Imagining No-Place: The Subversive Mechanics of Utopia,” in Utopia and Contemporary Art, Christian Gether, Stine Hoholt and Marie Lauberg, eds. Denmark: ARKEN Museum, and Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2012.
“Censorship, So What? New Concerns for the New Information Age,” in Out of Silence, Caridad Svich, ed., Roskilde/Aalborg, Denmark; Oulu, Finland; Gainesville, Georgia: EYECORNER Press, 2012.
With Sarah Nash, “ICE from the Ashes of FIRE: NYU and the Economy of Culture in New York City,” in The University Against Itself, Monika Krause, Mary Nolan, Michael Palm and Andrew Ross, eds., Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008
“Introduction” to The Zine Yearbook, Jen Angel and Jason Kucsma, eds., New York: Soft Skull Press, 2003
“Stepping off the Sidewalk: Reclaim the Streets/ NYC” in From ACT UP to the WTO: Urban Protest and Community Building in the Era of Globalization, Ben Shepard and Ron Hayduk, eds., New York and London: Verso, 2002.
“Notes from Underground” in Alternative Library Literature, Biennial Anthology 1994/1995, Sanford Berman and James P. Danky, eds., Jefferson, NC and London, McFarland & Co., 1996
with Stephen Sifaneck and Andras Szanto, “The Incense Merchant on Times Square: The Black Muslim Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” in Sex, Scams and Street Life: The Sociology of New York City’s Times Square, Robert McNamara, ed., Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995.
with Sharon Zukin, et al. “The Bubbling Cauldron: Global and Local Interactions in New York City Restaurants,” in The Culture of Cities, Sharon Zukin, Cambridge: Basil Blackwell, 1995.
with Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, “Women Clerical Workers: Issues and Trends,” in Dual City: The Restructuring of New York, John H. Mollenkopf and Manuel Castells eds., New York: Russell Sage, 1991.
Reprints:
“The Horrors of Utopia,” lead essay in The Horrors of Utopia, part of the Zoom In series. Paderborn, Germany: Schoeningh-Schulbuch, 2014 (reprinted from Open Utopia)
“Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” in the Turbulence anthology, Oakland: PM Press, 2010 (reprinted from Turbulence magazine, UK)
“Impossible Dreams,” Toward 2012: Perspectives on the Next Age, New York: Tarcher/Penguin, 2009 (edited selections from Dream)
“Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” in Live Art Almanac, Leeds: Live Art UK/University of Leeds, 2008 (edited selections from Dream)
“Purity and Danger,” in Cultural Studies: An Anthology, Michael Ryan, ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2008 (edited reprint of chapter seven of Notes…)
“Community: The Zine Scene” in The Subcultures Reader, 2nd edition, Ken Gelder, ed. London: Routledge, 2005 (edited selections from Notes…)
“Sabotage, Slack and the Zinester Search for Non-Alienated Labour” in Ordinary Lifestyles: Popular Media, Consumption, and Taste, David Bell and Joanne Hollows, eds. Berkshire: Open University Press, 2005 (edited reprint of chapter four of Notes…)
“Zines” in Cultural Studies: From Theory to Action, Pepi Leistyna, ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005 (edited reprint of chapter one of Notes…)
“I’m a Loser Baby: Zines and the Creation of Underground Identity,” in Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture, Henry Jenkins et al., eds., North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2002. (edited reprint of chapter two of Notes…)
“Let’s All Be Alienated Together: Zines and the Making of Underground Community,” in Generations of Youth: Youth Cultures and History in Twentieth Century America, Joe Austin and Michael Nevin Willard, eds., New York: New York University Press, 1998. (edited reprint of chapter three of Notes…)
“I’ve Seen the Future and it’s a Sony,” in Commodify Your Dissent, Tom Frank and Matt Weiland, eds., New York: Norton, 1997. (Originally published in The Baffler, #6, 1994.)
Encyclopedia and Reference Entries:
“Political Imagination,” with Silas Harrebye, The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible, Vlad P. Glăveanu, ed. Palgrave Macmillan, 2023
“Artistic Activism,” with Steve Lambert, in Routledge Companion to Media and Activism, Graham Meikle, ed. London: Routledge, 2018
“Resistance,” Keywords in Media Studies, Laurie Ouellette and Jonathan Gray, eds. New York: NYU Press, 2017.
“Ethical Spectacle” and “Know Your Terrain” in Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for Revolution, Andrew Boyd, ed., New York: O/R Books, 2012
“Resistance,” entry in The International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences, 2nd edition Farmington, MI: Macmillan/Thomson Gale, 2008
“Cultural Resistance,” entry in The Encyclopedia of Sociology, Oxford: Blackwell, 2006
“Resistance,” entry in The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005
“Wieden + Kennedy” in Encyclopedia of Advertising, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn/Museum of Broadcast Publishers, 2002.
“Zines,” in The Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Tom Pendergast and Sara Pendergast, eds. 5 vols. Farmington Hills, MI: St. James Press, 1999.
“The American Beat Party,” in The Encyclopedia of Third Parties, Emmanuel Ness and Jim Ciment, eds. Armonk NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.
“Bull Moose: Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party of 1912,” with Andrew Mattson, in The Encyclopedia of Third Parties, Emmanuel Ness and Jim Ciment, eds. Armonk NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1999.
REPORTS and WHITE PAPERS
“Supporting Socially Engaged Art at a Crossroads,” with Mauricio Delfin, field assessment and positioning paper for A Blade of Grass, New York, January 2024
Unleashing Unstoppable Voters: A Creative Campaign Toolkit, with Rebecca Bray, Rachel Karp & Steve Lambert, Center for Artistic Activism, 2023
“Advancing Creative Leadership to Build Systems of Care and Accountability,” pilot project evaluation report for Recess organization, New York, November 2022
“Primitive Games – Memory/Cycle,” art activist project evaluation report prepared for A Blade of Grass foundation, New York, January 2021.
“Ritual 4 Return,” art activist project evaluation report prepared for A Blade of Grass foundation, New York, August 2020.
“Artistic Activism in West Africa: Actions Evaluation,” evaluation report prepared for ActionAid Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, January 2020.
“The Copenhagen Experiment: Measuring the Relative Effectiveness of Creative vs. Conventional Forms of Activism,” with Silas Harrebye, project report for the Fritt Ord Foundation, Oslo, Norway, July 2019
“Assessing the Impact of Artistic Activism,” lead author, white paper commissioned by the Open Society Foundations, New York, NY, January 2018.
GRANTS, HONORS, AND AWARDS
Co-Lab Research Class Grant, Co-PI, Gallatin School, New York University, 2024. $25,000
Digital Humanities Grant, Co-PI, New York University, 2023. $20,000
Steinhardt Faculty Challenge Grant, Co-PI, New York University, 2023. $10,000
Research Grant, Co-PI, Mellon Foundation/A Blade of Grass, 2023. $50,000
“Honorable Mention,” Terry McAdam Book Award, Alliance for Non-Profit Management, for Art of Activism, 2022.
Distinguished Teaching Award, New York University, 2020.
Project Grant, Action Aid Denmark, 2019, (for West Africa Creative Action Team) $45,000
Organization Grant, Open Society Foundations, 2019-21 (for Center for Artistic Activism). $350,000
University Research Challenge Fund (URCF), New York University, 2018-19 (For the Æffect Study) $15,000
Finalist, Democracy Innovation Award, World Forum for Democracy, Council of Europe, 2017 (for School of Creative Activism, 2nd place)
Project Grant, with Co-PI Silas Harrebye, Fritt Ord Foundation, 2017-18 (for The Nordic Experiment) 150,000NKR/$17,765
Project Grant, LUSH Charitable Giving Program, 2017 (for How to Win: The Art of Activism). $15,000
Project Grant, National Endowment for the Arts, 2017 (for the Art Action Academy). $15,000
Organization Grant, David Rockefeller Fund, 2017 (for Center for Artistic Activism). $25,000
Project Grant, British Council, 2017 (for Arts & Activism Efficacy Project). $5000
Project Grant, Health Media Initiative, Open Society Foundations, 2017 (for the Center for Artistic Activism). $204,000
Participant Grant, Peacebuilding Practice Artists’ Assembly, British Council, 2016. $1000
Project Grant, National Endowment for the Arts, 2016 (for the Art Action Academy). $15,000
Project Grant, Health Media Initiative, Open Society Foundations, 2016 (for the Center for Artistic Activism). $140,000
Project Grant, LUSH Charitable Giving Program, 2016 (for the School for Creative Activism). $17,000
Organization Grant,
Research Grant, Compton Foundation, 2015 (for Arts & Activism Efficacy Project). $10,000
Teaching With Technology Grant, Gallatin School, New York University, 2016. $3000
Research Grant, National Endowment for the Humanities, Summer Stipend, 2015 (for Democratic Persuasion). $6000
Project Grant, Health Media Initiative, Open Society Foundations, 2015 (for the School for Creative Activism/Africa and Europe). $160,000
Faculty Research Fellowship, Gallatin School, New York University, 2015-2017 (for Democratic Persuasion).
Project Grant, Health Media Initiative, Open Society Foundations, 2014 (for the School for Creative Activism/Macedonia). $37,000
Curricular Development Challenge Fund grant, New York University, 2013 (for Art and Activism Cross-School Curricular Concentration). $5000
Project Grant, Democracy and Power Fund, Open Society Foundations, 2013 (for the School for Creative Activism/US). $75,000
Project Grant, Health Media Initiative, Open Society Foundations, 2013 (for the School for Creative Activism/Kenya). $30,000
Senior Research Fellow, Theatrum Mundi, Mellon Foundation (Richard Sennett and Saskia Sassen, PI’s), 2012.
Project Grant, Democracy and Power Fund, Open Society Foundations, 2012 (for the School for Creative Activism/US). $75,000
Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, Gallatin, New York University, 2012.
Organization Grant, A Blade of Grass Foundation, 2012 (for Center for Artistic Activism). $35,000
Fellow, Wolfsonian – FIU Museum, 2012. (returned)
Project Grant, Democracy and Power Fund, Open Society Foundations, 2011, (for the School for Creative Activism/US). $45,000
Working Research Group Grant, Humanities Initiative, New York University, 2011-2013 (for Artistic Activism @ NYU). $10,000
Fellow, Futures of Entertainment, USC/MIT, 2011.
Pacific Foundation Partnership, 2009-2010 (for Art of Activism). In-kind design assistance and editing.
Fulbright Specialists Grant, Moscow State University, 2009. $3500
Fulbright Senior Specialist, Communications and Journalism, 2009-2014.
Research Associate, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, 2009.
Team-Teaching Grant, Humanities Initiative, New York University, 2009-2010 (Politics of Style with Nina Cornyetz). $2000
Global Fellowship Award, New York University, 2007-08 (returned).
Stephen Golden Faculty Enrichment Fund, New York University, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2012. $1000-4000
Blue Mountain Writing Center Resident, Summer 2001 (for the Cultural Resistance Reader)
Service Learning Course Development Grant, New York University, 2000. $3600
Innovative Organizing Award, Abbie Hoffman Foundation, 1999 (on behalf of the Lower East Side Collective).
Larry J. Hackman Research Residency, New York State Archives Partnership Trust, 1999-2000 (for Bobbed Haired Bandit).
Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, State University of New York, 1998.
Humanities Adviser, This American Life/National Endowment for the Humanities, 1998.
New York State Library Research Residency, 1994-95 (for Notes from Underground).
Presidential Faculty Development Grant, SUNY Old Westbury, 1994, 1995.
Joseph Monticciolo Fellowship for Studies in Community and Technology, CUNY 1993-94.
Bensman Award for Dissertation Proposal, CUNY 1993.
Jacob K. Javits Fellow, U.S. Department of Education, 1989-93.
University Fellowship, CUNY, 1988-89.
President’s Award in the Division of Social Sciences, SUNY Purchase, 1988.
TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS (past decade only)
“Artistic Activism, ” invited presentation for Rysensteen Gymnasium students (Copenhagen, DK), New York City, October 3, 2024.
“How Can Radical Imagination Enable Alternative Politics?” invited keynote speaker,
Utopia*Art*Politics conference, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, July 5, 2024.
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Groundswell: Local Practice Leading Global Change, Engage Conference, Plymouth, England, May 15, 2024 (via remote)
“How GTA Can Save the World: Video Games and Æffective Activism,” invited lecture, Platform Lecture Series, Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland, March 21, 2024
“What Art Can Teach Activists,” invited presentation, Creative Change Makers Fellowship program, BudgIT, Lagos, Nigeria, October 21, 2023 (via remote)
“Reasons to be Cheerful, Pt 2,” invited panelist, ReConstitutional Convention II, Governance Futures Lab, Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, CA October 12, 2023 (via remote)
“Artistic Activism, ” invited presentation for Rysensteen Gymnasium students (Copenhagen, DK), New York City, October 7, 2023.
“Imagination, Utopia, and Sustainable Futures,” invited presentation and workshop, Sustainable Science Communication: New Approaches, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, April 27 & 28, 2023.
“Promoting Social Change Through the Arts”, invited presentation and workshop with Dipti Desai, International Visitor Leadership Program, US State Department, New York City, December 15, 2022.
But Does It Work? Developing an Æffective Theory of Change for Artistic Activism,” invited lecture, Center for Global Studies, Penn State University, November 10, 2022.
“A Theory of Change for Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Reinventing the Power of Communities through Creative Activism and Engaged Art conference, Contemporary Art Center & Open Society Foundation Macedonia, Skopje, North Macedonia, October 1, 2022.
“A Theory of Change for Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Civic Paths Group, Annenberg School, USC, Los Angeles, September 26, 2022. (via remote)
“alt.Hallyu,” invited presentation, 1st K-Culture Conference, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of South Korea, South Korea, May 27, 2022. (via remote)
“Assessing Creative Forms of Activism,” invited presentation, Cambiemos el Cuento: Narrativas y Poder, webinar series, Oxfam Intermón, Spain, May 5, 2022. (via remote)
“The Art of Truthtelling in an Age of Disinformation,” invited lecture, 21st EdukCircle International Convention on Media Communication, International Education Circle, Philippines, March 18, 2022 (via remote)
“The Art of Activism,” invited presentation with Steve Lambert, Marxist Education Project, New York. February 19, 2022 (via remote)
“Social Movements and Creative Activism,” invited talk in “Social Movements” class at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. February 17, 2022. (via remote)
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Middle School 915, Brooklyn, NY. February 10, 2022.
“What Now? Community Organizing & the Arts in a Post-2020 Landscape,” invited panelist, NYU Arts & Culture Network, Wagner School, NYU, December 9, 2021. (via remote)
“Art Activism for Social Change,” invited lecture, Global Forum for Culture and Youth,
Korean Culture and Information Center (KOCIS) & KDI School of Public Policy and Management, Seoul, South Korea. December 1, 2021. (via remote)
“Utopian Methodology for Turbulent Times,” invited keynote, Grasp Festival for New Ideas, Roskilde University/Roskilde Festival, Musicon, Roskilde, Denmark, November 20, 2021.
“Pandemic, Co-Citizenship, and Creative Activism,” invited panelist, Grasp Festival for New Ideas, Roskilde University/Roskilde Festival, Musicon, Roskilde, Denmark, November 20, 2021.
“Political Imagination: A Collaborative Experimental Design,” invited Lab, with Silas Harrebye, Grasp Festival for New Ideas, Roskilde University/Roskilde Festival, Musicon, Roskilde, Denmark, November 19, 2021.
“Digital Governance and Public Communication,” invited moderator, 2021 OGP Academy: The Case for Open Government, KDI School, Yeongi-gun, South Korea, November 16, 2021 (via remote)
“What Arts Management Needs to Know About Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, with Steve Lambert, Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland, November 1, 2021. (via remote)
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Red LIne Art Works, Bath, England, October 28, 2021. (via remote)
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, New York Society for Ethical Culture, New York City, September 26, 2021.
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentations, ActionAid Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 11 & 12, 2021. (via remote)
“Arts Activism in Times of Crisis,” invited panelist, Fontys Arts University, the Netherlands. April 23, 2021. (via remote)
“Envisioning,” introduction for Art and Abolition workshop by Shaun Leonardo, Gallatin Galleries, NYU March 25, 2021. (via remote)
“Protests and the Pandemic,” invited panelist, Institute for Public Knowledge, NYU, March 18, 2021. (via remote)
“Seriously Funny: Humor, Satire and the Art of Protest,” invited lecture as part of the Art and Protest series, Beinecke Library, Yale University, March 16, 2021. (via remote)
“Making Art Work: The Affect and Effect of Arts and Activism,” closing keynote address with Steve Lambert, European Sociological Association, Social Effects of Art conference, Helsinki, Finland, March 12, 2021. (via remote)
“Artistic Activism,” invited presenter, International Education Conference, University of Chicago, Chicago, November 6, 2020. (via remote)
“States of Control: Who’s In Control?” invited panelist, TOK Collective/Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, November 3 2020. (via remote)
“How to Stop Worrying About The Election,” invited panelist, inaugural event of the What To Do When We Don’t Know What To Do program, A Blade of Grass Foundation, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, October 26, 2020.
“Dreampolitik and Myth, A Conversation with Stephen Duncombe,” invited panel interview, Raising Our Voices, American Anthropological Association, podcast recorded on October 22, 2020.
“Artists as Advocates,” invited panelist, Advocates for Artists/Artists as Advocates, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada, October 14, 2020. (via remote)
“Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Action Aid Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 3, 2020. (via remote)
“Arts, Activism and Creative Collaboration,” invited talk, Creative Collaboration and Transdisciplinarity, Limerick School of Art and Design, Limerick, Ireland, February 6, 2020. (via remote)
“The Power of Prophetic Humor,” invited panelist, Las vidas politicas del humor, Encuentro 2019, Hemispheric Institute, UNAM, Mexico City, June 10, 2019.
“Dream…or Nightmare? Reimagining Politics in an Age of Fantasy,” invited talk, NYPL, Webster Branch, New York City, December 18, 2018.
“Assessing the Impact of Artistic Activism,” invited presentation, Toronto Arts Council and Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Calgary Arts Development (via video), December 13, 2018.
“Beyond the Fact-Check: Countering Disinformation by Animating the Truth,” invited talk, Institut Pratique du Journalisme, Paris, France, December 6, 2018
“Animating Advocacy Through Artistic Activism” invited talk, Centre International de la Culture Populaire, Paris, France, December 6, 2018
“From Revealing Lies to Animating the Truth: New Strategies for Countering New Models of Disinformation,” invited talk, UNESCO Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France, December 6, 2018
“From Revealing Lies to Animating the Truth: New Strategies for Countering New Models of Disinformation,” invited talk, George Marshall Center-Hôtel de Talleyrand, United State Embassy, Paris, France, December 5, 2018.
“Art Activism: A Creative Approach to Counter Disinformation,” invited talk, H. Gallerie, Paris, France, December 5, 2018.
“The Art of Truth-Telling in an Age of Disinformation,” invited talks, Lycée Sèvres International School and Lycée Jean Jaurès, Paris, France, December 4, 2018.
“The Consequences of Photography,” invited panelist, conference accompanying the Dorothea Lange: Politiques du Visible exhibit, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France , December 1, 2018.
“Researching Artistic Activism,” invited talk, Media Activist Research Collective, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, November 8, 2018.
“Artistic Activism,” with Steve Lambert, invited presentation for the Yale World Fellows, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University, New Haven CT, October 25, 2018.
“But Does it Work: The Effect and Affect of Arts and Activism,” invited speaker, Prague Crossroads International Theatre Festival, National Theatre, Prague, Czech Republic, October 2, 2018.
“Making Art Work,” with Steve Lambert, invited plenary speaker, Arts in Society conference, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, Canada, May 29, 2018.
“Using Pop Culture for Social Change,” invited speaker, RAPolitics, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 17, 2018.
“This House Believes Art is the Best Means to a Peaceful Revolution,” invited debater, speaking for the proposition, The Oxford Union, Oxford University, UK, May 10, 2018.
“Training and Evaluation in Arts and Activism,” invited speaker as part of a consultation workshop on “How to Document, Train and Analyze Social Activism in the Arab Region,” Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship, American University in Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, April 1, 2017.
“Art and Activism,” invited panelist, School of the Arts Assembly, Emerson College, Boston, MA, March 29, 2017
“School for Creative Activism,” invited Lab panelist, World Democracy Forum, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, November 9, 2017. (Elected Runner up for WDF’s Democracy Innovation Prize.)
“Art-ivism,” invited “expert,” Amnesty International Activism Hackathon, Amnesty International Secretariat, London, UK October 9, 2017 (via remote)
“Creative Activism: Take Your Broken Heart, Make it Into Art,” invited moderator, SAG-AFTRA, Robin Williams Center, New York, NY May 26, 2017.
“Activist Art as More than Just a Tactic,” invited panelist, Laboratory For Freedoms, MoMA/PS1, Queens, NY, April 24, 2017.
“Open Utopia,” invited panelist, Open Educational Resources, NYU Center for the Humanities, New York, NY, April 4, 2017.
“The Impact and Evaluation of Artistic Activism,” opening introduction, with Steve Lambert, and panel chair, Artistic Activism: Connecting Social Activism and Artistic Practice, Philanthropy New York, New York, NY, March 30, 2017.
“Art as Activism,” invited post-performance talk back, production of Home/Sick, JACK Theatre, Brooklyn NY, March 22, 2017.
“Theater Artists Respond to the Trump Era,” invited panelist, The Columbia University Seminars, Columbia University, New York, NY, March 20, 2017.
“Opening Up Utopia,” invited panelist, DIY Utopia, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI, March 9, 2017. (via remote)
Conversation Leader, “Cultural Resistance: The Power of Music and Visual Art as Protest,” New Tactics in Human Right/Center for Victims of Torture, On-line, February 27-March 3, 2017
“New Ways to Communicate about Old Institutions,” with Steve Lambert, invited presentation, United Nations Arts and Culture Exchange, United Nations, New York, NY, January 26, 2017.
“Art and Activism,” invited talk, The Columbia University Seminars on Innovation in Education and Ethics, Moral Education, and Society, Columbia University, New York, NY, January 23, 2017.
“Artistic Activism,” with Steve Lambert, invited presentation, Comhlámh Center, Dublin, Ireland, December 18, 2016.
“Truth as Theatre, Theatre as Truth: Political Bullshit, Artistic Activism, and the Dilemmas of Creatively Engaging in Formal Political Spaces, in Five Acts,” with Silas Harrebye, invited presentation, Public Calling conference, Fritt Ord Foundation & KURO/Public Art Norway, The National Theatre, Oslo, Norway, November 1, 2016.
“Collective Knowledge,” with Steve Lambert, invited panelist, Art, Politics and Cities in Transition conference, AIANY/Center for Architecture, New York, NY, October 21, 2016.
“Facts and Fantasy in the 2016 Elections,” invited panelist, NYU Democrats Club forum, NYU, New York, NY October 20, 2016.
“Using Utopia,” invited panelist, Folger Seminar on More’s Utopia: Humanist Literature and Political Thought, Folger Library, Washington DC, May 27, 2016.
“Satire is Dead. Long live Satire,” invited panelist, Tactical Laughter: Humor + Activism symposium, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, New York, NY, April 21, 2016
“Creativity in Relationship to Social Change,” invited panelist, Critical Collaborations symposium, New York University, New York, NY, April 15, 2016. (via remote)
“Utopia, Art, Activism,” invited speaker, Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, April 14, 2016
“Propaganda and the Politics of Capitalist Media,” invited panelist, Political Conflicts: Media Strategies and Construction of Multiple Realities: America vs Russia, TOK Kitchen Talk, Flux Factory, Brooklyn, NY, January 13, 2016
“Affect and Effect: Artful Activism and Political Impact,” invited keynote, The Democratic Public Sphere conference, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, November 7, 2015.
“New Social Movements and Activism,” invited lecture, Department of Society and Globalization, Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark, November 5, 2015.
“Arts and Social Change,” invited round table participant, Rubin Foundation, New York, October 13, 2015.
“Open Utopia,” invited class, New School for Social Research, New York, September 30, September 30, 2015.
“Opening up Utopia,” invited talk, Fulbright Summer School in the Humanities, Moscow State University, Russia, June 26, 2015 (via remote)
“Making Art Work,” with Steve Lambert, invited keynote, Creative Catalyst: Symposium on Art and Social Innovation, Toronto, Canada, June 12, 2015.
“Spectacular Protest: Communications, Performance and Political Impact,” invited keynote, International Congress on Communication, Civil Society, and Social Change conference, Castellon, Spain, May 21, 2015.
“Act Locally, Communicate Globally: Social Movements and the Mobilization of Culture,” invited class as Visiting Scholar, Universitat Jaume I, Castellon, Spain, May 18, 2015.
“Low Power to the People: Pirates, Protest, and Politics in FM Radio Activism,” by Christina Dunbar-Hester, invited discussant, Institute of Public Knowledge, NYU, New York, April 27, 2014.
“Culture as Propaganda in Roosevelt’s New Deal Administration,” invited talk, William Patterson University, New Jersey, April 21, 2015.
“Opening up Utopia,” invited class, New School for Social Research, New York, April 17, 2014.
“Kill City: Lower East Side Squatters 1992-2000,” by Ash Thayer, invited discussant, Colloquium for Unpopular Culture, NYU, New York, April 8, 2014.
“Fear of Art’s Activism,” invited talk, Fear of Art, the 32nd annual Social Research conference, New School, New York, February 12, 2015.
“The Art of Policy,” invited talk, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Washington DC, January 20, 2015.
“Arts and Activism: A History of the Future,” invited panelist, Palitz Gallery, Syracuse University’s Lubin House, New York, January 14, 2015.
“Art, Culture and Social Movements,” invited class, as part of the Saturday Academy, New York Historical Society, New York, November 22, 2014.
“A New Approach to an Old Book: Open Utopia,” invited talk, Digital U: The University in the Digital Age, William Patterson University, New Jersey, October 29, 2014.
“Making the Impossible Possible,” with Brett Davidson and Steve Lambert, Communication Matters, Communications Network annual conference, Philadelphia, PA, October 9, 2014.
“Words from Our Sponsors: Oil Industry Greenwashing in Cultural Institutions,” invited moderator, The Natural History Museum, Queens Museum, New York, September 20, 2014.
“Public Research,” invited panelist, Pub-Up Debate, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 22, 2014.
“Art of Protest: The ‘Creative Turn’ in Global Activism,” invited talk, ActionAid Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 21, 2014.
“Arts and Activism,” invited panelist, Imagine Norrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 20, 2014.
“Sign of the Times, Music and Design 1960-1980,” invited panelist, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, Harvard Club, New York, April 24, 2014.
“The Power of Imagination: Artistic Activism,” invited talk, with Steve Lambert, Institute for Contemporary Art and Ideas, Gothenburg, Sweden, April 11, 2014.
“Crises of Imagination, Crises of Power,” invited respondent, Brecht Forum, Brooklyn, NY, March 27. 2014.
“Designing Free Speech,” invited panelist, Cities and Citizenship conference, NYU, New York, March 14, 2014.
“What Does it Mean To Be Political Today? Street Tactics and Activist Strategies,” invited panelist, The Base, Brooklyn, NY, November 15, 2013.
“Caledonian Dreaming: Radical Possibilities in the Age of Uncertainty,” invited talk, with Steve Lambert, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland, November 1, 2013.
“Performing Change,” invited panelist, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, New York, October 18, 2013.
“Documentation and Legacy: The Civil Rights Movement,” invited talk, Wanderlust School of Transgressive Placemaking, Brooklyn, NY, June 25, 2013.
“Depths of Distrust: Lessons from Occupy Wall Street,” invited talk, ReConstitutional Convention, Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, CA, April 27, 2013.
“Counterculture, Play, and Political Change,” invited keynote “conversation” (with Fred Turner), Rutgers Media Studies Conference: Extending Play, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, April 20. 2013.
“Design Narratives: Point of View,” invited critic, Products of Design program, School of Visual Arts, New York, April 9, 2013.
“Open Utopia,” invited talk/workshop, NYC Anarchist Book Fair, NYC, April 6 2013.
“On the Political Utility of Art,” invited panelist, Arte Útil Lab, Queens Museum of Art, New York, April 6, 2013.
“Open Utopia,” invited talk, Contemporary Literature Series, English Department, NYU, New York, April 3, 2013.
“Actipedia,” invited class speaker, D-Crit research seminar, School of Visual Arts, New York, February 27, 2013.
“Occupy and the Art of Protest,” invited panelist, Neil Postman Graduate Student Conference, NYU, New York, February 21, 2013.
“Aesthetic Interventions,” invited class speaker, Aesthetic Interventions, Parsons School of Design, New York, February 14, 2013.
“Does it Need to be Called Art?” invited panelist, School of Visual Art, New York, January 29, 2013.
“The Art of Protest,” invited talk, Frankfurter Positionen, Frankfurt LAB, Frankfurt, Germany, January 26, 2013.
“Creative Activism: The Art of Social Change,” invited talk, Action-Aid Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark, January 23, 2013.
“The Art of Protest: Occupy as an Aesthetic Practice,” invited talk, Roskilde University, Denmark, January 23, 2013.
“Occupy the Left,” invited panelist, Philosophy Department lecture series, New School for Social Research, NYC, November 8, 2012.
“Places and Spaces for Free Speech,” organizing moderator, Theatrum Mundi/Global State Presence and Absence in the City conference, NYU, New York, October 13, 2012.
“The Centrality of Space for Occupy Wall Street,” invited talk, Theatrum Mundi/Global State Presence and Absence in the City conference, Columbia University, New York, October 12, 2012.
“A Brief History of Creative Activism: From Jesus of Nazareth to Occupy,” invited talk, Yes Lab/Hemispheric Institute, NYU, New York, October 11, 2012.
“Artistic Collaboration: Ethics, Beauty and Value,” invited panelist, Blade of Grass/Rubin Foundation, New York, September 12, 2012.
“The Art of Activism,” invited talk, Wellfleet Public Library, Wellfleet, MA, July 18 2012.
“Protest Politics as an Aesthetic Practice,” invited talk, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria, May 22, 2012.
“The Art of Activism: Occupy as Aesthetic Practice and Ethical Spectacle,” invited talk, Columbia Communications Colloquium, Columbia University, New York, April 4, 2012
“Creative Activism and Occupy Wall Street,” invited talk, with Mark Read, Cómo Acabar con el Mal: 5 días de arte y activismo, Barcelona, Spain, March 28, 2012 (via remote).
“Politics of Place,” invited moderator, Sounds of the City, EMP Pop Conference, NYC, March 25, 2012.
“A New Type of Old Book: Open Utopia,” invited panelist, Social Media Week, NYC, February 14, 2012.
“Design Research: Center for Artistic Activism,” invited class speaker, D-Crit research seminar, School of Visual Arts, NYC, February 8, 2012.
“Activist Technology,” invited panelist, Eyebeam Art and Technology Center, NYC, January 28, 2012.
“No-Place: Utopia as a Site of Resistance,” invited keynote speaker, Rethinking Resistance international philosophy conference, Macau, China, December 18, 2011.
“Occupy Everywhere: A New Paradigm of Political Protest?” invited talk, University of Macau, China, December 15, 2011.
“Artistic Activism: Tactics, Strategies and Goals,” invited talk to the USC Civic Cultures research group, Los Angeles CA, November 25, 2011
“Making Political Art Work: The Center for Artistic Activism and the Ideal of an Aesthetic Politics,” invited panelist, Curatorial Interventions symposium, New York University, NYC, November 17, 2011
“‘Political Expressionism, and other Fallacies of Political Art,” invited talk, with Steve Lambert, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA, November 10, 2011
“The Aesthetics of Politics: Artistic Activism from the 1950s to the Present,” invited keynote speaker, Museum Education Conference, The Getty Center/J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles CA, November 4, 2011
“Open Utopia: A Digital Archive,” paper and presentation at Archiving Utopia — Utopia in Archive, Society for Utopian Studies annual conference, State College, PA, October 22, 2011
“Occupy Wall Street as an Ethical Spectacle,” invited talk, Building Better Speech class, Parsons School of Design, October 12, 2011
“Waking from the Nightmare of History: Utopia as a solution to the problems of Utopia,” invited talk, Fulbright Summer School in the Humanities, Moscow State University, Russia, June 2, 2011 (via remote)
“Geographies of Anarchy,” invited talk, The Hannah Arendt and Reiner Schurmann Symposium: The Anarchist Turn, New School for Social Research, New York, May 6, 2011
“Fantasy Against Fantasy: New Tactics of Consumer Activism,” invited talk, Reconsidering Commodities and Markets Seminar, Essex University, UK , May 4, 2011 (via remote)
“From Left-Wing Spectacle to Open Utopia,” invited talk, Copenhagen Commune, Copenhagen, Denmark, April 9, 2011
“Imagining No-Place: The Subversive Mechanics of Utopia,” invited talk, Utopia Revisited conference, ARKEN Museum for Modern Art, Ishoj, Denmark, April 8, 2011
“Solidarity and Communications” and “Protest and Aesthetics,” panelist, Left Forum, New York, March 19, 2011
“Scholarly Production in the Digital Age: The Open Utopia,” invited talk, D-Crit research seminar, School of Visual Arts, New York, March 17, 2011
“Activism in Performance,” invited panelist, NoPassport conference, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New York, March 4, 2011
“Utopia Now: Radical Imagination in the Wake of Historic Failure,” invited talk, De Balie, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, February 14, 2011
“Designing the Unreal Future,” invited talk, Design Theory Symposium, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany, February 11, 2011
“More’s Utopia, a Model for Radical Imagination,” invited talk, Judson Academy for Open Thinking, Judson Memorial Church, New York, February 7, 2011
“Byproduct: On the Excess of Embedded Art Practices,” invited respondent, Postmasters Gallery, New York, December 12, 2010
“Learning from Las Vegas: New Organizing Strategies,” invited talk, The Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies, New York, December 7, 2010
“Art of the Impossible: The Politics of Utopian Imagination and Expression,” invited talk, Annenberg Research Seminars, Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, November 29, 2010
“Disobedience & Innovation: Inspiring Change,” invited moderator, Emerging Leaders of New York Arts/Eyebeam, New York, October 28, 2010
“Identifying Ethical Spectacle,” invited talk, Civics Research Group, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, September 21, 2010 (via remote)
“Utopia is No Place: The Art and Politics of Impossible Futures,” invited talk, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis MN, July 28, 2010
“Direct Action Games,” invited panelist, Games for Change festival, New York, May 26, 2010
“Political Imagination,” invited talk at the Institute for the Future, San Jose, CA, May 18, 2010
“Academic Authority,” invited “provocateur,” The Digital University conference, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, April 21, 2010
“Researching Popular Culture,” invited talk, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, March 17, 2010
“Spectacular Utopias and Impossible Futures,” invited keynote address, Inheriting Histories, Imagining Futures conference, York University, Canada, March 12, 2010
“The Art and Politics of Spectacle,” invited plenary speaker, Culture Clash: The Transformative Power of Popular Culture, Brecht Forum, New York, January 30, 2010
“The Politics of Political Art,” invited talk at Washington University, Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts, St Louis, MO, November 23, 2009
“Transmedia for Social Change,” invited panelist, Futures of Entertainment conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, November 20, 2009
“Branding the New Deal,” invited talk at The Change You Want To See space as part of the Symbols, Branding and Persuasion lecture series, New York City, October 26, 2009
“College of Tactical Culture,” invited panelist, Conflux Festival, New York City, September 18, 2009.
“Networked Subjectivity and Distributed Imagination,” invited talk at Connective Mutations, 16 Beaver Space, New York City, September 6, 2009
“Public Practice: Activists and Vanguards” invited panelist, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, New York City, July 16, 2009
“Art and Social Imagination,” invited panelist, Vinzavod Center for Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia, June 21, 2009
“Art of the Impossible,” talk at the Left Forum, New York City, April 18, 2009
“What Changes with Obama? Interrogating the New Terrain,” keynote speaker, What is Change? Conference, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Columbia University, March 26, 2009
“Re-Imagining Radical Activism for the 21st Century, or: how I learned to stop worrying and love Las Vegas,” invited talk at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, March 6, 2009
“Politics and Popular Culture,” invited panelist, Communications Forum and Center for Future Civic Media, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, February 26, 2009
“Art, Activism, and the Interventionist’s Gesture,” invited panelist, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Center, New York City, February 24, 2009
“The Art of the New Deal: Politics and Propaganda,” invited talk at the National Press Club, Washington DC, February 11, 2009
Invited panelist for “A Few Zines: Dispatches from the Edge of Architectural Production” Studio-X, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, January 8, 2009
“How To Win: The Politics of Political Art,” invited talk (with Steve Lambert) at Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Harvard University, December 10, 2008
“New Media, New Terrain, New Activism,” invited talk in the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, November 25, 2008
“Is There an Underground on the Internet? Zines, Blogs and the Democratization of Alternative Culture,” keynote speaker at the Underground conference, CUNY Graduate Center, New York City, November 7, 2008
“From Signs to Change: Thinking Through the Relationship between Art and Social Transformation,” invited panelist for “Accessing the History and Future of Social Movement Culture,” as part of the Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now exhibit, Exit Art Gallery, New York City, September 25, 2008
“The Politics of Political Art,” invited speaker, New York Arts Program, Ohio Wesleyan University, New York City, September 22, 2008
“Our Unreal Future: Understanding the Power of Fantasy,” invited plenary speaker at The Contested Terrain of Consumption Studies conference, Boston College, July 31, 2008
“The Politics of Imagining the Future,” invited series of talks on at the Hawaii Research Center for Futures Studies and the Political Science Department, University of Hawaii, Manoa, May 8th and 9th, 2008
Invited panelist, “Expression=Life: ACT UP, Video and the AIDS Crisis,” Deep Dish TV/NYU, NYC, April 18, 2008
Invited participant in Democracy in America (“Town Hall Meetings” of artists and activists also taking place in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Baltimore) organized by Creative Time, NYC, March 13, 2008
Invited panelist for “We Can’t Believe, We Must Believe” at The Change You Want To See gallery space, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, March 3, 2008
“But Does It Work? Understanding Efficacy in Political Art,” keynote speaker at Dreaming the Americas: The Body Politic and Performance conference at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, CUNY Graduate Center, NYC, February 22, 2008
“Learning from Las Vegas: A Possibility of Progressive Persuasion?” invited talk at Where the Truth Lies: Issues of Contemporary Propaganda conference, CUNY Graduate Center, NYC, February 15, 2008
“Politics in the Age of YouTube,” invited talk/discussion with Henry Jenkins, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA, February 10, 2008
“What’s So Political About Political Art?” invited talk at the Department of Electronic Arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, November 14, 2007
“Imagination and Efficacy: The Ethical Spectacle,” paper presented at the Performance Studies International conference, NYU, NYC, November 9, 2007.
“The Problematic Politics of Resistance,” invited talk at The 3Rs: Reform, Revolution and Resistance forum at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago IL, November 6, 2007
“Dream,” invited talk at Demos think tank, NYC, June 5, 2007
“Activist Culture and the State of Radical Art” keynote speaker and panel moderator at The Center for the Humanities, CUNY Graduate Center, NYC, April 24, 2007
“Dreampolitik,” invited talk at The Change You Want to See Gallery, Brooklyn, March 27, 2007
“Progressive Politics in a Phantasmagorical Age,” invited talk at the Brecht Forum, New York, February 21, 2007.
“Re-imagining Activism,” invited talk for Blue Wave New Jersey (Progressive Democratic Party Activists), Montclair, NJ, February 6, 2007
“The Ethical Spectacle: The Politics of Performance in the 1960s and Today,” invited participant for 1968: Global Resistance/Local Knowledge conference, Drew University, NJ, November 4, 2006
“Re-Imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy” talk at the Rethinking Marxism conference, U Mass Amherst, MA, October 26, 2006
“Ethical Spectacle: Must Fantasy Lead to Fascism?” invited talk at Deutsches Haus at NYU, NYC, April 18, 2006
with Andrew Mattson, “Crime, Celebrity and Newspapers in 1920s New York,” invited talk at 92nd Street Y, Gotham Center for New York History, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, NYC, Winter-Spring 2006
“Applying Marx to the 21st Century,” invited talk for the 27th Marxist Intensive, Brecht Forum, NYC, July 24, 2005.
“Anarchism” panel, invited participant at the Global Left Forum, April 17, Spring 2005
“The Joy of Protest,” invited participant at the Life after Capitalism conference, NYC, August 24, 2004
“Bohemia in the Suburbs,” invited talk for the Long Island Free Space, Long Island, NY, Winter, 2004
“Is Censorship an Archaic Concern? The Politics of Informational Abundance” invited talk at the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Censorship in Camouflage series, New School University, NYC, June 17, 2003
“The Kids Are All Right: Contemporary Activism and Pragmatic Action,” invited talk for Operation How, Now, Wow, NYC, April 26, 2003
“Democracy, Community and Commerce: The Function and History of the Press,” invited talk for the Ethnic Press Fellowship, New School University, NYC, Winter 2003
“Cultural Strategies in Contemporary North American Direct Action Activist Movements” paper at the Pavis Centre for Social and Cultural Research/Open University conference, Oxford, UK, September 18, 2002
“Innovative Organizing,” invited talk given at The Brecht Forum, NYC, February 6, 2002
Moderator of “Rhetorics of Coincidence and the Art of Counter-Narration,” panel at the Culture Jamming conference, New York University, NYC, February 23, 2001
“Comrade/Professor” paper given at panel sponsored by Radical Teacher at the Rethinking Marxism conference, Amherst, September 23, 2000
“The New Public Sphere: Pillar of Democracy or Tower of Babel?” invited talk for Public Intellectuals: The Cyberspace Generation forum at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, September 21, 2000
“Alternative Media in a High School Setting,” invited talk and workshop for New York City public school teachers sponsored by Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, New York, Winter 2000.
“Resistant Culture. Resistant Politics?” invited talk given at The Depot, Vienna, Austria, October 22, 1999.
Readings at: 92nd Street Y, NYC, 92nd Street Y (West Side Annex), NYC; Bluestockings Books, NYC, Meow Mix, NYC; Brecht Forum, NYC; Labyrinth Bookstore, NYC; Yippie Museum Café, NYC, VoxPop, Brooklyn, NY; Wooden Shoe, Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore, MD; Mid-Atlantic Radical Book Fair, Baltimore, MD; Modern Times Bookstore, San Francisco CA; Laughing Horse Books, Portland OR; Annie Bloom’s, Portland OR, Left Bank Books, Seattle WA; Elliott Bay Books, Seattle WA (X2); Busboys and Poets, Washington DC; Greenlight Books, Brooklyn NY; 1997-present
OTHER MEDIA, EXHIBITIONS and PERFORMANCES
Consultant, The Utopia Project: Inspiration for Creative Activism, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, Washington DC, November 1, 2022 – March 1, 2023.
Pop Culture Salvage Expeditions Podcast, with Patricia Jerido and Steve Lambert, 2015 – 2020. Named “New and Noteworthy” in the Philosophy category by Apple iTunes for May of 2015.
Artistic Activism Fundamentals, C4AA Webinar series, with Steve Lambert, lessons 1-20, 2016-2018.
“Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide,” text and video loop, Propaganda News Machine show, Creative Association of Curators TOK, Flux Factory, Queens, NY, February 17-25, 2016. Show re-staged as States of Control, Gallery Augusta, Helsinki, Finland, August 17-October 1, 2017..
“Art of Imagination,” image and text, Meaning Making Meaning: Art and Pedagogy show, Valand Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, March 16 – April 2, 2016
Project Director, Designing for Free Speech design competition, Theatrum Mundi/The American Institute of Architects, designingforfreespeech.org, 2014.
“Cultural Intelligence Operations,” invited respondent to a performance by Konrad Becker, Austrian Cultural Forum, NYC, December 13, 2012.
“Punk Rock in Africa,” film introduction, with Max Tremblay, The Colloquium for Unpopular Culture, NYC, May 8, 2012
“White Riot?” curated film clips with commentary, with Max Tremblay, Union Docs, Brooklyn NY, September 18, 2011.
“Utopia is No Place” curated YouTube clips with video introduction, for the YouTube School for Social Politics, screened at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, July-August, 2010.
“The Examined Life,” public interview of Astra Taylor, director of The Examined Life, Union Docs, Brooklyn, October 3, 2009
“Bringing the War Home: IVAW’s Operation First Casualty,” curated video and text, In Media Res, MediaCommons/futureofthebook.org, posted September 11, 2009
Contributor, (faux) “Special Edition” of the New York Times, November 12, 2008/July 4, 2009
Movie rights to The Bobbed Haired Bandit optioned, Fearless Films/TickleTime Productions, 2006-2007
Irregular Blogger, Reality Sandwich , 2007-2012
“Censorship? So What” and “Politics in an Age of Fantasy” invited performances at Rants and Rhapsodies, Bowery Poetry Club, NYC, October 2006 and January 2007
“The Truth Sets No One Free,” invited performance at THAW/NOPE, The Culture Project, NYC, April 17, 2006
“Culture and Dissent,” audio curricular material for Open University political studies course DD203, UK, 2004
“Talking Music and Politics,” edited roundtable discussion, The Activist, Winter 2000
Humanities Advisor to This American Life, nationally syndicated public radio show, 1998-2000.
Regular Commentator on Anthem, nationally syndicated public radio show, 1998-99.
with Andrew Mattson, co-editor of Primary Documents #’s 1-7, covering: “Immigration,” “Sensationalism,” “African-Americans and TV,” “Cities,” “Radio and Utopia,” “Children as Consumers,” and the “Spanish-American War.” PD is a periodical of annotated primary documents covering social and media history, 1995-1999. Excerpts from issues #5 and # 6 were featured in Harper’s Magazine, September 1996 and February 1997, respectively.
Advisor to “In The Marketplace of Private Life,” an art exhibit at the Photographic Resource Center, Boston University, Boston MA, Fall 1999 and traveling to the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, Winter 1999; Deborah Bright, Curator.
Regular host of “Blows Against the Empire” on Steal This Radio, pirate radio of the Lower East Side, NYC, 1997-99.
Advisor to “Counterculture,” an exhibit on the alternative press at Exit Art, NYC, Spring 1996; Brian Wallis, Curator.
“Leisler’s Rebellion,” public art piece as part of REPOhistory Street Sign Project, 1992-93.
Featured role in Crash the G8 Party, documentary video, Paper Tiger TV, 1999
Featured role in Subverting Media: A Low-Tech Guide to Information Activism, documentary video, Paper Tiger TV, 1998
with Stephanie Basch, “From Darkness Into Light, or from Justification to Mystification: An Illustrated History of Race and Representation in the United States,” WWIII Illustrated Comic Book, New York: 1994.
Feature Interviews:
Print: O Globo (Brazil) November 6, 2022; Vaghaye Etefaghiye (Iran) February 1, 2018; Folha de S. Paulo (Brazil) May 30, 2013; il manifesto (Italy) February 16, 2013; The Chronicle of Higher Education, “Hot Type,” November 30, 2012; Open Field (Walker Art Center) 2012; Punk and Post Punk, 1(1) 2012, with Max Tremblay; Carta Capital (Brazil), December 3, 2010, Liberazione (Italy), December 13, 2008, The Indypendent/IndyMedia, September 4, 2007; PRINT magazine, July/August 2007; Valor Econômico, (Brazil),April 9, 2007; The Village Voice, Feb. 28-March 6, 2007; Terminal City, March 13, 2000; Punk Planet, #37, 2000.
Web: The Cultural Studies Podcast, March 25, 2024; The Cultural Studies Podcast, December 19, 2023; The Village Sun, November 24, 2021; Clamor, November 23, 2021; Waging Nonviolence, December 20, 2021; Intelligent Mischief/Instagram Live, April 13, 2020; Life Elsewhere/NPR podcast, July 11, 2017; Socrates Cafe Podcast, February 2, 2017; We Make Money Not Art (England), March 17, 2014, with Steve Lambert; p/art/icipate (Austria), issue #2, March 2013; Dinamo Press (Italy) February 23, 2013; Idiom, October 26, 2012, with Steve Lambert; LocalFlux, June 18, 2012; Social Media Week, February 13-17, 2012; STIR (UK), November 20, 2011, with Max Tremblay; Souciant magazine, October 10, 2011, with Max Tremblay; AV Club/The Onion, October 6, 2011; Guardian UK, September 2, 2011, with Max Tremblay (podcast); Terra (Brazil) May 5, 2011 & July 9, 2008; Terra Incognita, March 18, 2009 (streaming video); ds4si (Design Studio for Social Intervention), October 1, 2007; Addicted to Race, August 8, 2007 (podcast); Confessions of an Aca-Fan (Henry Jenkins), July 23&24, 2007; Buzz Flash, July 7, 2007; MRzine, February 23, 2007.
Television and Film: WBUR News (Boston PBS) October 27, 2022; TRT World Forum (Turkey) October 13, 2021 ; Senadora Jesusa Rodriguez, Livestream (Mexico) June 15, 2019 ; France 24 (France) December 7, 2018; RTL Television (Germany) November 2, 2018; Let Fury Have the Hour (feature film), 2012; NBC Nightly News, November 20, 2011; Globo TV (Brazil) October 11, 2011, May 18, 2011, October 19, 2010 & April 8, 2010; Metrópolis TVE 2 (Spain, February 28, 2010; Canal +(France) March 21, 2008; SBT Brasil (Brazil) May 23, 2008.
Radio: National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” “Morning Edition,” and “Here and Now,” US; Air America’s “Radio Nation” and “Clout,” US; Newstalk, Dublin, Ireland; Radio France, François Teste; ARD German Public Radio; Sveriges Radio, Swedish Public Radio; “Soundcheck” and “The Brian Lehrer Show,” WNYC, New York NY; “AirTalk,” KPCC, Southern California Public Radio; “Word of Mouth,” New Hampshire Public Radio; “Space+Place,” CJSW, Calgary, Canada; WBAI, New York, NY; Council of Europe, vox.populi, France; WVRB (pirate) New York NY; WFMU, Jersey City, NJ; “Michael Eric Dyson Show” WEAA, Baltimore MD; KPFK, Los Angeles CA; KUCI, Orange County CA; KPFA, Berkeley CA; KALW, San Francisco CA; KRCL, Salt Lake City UT; WMPG, Portland ME; KBOO, Portland OR; KPSU, Portland OR; WORT, Madison, WS; KSFR, Sante Fe NM; WGNU, St Louis MO; KOPN (X2), Columbia MO; WEBR, Fairfax VA; WPKN, Bridgeport CT; 11:11 Radio, US; WMOR, Provincetown MA.
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Executive Committee, American Association of University Professors, NYU chapter, 2004-2011, 2014-2016.
Editorial Boards: International Journal of Communications; Journal of Resistance Studies.
Editorial Advisory Board: Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy; Conjunctions. Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation; Labortorio (Laboratorio de Ciencia Humanas, Universidad de San Martín, Argentina); Galactica: Journal of Media Studies (Russia)
Advisory Council: Governance Futures Lab/Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, CA
Research Grant Assessor: Fulbright Program, Institute of International Education, Russia, 2014, 2015, 2016; Rauschenberg Foundation, 2016; Independent Social Research Foundation UK (ISRF), 2016; Swedish Foundation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2016; Open Societies Foundations, 2016; Austrian Science Fund (FWF) 2019; Research Council KU Leuven (Belgium) 2020; National Science Center (Poland) 2020; Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS-KNAW), 2020; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 2004, 2022; Marsden Fund, Royal Society (New Zealand) 2022; Fund for Scientific Research-FNRS (Belgium) 2020, 2022.
Manuscript Reader: Oxford University Press, MIT Press, New York University Press, Columbia University Press, Open University Press, University of California Press, University of North Carolina Press, University of Minnesota Press, Indiana University Press, Temple University Press, SUNY Press, Ediciones Universidad Cooperitiva de Columbia, Verso Press, Routledge Press, Zed Press, Pluto Press, Polity Press, Minor Compositions/Autonomedia, Palgrave/Macmillan, Contexts (ASA), Journal of Public Culture, Popular Communication, Perspectives on European Politics and Society, Sociology Compass, International Journal of Communication, Social Text, American Studies, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, Social Movement Studies, Journal of Resistance Studies, Public Culture, American Periodicals, Cultural Sociology, The Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics, and Culture, New Media and Society, New Political Science, Communication, Culture and Critique, EPC: Politics and Space, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts.
Dissertation Committees: New York University: Department of Media, Culture and Communication, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, Department of Music, Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions; Columbia University: English, Communications; New School for Social Research: Political Science; CUNY Graduate Center: Social Work; University of Hawaii: Political Science; University of Melbourne: School of Fine Arts, Australia; Edith Cowan University, Communications, Australia; University of Wollongong, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, Australia; Roskilde University: Doctoral School of Society and Globalization, Denmark; Massey University, Creative Writing, New Zealand.
Student Mentoring and Student Crits (Non-NYU) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Washington University, St. Louis; Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic; Roskilde University, Denmark; Konstanzia Post Doc Fellowship; Konstanz University, Germany; Scholars in Residence, University of Puerto Rico (administered by NYU).
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Faculty Co-Director, MA Program, Gallatin, 2023-2024
Chair, Senior Promotion and Tenure Committee, Gallatin, 2022-23
Member, Distinguished Teaching Award Committee, Gallatin, 2022-23
Member, Faculty Technology Committee, Gallatin, 2020-23
Chair, Curriculum Committee, Gallatin, 2004-2006, 2021-2022
Member, Executive Committee, Gallatin, 2006-2007, 2008-2010, 2021-2022
Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Gallatin 2006-2008, 2012-2013, 2019-2021
Faculty Senator, T-FSC, for Gallatin, NYU, 2016-2018, 2019-21
Chair, T-FSC Nominations Committee, NYU, 2017-2018
Co-Chair, T-FSC Governance Committee, NYU, 2016-2018
Member, Distinguished Teaching Award Committee, NYU, 2021-2022
Member, Undergraduate Program Committee, NYU, 2021-2022
Member, Future of Technology-Enhanced Education, Spring 2021
Member, Tisch Senior Promotions Committee, NYU, 2017-2018
Member, Open Access Monograph Publishing Initiative, NYU, 2017-2021
Member, Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee, NYU, 2016-2021
Member, Library Faculty Advisory Group, NYU, 2016-2018
Chair, Committee on Individualized Studies, Gallatin, 2014-2015
Chair, Advising and Policy Committee, Gallatin, 2008-2010
Faculty Co-Chair, Gallatin, 2004-2006
Steering Committee, Hemispheric Institute at NYU, 2011-present
Steering Committee, Provost’s Council for Media and Culture, NYU, 2006-2010
Steering Committee, Community Learning Initiative, Gallatin, 2000-2010
Member, Gallatin Faculty Technology Committeem 2020-present
Member, Senior Promotion and Tenure Committee, Gallatin 2015-present
Member, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Gallatin 2011-2024
Member, Arts Committee, Gallatin, 2010-present
Member, MA Committee, Gallatin, 2011-2014
Member, Academic Working Group on Global Sites, NYU, 2012
Member, Curriculum Committee, Gallatin, 2000-2007
Also: Convocation Speaker, Commencement Speaker, NYU Alumni Speaker, Gallatin Alumni Weekend Speaker, NYU Leadership Speaker, “Model Class” instructor for Diversity Weekend and NYU Amissions, University Day Speaker, NYU Civic Camp Presenter; participant in: Gallatin Budget Committee, Dinalogue, Gallatin Coffee House, Albert Gallatin Lecture Series, Gallatin Film Series, Donor’s Breakfast, Dean’s Council, Parents’ Day, Mock Colloquium, Third Year Symposium, Gallatin Teachers Reading; multiple Search Committees for Gallatin, Department of Media, Culture and Communication, and NYU Global; Research Consultant for Scholars-in-Residence (SIR) program, NYU Weekend on the Square “Trailblazer” presentation, Center for Faculty Advancement “Teach Talk” panel, 1999-present
COURSES TAUGHT (at NYU)
Undergraduate:
Struggle for the Word: History of Mass Media I
The Image: History of Mass Media II
Digital Revolution: History of Mass Media III
From Citizen to Consumer
Cultural Resistance
Politics of Media: Power, Persuasion, Perception
The Social Construction of Reality
Jacques Rancière and the Politics of Aesthetics
Antonio Gramsci and the Power of Culture
Walter Lippmann and the Manufacture of Consent
How Art Works
Politics of Style (team-taught with Nina Cornyetz)
Politics of Culture, Culture of Politics (team-taught with Sinan Antoon, Ritty Lukose, George Shulman )
Gallatin Creative Laboratory: Art, Media, Politics (team taught with Keith Miller)
Persuasion! (team taught with Hallie Franks)
Graduate:
Theory and Methods in the Social Sciences
Thesis Proposal Seminar
Democratic Persuasion: New Deal Media and Art
Media Activism
Activist Art and Creative Activism
Communication and Persuasion: Sociological Propaganda
WORKSHOPS
“School for Creative Activism,” long course led with Steve Lambert, North Carolina Community Organizers, Mebane, NC, April 1-3, 2011, New York Area Artists and Activists, New York, NY, May 13-15, 2011; Equitable Texas State Budget, Austin, TX, June 19-11, 2012, United for a Fair Economy, Boston, MA, August 3-5, 2012; Incarcerated Youth and Family Rights, Houston, TX, October 26-28, 2012; Occupy Faith, Ivoryton, CT, November 9-11, 2012; HIV and Maternal Health, Nairobi, Kenya, March 19-22, 2013, Muslim-American Organizers, Warwick, New York, May 31-June 2, 2013; Iraq Veterans Against the War, Chicago, IL, July 29-31, 2013; Undocumented Youth Immigration Activists, San Antonio, TX, September 13-15, 2013; Changin’ Scotland, Glasgow, Scotland, November 1-3, 2013; GLTBQ and Roma Rights, Skopje, Macedonia, March 18-23, 2014; Access to Medicine, Barcelona, Spain, December 15-18, 2014, SWEAT and Sisonke (sex worker rights) Cape Town, South Africa, May 30-April 2, 2015; LGBTQI rights, Atlanta, GA, September 24-27, 2015; TGEU (transgender rights),Berlin, Germany, October 8-11, 2015; Greenpeace, Washington DC, January 9-13, 2017.
“School for Creative Activism,” short course led with Steve Lambert, Family Values at Work, Ford Foundation, New York, December 3, 2012; United for a Fair Economy, Boston MA, June 5, 2013; Beautiful Trouble/CAA/Yes Labs joint training, New York, February 8, 2014; Auburn Seminary, Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago IL, April 25, 2014; Humanity in Action conference on Art and Activism, New York, October 17, 2015; Jewish Voices for Peace, New York, October 24, 2016; Greenpeace, Washington DC, April 30, 2017.
“Art Action Academy,” long course led with Steve Lambert, Portland State University, Social Practice Arts Program, January 17-19, 2013; CEC ArtsLink, Saint Petersburg, Russia, June 2-6, 2014; OSF Arts Exchange, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, August 10-12, 2016; NEA, Queens Museum, Series of 7 Saturday Workshops, Queens, New York, October 8-November 20, 2016; European sex workers and artists, Dublin, Ireland, December 13-17, 2016; OSF Arts Exchange, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY, October 11-14, 2017; NEA, Queens Museum, series of weekend workshops, Queens, New York, October 7-28, 2017, OSIWA, Conakry, Guinea, December 18-22, 2017; OSF Arts Exchange, Skopje, Macedonia, June 5-9, 2018.
“Art Action Academy,” short course led with Steve Lambert, iSchool NYC public high school, November 29 & December 20, 2012; October 4 & 25, 2013; Incubate Festival, Tilburg, The Netherlands, September 14, 2012; Tribeca Film Festival fellows program, NYC, March 23, 2012; Creative Time Summit, New York City, November 14, 2015; Creative Capital, New York City, May 23, 2016, Creative Capital, New York City, May 4, 2017; Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, Washington DC, May 6, 2022
“Creative Activism Hubs,” curriculum development workshops led with Steve Lambert and Rebecca Bray, OSF Arts Exchange, Skopje, Macedonia, October 14-21, 2018; OSF Arts Exchange, Skopje, Macedonia, April 6-12, 2019; Action Aid Denmark, Accra, Ghana, May 4-11, 2019; OSF West Balkan Creative Lab, Sarajevio, Bosnia, October 13-19, 2019; OSF Arts Exchange, Dakar, Senegal, December 17-21, 2019.
“Imagining Utopia,” workshop led with Steve Lambert, PS3 Charrette Elementary School, NYC, February 21, 2013; Creative Time Summit, NYC, October 13, 2012; Artists and educators from Pakistan, organized through the “Art for Social Change” program of the American Embassy in Islamabad, November 22, 2013; Blade of Grass Fellowship Program, NYC, January 16, 2016; The Kenan Project, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, September 26, 2018; Guerilla Science Conference, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY, November 3, 2018.
“Tactical Culture,” led with Steve Lambert, Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, NYC, June 30 – July 16, 2009.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
Co-Chair, Parent Action Committee, PS3 Elementary School, New York City, 2013-2014
School Leadership Team, PS3 Elementary School, New York City, 2009-2011
Organizer, Reclaim the Streets/New York City, 1998-2004
Co-founder, Lower East Side Collective, community-based activist group, 1997-2000
Member, Board of Directors, Brecht Forum/NYMS, 1990-96.
Member, REPOhistory, Artist/Historian Collective, 1990-93
Also active in various support roles and consultation to a variety of groups and organizations including the Community Labor Coalition, Judson Memorial Church, Auburn Theological Seminary/Auburn Media, Charas/El Bohio Community Center, Good Jobs New York, Billionaires for Bush/United for a Fair Economy, Election of Citycouncilwoman Margarita Lopez, CIRCA, CISPES, ACT UP!, UNITE! Local 169, ACT/UAW, JFREJ, Nicaragua Solidarity Network, Mexican American Workers Association, United for Peace and Justice, GoLeft, Times Up, Transportation Alternatives, Picture the Homeless, Breakthrough, Agit-Pop, ROC-United, et al.
WORKS IN PROGRESS:
Books:
Art as Activism Reader, with Dipti Desai, In Press, O/R Press