ASPECT Program at VT

ASPECT 2nd year students presented their dissertations in progress on April 24. Faculty and students gathered for this wonderful event. Congratulations to all our presenters who showcased the strong research taking shape in the program!

When Hannah Arendt said, "Action… is the only activity that goes on directly between men without the intermediary of things." We really felt that at ASPECT Conference 2026.

And also remember when Marx talked about, basically, 🥪 Subsistence! 🥯 we had to feel that ☺️

Thank you, Dr. Hozić, colleagues from U of Florida, and ASPECT alumni, for their meaningful participation in the dire times of academia. We will share and grow more.

From Blacksburg
With Love.

ASPECT Conference 2026 continued to improve the scholarly community that ASPECT's critical intellectual endeavors promised.

We hosted Dr. Aida Hozić from the University of Florida. Her plenary speech on Capitalism and Difference came from her upcoming book. The crowd listened to Dr. Hozić's research on bodies and the theorization of Capitalism that relates to the Ottoman Era and the Modern Industrial Era Balkans, which was teaching and thought-provoking for the listeners. Dr. Hozić, as she was introduced to the community as "007" of Critical Theory and ASPECT, contributed to our conference over two days.

We believe that our connections and solidarity within the scholarly communities have increased in these dire times that the Humanities and Social Sciences are facing.

Everyone please welcome to the annual ASPECT conference 2026 later this week!

Our theme is "Encounter and Difference: Beyond Domination and Violence" this year.

We will host Dr. Aida A. Hozić as our plenary speaker.
We start on Thursday evening and our panels, workshops, and the debate session will be on Friday. Please swipe to see the full program! 👉

You are all welcome to join us!

Our strong presence in the conference continued throughout the last week. ASPECT students, alums, and faculty were active, with 10+ panels, one of which was composed solely of ASPECT PhD students. The productive and promising efforts of our students and faculty received positive feedback from scholars worldwide, further proof of ASPECT's success in fulfilling its goal of being a scholarly community. We are proud of the team!

See you next year!

ASPECT faculty, students, and candidates are -so- there! 🥳
We proudly showcase our strong presence at the prestigious ISA 2026 conference in Columbus.

Right after her publication, our 2025 Graduate Dr. Sabrina K. Harris has been accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Women's Leadership Program at George Washington University!
Huge congrats to her, swipe for a brief information about Dr. Harris -->

We, again, proudly have excellent news from our alumni!

Meet Dr. Şengül Yıldız-Alanbay (currently in Arizona State University), who graduated from ASPECT in 2023!

It's our pleasure to announce that Aline Soares Souza de Souza successfully defended her dissertation, “Stories of Migration: Investigating Artistic Work to Encourage Social Change"

The committee noted especially Aline’s subtle use of social theory to underpin and guide her arts-based inquiry. Special thanks to her committee members: Max Stephenson (School of Public and International Affairs), Tyechia Thompson (English), Fernanda Rosa (STS), and Robert Leonard (School of Performing Arts).

Congratulation Dr. de Souza!
We wish you the best of luck.

🎓

Congrats to our PhD candidate Shreya H. Nurani presented in three conferences last semester:

-New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS), SUNY Brockport – “Temple as a Space for Narratives and Disputes”
-Southwest Conference on Asian Studies, Texas A&M – “Temples as Boundaries: Political Patronage and Spatial Negotiation at Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain”
-Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies Conference, University of Pittsburgh – “Temples as Thresholds: A Case Study of the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain”

Across these conferences, Shreya's research examined the Mahakaleshwar Temple redevelopment project in Ujjain as a political and narrative space rather than only a religious site. The presentations explored how large-scale, state-led temple redevelopment functions as a mechanism for shaping public narratives and influencing collective consciousness, creating emotional and bodily connectivity with devotees while simultaneously producing demarcation, exclusion, and spatial disconnectivity. By conceptualizing temples as narratives, boundaries, and thresholds, the work analyzed how government patronage transforms sacred spaces into sites of political messaging, negotiation, and dispute.

We are proud of our PhD candidate's increasing visibility in her field.