speaking
I regularly offer public lectures, workshops, and readings at universities, galleries, and other venues. Contact me for booking details.
Recent and Upcoming Events
Book Talk (in conversation with Ricardo Wilson), Northshire Books, Manchester, VT, April 29, 2023
Book Talk, Ohioana Book Festival, Columbus, OH, April 23, 2023
Book Signing at AWP Bookfair (UNC Press booth), Seattle, WA, March 10, 2023
Book talk at The Center for Humanistic Inquiry, Amherst College, Amherst, MA, November 30, 2022
Book talk at Howe Library, Hanover, NH, November 10, 2022
Book talk for We the Dead (in conversation with Jessica Fjeld), Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, October 11, 2022 (not open to the public)
We the Dead Book Launch, Bennington College, Deane Carriage Barn, Bennington, VT, September 28, 2022
Book talk for We the Dead, Green Mountain Writers Festival, Burlington, VT, September 24, 2022
"Bombproof Archives: Iron Mountain and the American Data Complex," Humanities Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, September 12, 2022
"After Life," Class of 1960's Scholars Lecture, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, April 29, 2022.
"Index Cards, Software, and Sweat: Writing and Publishing a Monograph,” Doctorate in Management Course (remote), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, December 2021.
"The Bettmann Morgue: Cold Storage, Digitization, and Archives of Racial Violence," (invited paper, remote) Conserving | Making | Art | History Conference, The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, April 2021.
"Stranger Than Nonfiction," Creative Nonfiction Workshop (remote). BreakBread Literacy Project. January 2021.
"Afrofuturist Archives: Preserving Hip Hop Culture in the Digital Age," Bennington College Music Mondays, November 2020.
"Arrangement of the Sensible: A Conversation with Brian Massumi and Erin Manning from SenseLab," co-hosted with Kenneth Bailey, Social Emergency Response Center, Design Studio for Social Intervention, November 2020.
"Is It Too Late for Collapse? A Conversation with Alexandre Monin and Cypriene Tesset from the Collapse Network & Brian Michael Murphy," Social Emergency Response Center, Design Studio for Social Intervention, November 2020.
Reading from We the Dead (remote), Pasadena City College, November 2020.
"How Not To Read a Book: Using Sources Effectively and Efficiently," First-Year Forum Workshop, Bennington College, November 2020
Poetry Reading (remote), Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA. September 2020.
“Rap Lyrics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” music history course, Songlines: 1000 Years of Music and Poetry, guest lecture, taught by Joseph Alpar, November 2019
“Data Bodies and Dataveillance,” guest lecture, dance course, Experiential Anatomy/Somatic Practices, taught by Elena Demyanenko, October 2019
“Black Genius,” guest lecture, music history course, Black Music Division—A Retrospective, taught by Michael Wimberly, Bennington College, May 2019
“Black Music is Black Music,” presentation in the Paul Robeson House (Deane Carriage Barn), Reflections on Black Music Division Exhibition Bennington College, April 2019
Panelist, “Dance at Bennington Presents: Guest Artist Miguel Gutierrez in Conversation,” Bennington College, February 2019
Past Presentations (selected)
Panelist, “The Role of Journalism in a Divisive Age,” Moderated by Vermont State Senator Brian Campion, Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Bennington College, Bennington, VT, November 2018
"Beautiful Decay," Faculty Works, Bennington College, Bennington, VT, September 2018
“We the Dead: Media Preservation and the Future of Memory in America,” Bennington College, Bennington, VT, March 2018
“Dystopian Fiction and the Future,” Vermont Humanities Council Annual Fall Conference: The Double-Edged Sword of Technology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, November 2017
“I Am Not Your Meme: Social Media and the Resurrection of James Baldwin,” The Clemmons Family Farm, co-sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council, Charlotte, VT, September 2017
“The Art of Biotechnology: 3-D Printed Bones, Microbial Selfies, and Living Colors,” Stoplight Gallery, Waking Windows Festival, sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council, Winooski, VT, May 2017
“Touchscreen Headstone: Speculations on the Digital Afterlife,” Blue Stool Speaker Series, Champlain College, Burlington, VT, April 2017
“Archaeology of ‘The Joy’: Nostalgia and the Architecture of Hip Hop Sound,” New England American Studies Association Annual Conference, Boston University, Boston, MA. March 2017.
“The Cloud is Not a Cloud: The Physical Footprint of Our Digital Lives,” Public Lecture for the Vermont Humanities Council’s Ideas on Tap Series. Arts Riot. Burlington, VT, November 2016
Keynote Panel Speaker, Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, Capital University, Bexley, OH, April 2016
“Is This a Lynching Image?: Forgotten Archives of White Supremacist Violence,” Media and Film Studies Program, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, April 2016
“The Classic Crates Time Capsule: A Prospectus,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, Atlanta, GA. March 2016.
“The Low-Pass Theory: The Materiality of ‘Pure’ Hip Hop Sound,” International Association for the Study of Popular Music—US Annual Conference, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. February 2015
“American Time Capsules: Top Five Greatest Hits,” American Studies Program Anniversary Luncheon, Miami University, Oxford, OH, October 2014
“‘You Get a Shining Screen’: Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Theaters as Resource Images,” Lines and Nodes: Media, Aesthetics and Infrastructure Symposium, New York University & Anthology Film Archives, New York, NY. September 2014
“A Silicon Monument: Preservation and Remediation in Trevor Paglen's ‘Last Pictures,’” Society for Cinema & Media Studies Annual Conference, Seattle, WA. March 2014
Panel Chair. “Technologies and Techniques II,” Society for Cinema & Media Studies Annual Conference, Seattle, WA. March 2014
“Preserving History, Preserving Debt: Time Capsules and the Material Culture of Capitalism,” American Studies Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. November 2013
Panel Organizer. “Debt as Social Obligation,” American Studies Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. November 2013
“The New Permanent Record: State Research on the Preservation of Paper and Microfilm, 1929-1938,” Futures of American Studies Institute, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH. June 2013
“Invisible Loss: The Digitization of the Bettmann Archive,” American Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico. November 2012
“Digital Images Set in Stone: The Reverse Trend in Media Preservation.” Presentation during session “Digital Shorts: New Platforms of Knowledge Production and Resistance,” American Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Juan, Puerto Rico. November 2012
“Inside the Gates: Digitization, Preservation, and the Corbis Archive,” New England American Studies Association Annual Conference, Providence, RI. October 2012
“The Fantasy of Permanent Preservation: Corbis and the Rematerialization of the Bettmann Archive,” Cultural Studies Association Annual Meeting. University of California, San Diego. San Diego, CA. March 2011
“The Spectacular Dead: P.T. Barnum, Joice Heth, and the Cultural Work of Corpses,” English Graduate Student Society’s 7th Graduate Conference on Performance and Performativity. Université de Montréal. Montréal, Quebec, Canada. March 2010
“The Work of ‘Exotic Objects’: Rendering the (Non)Human,” 14th Annual Graduate Symposium in Romance Studies. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN. March 2010
“Student Success: Does eLearning experience in high school translate into college success in distance education courses?” Youngstown State University Distance Learning Conference. Youngstown, OH. October 2009
“21st Century Skills and ePortfolios: Building Expertise for the Future,” OPCA/OASPA Annual Conference. Worthington, OH. January 2009
Co-Presenter, “Dissemination Grant and ePortfolio Interim Report.” Presented to the Ohio Department of Education. Columbus, OH. May 2009
Co-Presenter, “Skills for the 21st Century with ePortfolios.” Presented to Educational Service Center of Central Ohio, Columbus, OH. March 2009
“Post-Industrial Paint: Urban Ruins and the Rise of Street Art,” invited lecture, Arts Scholars Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, October 2007
“The Life of a Star,” keynote address, Student Achievement in Research and Scholarship Conference, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, February 2007
“STARS as a ‘Best Practice’ Approach to Diversity Graduate Education in Ohio’s Colleges and Universities & Reflections of McNair Scholar Faculty Mentors: Walking the Talk!” Panel participant, Ohio College Access and Success Conference, Columbus, OH, October 2005
“The Lost Skin of El Negro: Race and Memory in the Museo Nacional de Antropología,” 8th Annual Ohio State University Symposium on Hispanic and Luzo-Brazilian Literatures, Linguistics and Cultures, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, April 2005