I am Associate Professor of Media Sociology at Lehman College of the City University of New York (CUNY). My academic research to date is located at the nexus of cultural production, media, migration, identity, and intimacy. I also write frequently on these topics for the popular media. I hold a M.S. in journalism from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Cambridge, where I am a Life Member of King’s College.
I have been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the CUNY Research Foundation, the Canada Council for the Arts, and others. I am, since 2013, Visiting Professor in the Department of Communications at John Cabot University, in Rome, Italy. I have been DAAD Visiting Professor in the Institute for Media and Communication Studies at the Freie Universität Berlin, Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, Michaelmas Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge, Visiting Scholar at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), McCloy Fellow in Arts Journalism in Berlin from the American Council on Germany, Faculty Fellow at the Italian Diaspora Summer Studies Seminar (IDSSS) of the Calandra Institute at Queens College, and Faculty Fellow at the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics (CPCP) at the CUNY Graduate Center.
I am on the Steering Committee of the Black British Voices Project, a multi-partner research project based at the University of Cambridge. My book, The Amorous Migrant: Race, Relationships and Resettlement is forthcoming from Temple University Press, and my journalism and commentary have appeared in BBC News, British Future, Calvert Journal (now New East Digital Archive), Gay City News, History.com, HuffPost, The Independent, Le Monde Diplomatique, New York Observer, Notes from Poland, PBS.org, The Root, Toronto Star, The Voice (UK), and Vogue.
I have appeared as a commentator on BBC, NBC, and WNYC, and was a consultant and writer for the PBS documentary series, "Slavery and the Making of America."
*BBC News "Best of 2020" article; *New York Press Association (NYPA) Awards 2020 - 2nd place "Coverage of the Arts"