Dr. Allyson Field

Biography

Allyson Nadia Field’s scholarship contributes to evolving areas of study that investigate race representation in interdisciplinary contexts surrounding cinema. Her primary research interest is Black cinema, with a focus on the silent era film and contemporary filmmaking practices. Her work unifies broad theoretical inquiries into how film and visual media shape perceptions of race and ethnicity, and how media can perpetuate or challenge social inequities. Field's research is grounded in sustained archival investigation, integrating material concerns of film form and media theory with cultural questions of representation. A significant publication, "Uplift Cinema: Emergence of African American Film & Possibility of Black Modernity," explores the emergence of Black filmmaking practices preceding D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" and emphasizes cinema's role in self-fashioning within Black civic life during the 1910s. She also authored "Acts of Love: The Black Performance of a Kiss that Changed Film History," which examines a vital moment in early film history. Additionally, Field currently works on a project titled "Speculative Archive," applying inventive methods of speculation in film historiography. She has received significant accolades including the 2019 Academy Film Scholar award and has served as a co-curator for film exhibitions highlighting diverse narratives in cinema.

Research Interests

Experience