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Biz Nijdam is an Assistant Professor Teaching in the Department of Central, Eastern, Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She serves as the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the German Program, having previously taught at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Biz completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at Freie Universität Berlin and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She established the UBC Comics Studies Cluster and leads the UBC Popular Media Social Change Research Excellence Cluster. Her research focuses on the role of popular culture in reflecting social and political discourse, with particular attention to comics, digital games, and Indigenous storytelling. Biz is actively involved in student outreach and has published extensively on issues such as representation and decolonization in graphic narratives. She has received several SSHRC grants, underscoring her commitment to integrating social justice into her pedagogy and research. Biz aims to support the UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan through her work in German Studies and Indigenous methodologies.
University of British Columbia • Vancouver, Canada
Teaching and conducting research in the Department of Central, Eastern, Northern European Studies.
Freie Universität Berlin •
Completed a postdoctoral fellowship focusing on comics and popular culture.
Whitman College • Walla Walla, Washington
Taught various courses related to German studies and popular media.
Offers course-only and thesis routes. Focus areas include philosophy of science, mind, ethics, and Asian philosophy.