Professor Dr. Sandra Ponzanesi

Biography

Sandra Ponzanesi is a Full Professor and Chair of Media, Gender, and Postcolonial Studies at Utrecht University. Her expertise lies in gender, postcolonial critique, and interdisciplinary perspectives. Her research interests encompass postcolonial studies, transnational feminist theories, comparative literature, Italian colonial history, European migration studies, visual culture, postcolonial cinema, and media conflict studies. Ponzanesi has received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Gender Studies from Utrecht University and has gained international experience as a visiting scholar at various prestigious institutions, including Columbia University and the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the principal investigator of multiple significant projects, including NWO's "Virtual Reality Empathy Machine" and the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions funded project Euterpe, which investigates transnational women's intellectual contributions. As the founder and director of the Postcolonial Studies Initiative, she actively promotes research in the field through lectures, conferences, and publications. Her work, characterized by an interdisciplinary method combining media studies and gender studies, focuses on the intersections of migration, identity, and digital technologies.

Research Interests

Experience