Dr. Toby Lee

Biography

Toby Lee is an Associate Professor and the Director of the Culture & Media Certificate Program at New York University. He holds a PhD in Anthropology and Film & Visual Studies from Harvard University, an MPhil in Modern Greek Literature from Oxford University, and a BA in Anthropology and Modern Greek Studies from Columbia University. His research interests encompass visual media anthropology, cultural institutions, cultural citizenship, film festival studies, expanded documentary, and cultures of surveillance. Lee is the author of the book 'Public Life Cinema: Conflict, Collectivity, and Austerity in Greece' published by University of California Press in 2020, which provides an ethnographic account of the Greek film world during the early years of the 'Greek crisis'. This work reflects on the role of arts and cultural production in illuminating the changing conditions and possibilities of public collective life in a neoliberal era. His writings have appeared in well-regarded journals such as Visual Anthropology Review, Millennium Film Journal, World Records, and Flow. An active practicing artist, his work spans multiple media including film, video, installation, and drawing, with exhibitions at noteworthy venues like the Locarno Film Festival and the Whitney Biennial. Lee is also a member of the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard and has received various grants and fellowships throughout his career.

Research Interests

Experience