Governance

ASAP is committed to exploring the richness and diversity of the international contemporary arts as well as the critical methodologies used to elucidate them.

ASAP welcomes all forms of innovative or established scholarship that have as their primary purpose the advancement of learning about the contemporary arts. Predicated on the reality that the contemporary arts operate globally through the interaction of persons, cultures, systems of distribution, and translations of values, but also strongly supporting local articulations that may contest such circulation, it encourages groundbreaking scholarship but also fellowship and scholarly interaction among its constituents. We are opposed to any discriminatory practice against persons or ideas that undermines human flourishing and the free creation and dissemination of ideas; the association does not endorse any one critical methodology, political orientation toward the arts, or aesthetic criterion of evaluation.

ASAP Signs on to PACBI

The Association for the Study of the Arts of the Present supports the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. We welcome the participation and the study of artists and scholars of every nationality, ethnicity, and religion; however, we do not collaborate with, or accept funding from Israeli academic and cultural institutions. We reject the normalization of the ongoing occupation, of human rights violations, and of the genocide perpetrated against the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.

Motherboard 2024-2025

Past President:
Amber Musser

President:
Sarah Dowling

Vice President:
Jennifer Doyle

Second Vice President:
Maia Gil-Adí

Members at Large:
Nijah Cunningham
Jasmine Jamilah Mahmoud
Hayley O’Malley
Lindsay Thomas

Secretary:
Omari Weekes

Treasurer:
Alma Ruiz-Furlan

Communications Director:
Jay Shelat

ASAP Journal Editor-in-Chief:
Elizabeth Ho

ASAP/j Editor:
Alexandra Kingston-Reese

Conference Coordinator/Administrative Liaison:
Julian Wong-Nelson

Advisory Board

ASAP strives to represent diverse views about art and its contexts. Views expressed individually by the members of the advisory board and executive committee do not express the views or positions of the Association, which can be found in our mission statement. Advisory Board members serve a term of five years.

Mieke Bal, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Professor, University of Amsterdam (2014-19)
Jill Bennett, Associate Dean Research; Director, National Institute for Experimental Arts, NIEA, Dean’s Unit, Centre for Contemporary Art and Politics, UNSW Australia (2014-19)
Maaike Bleeker, Professor and the Chair of Theatre Studies, Ultrecht University (2014-19)
Anne Bogart, Professor, Head of Directing Concentration, Artistic Director of SITI Company, Columbia University (2014-19)
Wendy Hui Kyong Chun, Professor and Chair of Modern Culture and Media, Brown University
Jill Dolan, Annan Professor in English, Professor of Theater in the Lewis Center for the Arts, Director of the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Princeton University (2014-19)
Johanna Drucker, Bernard and Martin Breslauer Professor of Bibliography, Department of Information Studies, UCLA (2014-19)
Laura Letinsky, Artist, Professor of Visual Art, University of Chicago (2014-19)
China Miéville, author, comic writer and academic
Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, Professor of Music Mediated Arts, European Graduate School (2010-15)
Sianne Ngai, Professor of English, Stanford University (2014-19)
Wang Ning, Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Director of the Center for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies, Tsinghua University (2012-17)
Marjorie Perloff, Professor Emerita of English at Stanford University and Scholar-in-Residence, the University of Southern California (2012-17)
James P. Phelan, Humanities Distinguished Professor, Department of English, Ohio State University, and editor of NARRATIVE(2014-19)
Peggy Phelan, Ann O’Day Maples Professor in the Arts, Professor of Drama and of English, Stanford University
Yinka Shonibare, MBE, Visual Artist (2014-19)
Terry Smith, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, University of Pittsburgh (2012-17)
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature and English, University of California, Irvine (2010-15)
Eyal Weizman, Professor of Spatial & Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, London (2014-19)

Past Executive Committees

MOTHERBOARD 2023-2024

President:
Amber Musser, City University of New York, The Graduate Center

Vice President:
Sarah Dowling, University of Toronto

Second Vice President:
Jennifer Doyle, University of California, Riverside

Past President:
Karen Tongson, University of Southern California

Members-at-Large:
Summer Kim Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
Jasmine Jamillah Mahmoud, University of Washington
Nijah Cunningham, City University of New York, Hunter College

Secretary:
Ken Allan, Seattle University

Treasurer:
Alma Ruiz-Furlan, Claremont Graduate University

Communications Director:
Jay N Shelat, Ursinus College

ASAP/Journal Editor-in-Chief:
Elizabeth Ho, University of Hong Kong
ASAP/J Editor:
Alexandra Kingston-Reese, University of York

Conference Coordinator/Administrative Liaison:
Julian Wong-Nelson

2020-2021 Motherboard

President:
Tatiana Flores, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Vice President:
Karen Tongson, University of Southern California

Second Vice President:
Dixa Ramírez D’Oleo, Brown University

Past President:
Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, Washington University in St. Louis

Members-at-Large:
Lauren Cramer, University of Toronto; Joshua Javier Guzmán, University of California at Los Angeles

Secretary:
Ken Allan, Seattle University

Treasurer:
Maria Bose, Clemson University

Communications Director:
Kinohi Nishikawa, Princeton University

Conference Liaison:
Darwin Tsen, Carthage College

ASAP/Journal Editor:
Elizabeth Ho, University of Hong Kong

ASAP/J Editor:
Alexandra Kingston-Reese, University of York

2019-2020 Motherboard

President:
Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, Washington University in St. Louis

Vice President:
Tatiana Flores, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Second Vice President:
Karen Tongson, University of Southern California

Past President:
Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles

Members-at-Large:
S. Elise Archias, University of Illinois, Chicago; Lauren Cramer, University of Toronto

Secretary:
Ken Allan, Seattle University

Communications Director:
Kinohi Nishikawa, Princeton University

Treasurer:
Maria Bose, Clemson University

ASAP/Journal Editor:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Jeremy Rosen, University of Utah
Elections & Prizes: Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles

2018-2019 Motherboard

President:
Yogita Goyal, University of California, Los Angeles

Vice President:
Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado, Washington University in St. Louis

Second Vice President:
Tatiana Flores, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Past President:
Joseph Jeon, University of California, Irvine

Members-at-Large:
Sheri-Marie Harrison, University of Missouri; Elise Archias, University of Illinois, Chicago

Secretary:
Gloria Fisk, Queens College, CUNY

Communications Director:
Kinohi Nishikawa, Princeton University

Treasurer:
Angela Naimou, Clemson University

ASAP/Journal Editor:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Lee Konstantinou, University of Maryland, College Park
Elections & Prizes: Joseph Jeon, University of California, Irvine
International & Multidisciplinary: Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2015-2016 Motherboard

President:
Robyn Warhol, The Ohio State University

Vice President:
Mark Goble, University of California, Berkeley

Second Vice President:
Joseph Jeon, Pomona College

Past President:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University

Member-at-Large:
Sarah Evans

Secretary-Communications Director:
Gloria Fisk, Queens College, CUNY

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

ASAP/Journal Editors:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University; Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Jaak Tomberg, University of Tartu; Robyn Warhol, The Ohio State University
Elections and Prizes: Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University
International & Multidisciplinary: Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2014-2015 Motherboard

President:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University

Vice President:
Robyn Warhol, The Ohio State University

Second Vice President:
Mark Goble, University of California, Berkeley

Past President and Journal Liaison:
Matthew Hart, Columbia University

Secretary-Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

ASAP/Journal Editors:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University; Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Michael LeMahieu, Clemson University; Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University
Elections & Prizes: Robyn Warhol, The Ohio State University
International & Multidisciplinary: Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2013-2014 Motherboard

President:
Matthew Hart, Columbia University

Vice President:
Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University

Second Vice President:
Robyn Warhol, The Ohio State University

Past President:
Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri

Secretary-Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Matthew Hart, Columbia University; Wang Ning, Tsinghua/Shanghai Jiao Tong Universities; Brian McHale, Ohio State University; Mark Goble, University of California at Berkeley
Elections & Prizes: Jonathan P. Eburne, The Pennsylvania State University
International & Multidisciplinary: Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri; Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2012-2013 Motherboard

President:
Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri

Vice President:
Matthew Hart, Columbia University

Second Vice President:
Jonathan P. Eburne, Penn State University

Past President:
Jesse Matz, Kenyon College

Secretary-Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri; renee hoogland, Wayne State University
Elections & Prizes: Matthew Hart, Columbia University
International & Multidisciplinary: Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2011-2012 Motherboard

President:
Jesse Matz, Kenyon College

Vice President:
Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri

Second Vice President:
Matthew Hart, Columbia University

Past President:
Brian McHale, Ohio State University

Secretary-Archivist:
Ursula Heise, Stanford University

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Interface Committee Chairs

Conference Program Committee: Hilary Dannenberg, University of Trier
Membership: Benjamin Lee, University of Tennessee
Elections & Prizes: Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri
International & Multidisciplinary: Melissa Lee, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2010-2011 Motherboard

President:
Brian McHale, Ohio State University

Vice President:
Jesse Matz, Kenyon College

Past President:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Secretary-Archivist:
Ursula Heise, Stanford University

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Conference Liaison:
Christopher Kilgore, Rider College

2009-2010 Founding Motherboard

President:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Vice President:
Brian McHale, Ohio State University

Secretary-Archivist:
Ursula Heise, Stanford University

Treasurer:
Stephen A. Di Benedetto, University of Miami

Communications Director:
Amy J. Elias, University of Tennessee

Conference Liaison:
Christopher Kilgore, Rider College