Amit Ray Headshot

Amit Ray

Associate Professor, English

School of Communication and English
College of Liberal Arts

585-475-2437
Office Hours

By appointment. I am around most days and can meet in person or via Zoom. Please email me.

Office Location
Office Mailing Address
06-2309

Amit Ray

Associate Professor, English

School of Communication and English
College of Liberal Arts

Education

BA, State University of New York at Buffalo; MA, Ph.D., University of Michigan

Bio

Trained as a postcolonialist, my recent research focuses on issues of secrecy and agnotology (or the cultural production of ignorance) within contemporary information systems. With neurologist Dr. E. Ray Dorsey, I co-authored “Paraquat, Parkinson’s Disease, and Agnotology,” published in the journal Movement Disorders in 2023. Since its publication, our article has been reprinted twice, which has led to subpoenas from Syngenta Corporation, a leading producer of the herbicide Paraquat, as part of ongoing class-action lawsuits.

I am currently working on a book entitled, Tales of the Late Human: Autocolonialism and Extinction. My monograph develops the concept of autocolonialism to describe how digital platforms represent a fundamental shift in colonial extraction—one where individuals voluntarily participate in their own surveillance and data colonization by uploading intimate details to corporate platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Unlike territorial colonialism (requiring military occupation) or neocolonialism (operating through economic dependency), autocolonialism operates through high-speed, real-time data extraction that transcends borders and transforms every user into a node in a distributed colony, with control presenting itself as convenience and extraction as participation. The book traces this evolution from historical colonialism through five chapters examining platform capitalism, AI systems, the East India Company's legacy, molecular biology's commodification of genetic existence, and how ecological extinction becomes monetized—ultimately arguing that we face a "late human" condition where life itself is transformed into a technologically mediated commodity.

Currently Teaching

ENGL-215
3 Credits
We encounter digital texts and codes every time we use a smart phone, turn on an app, read an e-book, or interact online. This course examines the innovative combinations of text and code that underpin emerging textual practices such as electronic literatures, digital games, mobile communication, geospatial mapping, interactive and locative media, augmented reality, and interactive museum design. Drawing on key concepts of text and code in related fields, students will analyze shifting expressive textual practices and develop the literacies necessary to read and understand them. Practicing and reflecting on such new media literacies, the course explores their social, cultural, creative, technological, and legal significance. To encourage multiple perspectives on these pivotal concepts of text and code and their import, the course includes guest lectures by scholars and practitioners in these fields.
ENGL-316
3 Credits
This course presents a study of global literature by engaging in critically informed analysis of texts from different geographical regions or cultural perspectives. Students will discover new modes for thinking about what global literature is, and how globalizing impulses have changed and shaped our world. One of the goals of the class is to analyze and discuss the works in their respective socio-historical contexts, with a special focus on the theme of encounter or contact zones. The impact of various factors such as migration, nationality, class, race, gender, generation, and religion will also be taken into consideration. The course can be repeated up to two times, for 6 semester credit hours, as long as the topics are different.
ENGL-421
3 Credits
This course charts the development of the graphic novel, examines that history in relation to other media (including literary works, comics, film, and video games), and reflects on how images and writing function in relation to one another. Primary readings will be supplemented with secondary works that address socio-historical contexts, interpretive approaches and the cultural politics of the medium, such as representations of class, race, gender, and ethnicity.
SOIS-510
3 Credits
A capstone class for students in the Individualized Program bachelor of science degree program. Course provides students an opportunity to reflect upon and enhance the many aspects of their individualized educational programs and focus on future goals. Senior status is required. Students should consult their adviser before registering. (Pre-requisites: Senior status and permission of academic adviser).

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