https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6804-4750

Kniaź-Hunek is an Assistant Professor at MCSU in Lublin, Poland, specializing in Afrofuturism, Black futurity, science fiction aesthetics, and horror in music videos and the American pop music industry. With a focus on interdisciplinary research, she explores the rich interplay between culture, technology, and speculative fiction. In addition to her expertise in Afrofuturism, she delves into the realms of horror and Ethno-Gothic media, analyzing their narratives, symbolism, and cultural significance. Her diverse research interests are reflected in her published works, including a notable chapter on Janelle Monae in Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture and contributions to prestigious journals such as Extrapolation and Vector (BSFA journal). Kniaź-Hunek's current research endeavors center on Afrofuturist music videos, where she scrutinizes themes of identity, technology, and futurity.

Academic interests:

- American popculture (music)

- Afrofuturism and speculative media

- Black Studies, Africana Studies

- audiovisual media.

Education:

2022 - PhD - Dissertation title: “Afrofuturism in Contemporary American Music Video: Themes, Aesthetics, Politics” [PL: Afrofuturyzm we współczesnym wideoklipie amerykańskim – tematyka, estetyki, polityka].

2016-2022 – Doctoral Studies in Literature and Linguistics at Maria Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin

2014-2016 – MA studies at MCSU, Project title: „Sound Design as Narrative Device in Contemporary American Film” [PL: Reżyseria dźwięku jako narzędzie narracyjne we współczesnym filmie amerykańskim].

2011-2014 – BA studies at MCSU, Project title: “Interchangeability of Ghetto Spaces in American Hip-Hop Music” [PL: Zamienność przestrzeni miejskiego “getta” w amerykańskim hip-hopie].

Membership in academic organizations:

2019 – Black Science Fiction Society

2018 – European Network for Cinema and Media Studies

2018 – European Association for American Studies (EAAS)

2018 – Polish Association for American Studies (PAAS)

Selected grants and scholarships:

2018 – EAAS Transatlantic Travel Grant for Graduate Students, University of California, Riverside, USA.

2018 – Conference Travel Grant; Fantastic Ninth annual conference of the Gesellschaft für Fantastikforschung na Universytecie we Fryburgu, Szwajcaria.

2016 – winner of the 2nd Prize in Poland’s contest for the Best MA Thesis in American Studies.

Selected publications:

1. „Afrokaraibska religia i duchowość w wideoklipie afrofutystycznymna przykładzie twórczości duetu Oshun”. W: Religia, historia i przyszłość w kulturze afrokaraibskiej¸ red. Dariusz Brzostek, Jakub Bohuszewicz. ISBN: 978-83-233-5124-5, str. 211-226. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, 2022. Rozdział w monografii
2. “Janelle Monáe.” In: Fifty Key Figures in Cyberpunk Culture, ed. Anna McFarlane et al., Routledge, 2022, pp. 123–26
3. Kolor skóry i etniczność w narracjach audiowizualnego cyberpunka”. Teksty Drugie. Teoria literatury, krytyka, interpretacja, ed. Ryszard Nycz et al., no 6 (2021). ISSN 0867-0633, pp. 125-141.
4. “Capturing the Future Back in Africa: Afrofuturist Media Ephemera.” Extrapolation. Special Issue. “Beyond Afrofuturism” ed. Isiah Lavender III, Lisa Yaszek. No. 61.  Liverpool University Press, UK. 2020. ISSN: 0014-5483. 
5. “Bleak Futures in Two East African Films.” Vector. British Science Fiction Association’s Magazine. Special Issue: “African and Afrodiasporic SF,” ed. Polina Levontin and Michelle Clarke, #289 (August 2019). ISNN: 0505-0448 Great Britain.
6. “Nancy Schreiber.” Hollywood Heroines: The Most Influential Women in Film History. ed. Laura Bauer. ABC-CLIO Press. Santa Barbara, CA, USA. December 2018.
7. “Live 2.0 – wykorzystanie rzeczywistości wirtualnej w muzyce „na żywo”.” [in Polish] MUTE 2: Live. Muzyka / Uniwersytet / Technologia / Emocje. AT Wydawnictwo. Kraków. September 2018.
8. “Revisiting the Aesthetics of Protest: Socially Conscious Music Videos.” In Media Res. Contemporary Music Video. MediaCommons: A Digital Scholarly Network . Media Commons Press. USA. May 2018. http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/2018/05/13/revisiting-aesthetics-protest-socially-conscious-music-videos
9. “A Glitch in the Matrix: A Reflection on Shabazz Palaces’ ‘Welcome to Quazarz’ or a New Wave of Afrofuturist Music Videos.” MOSF Journal of Science Fiction, Special Issue titled: “Afrofuturism” Vol. 2, #2, (January 2018), p. 8-9. ISSN 2474-0837. ed.: Heather McHale. Alexandria, VA, USA. January 2018.
10. “‘Kaboom! Guess That Must Spell Doom!’: Dystopia and the Post-Apocalypse in Hip-Hop Music Videos.” Vector. British Science Fiction Association’s Magazine. Special Issue titled: “The Music Issue,” ed. Anna McFarlane and Glyn Morgan, #286 (summer 2017). Wielka Brytania.
11. “My City, My ‘Hood, My Street: Ghetto Spaces in American Hip-hop Music.” New Horizons in English Studies. #2 (2017), p. 114-126. Wydawnictwo UMCS.
12. “Creative Use of Sound in the Cinematic Adaptation of The Great Gatsby (2013).” New Horizons in English Studies. #1 (2016). e-ISSN: 2543-8980, p. 79-86. Wydawnictwo UMCS.
13. “#BlackLivesDontMatter – postapokalipsa i polityka w teledysku Señorita Vince’a Staplesa’” [in Polish] Annales UMCS, Sectio FF Philologiae, Vol 34, #2 (2016), ISSN: 0239-426X, p. 91-100. Wydawnictwo UMCS.

Other:

1. Fulbright Mentor Program for English Teaching Assistants 2018/2019 and 2019/2020.
2. Organizer of Ask an American series.