Alexander (Eskandar) Ross (Ph.D), FRHistS
New College, Oxford
alexander.ross@new.ox.ac.uk
I am an Iranian-American cultural historian with special emphasis on qualitative methodologies, including the use of case studies, oral histories, archival materials, structured and unstructured interviews, and open-ended surveys. I was a student of Hans Georg Gadamer at Heidelberg University before taking two degrees from the University of Cambridge. My long-term interest in the unparalleled importance of an education rich in critical thinking has led me to support educational projects in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
RECENT UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
Fellow of Branford College, Yale University (2024-)
Presently working on a book which connects researchers, practitioners and experts in the fields of artificial intelligence, genetics, robotics, ethics and philosophy, as well as writing a chapter for an anthology for Bloomsbury Press. Helped organize a visiting lecturer talk at Branford.
Visiting Academic, Media Studies Faculty, Yale University (2023-2024)
Undertook research towards a book on the prescience of the film Blade Runner (1982), gave several talks at the university and taught a course.
Fellow, New College, University of Oxford (2021-)
I have a publishing contract for a biography of Major Geoffrey Langlands OBE on which I have been working as a member of the Oxford history faculty. Langlands went from being a British war hero to “Pakistan’s teacher,” establishing a school on the Afghan border and empowering his students to defy the encroaching Taliban through a curriculum rich in critical thinking.
Guest Lecturer, Various Institutions
University of Westminster and York St. John University.
Prepared and offered lectures to students at undergraduate and master’s degree levels on
an ongoing basis.
Other schools for special topical presentations:
University of California-Los Angeles, Chapman University, London Film School, Leeds University, Bournemouth University, Girton College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge, University of Oxford.
PUBLICATIONS
Ross, Alexander G. “The Major: In Search of Geoffrey Langlands”. Academica Press. (forthcoming, 2025).
Ross, Alexander G. “How E.T. set the gold standard for merchandising and product placement” (forthcoming, 2025). The ET Book: New Perspectives on The Classic 1980s Blockbuster. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Ross, Alexander G. “Can the prescience of Blade Runner engender a deeper understanding of our relationship with AI technology?” (forthcoming, 2024). Institute of Physics
Publishing (IOP). Proceedings: The Third International Conference on Embodied Intelligence, University of Cambridge: Department of Engineering. (2023).
Ross, Alexander G. “The Evolution of Hollywood’s Calculated Blockbuster Films: Blockbusted” Lexington Books, 2023.
Ross, Alexander G. “No Ordinary Life.” Secrets & Lives: UEA Non-Fiction Anthology, Egg Box Publishing, 2020, pp. 77–82.
Ross, Alexander G. ‘We Were Just Trying to Entertain’: Grease in Production. In Gruner, Oliver, and Peter Krämer, eds. ‘Grease is the Word’: Exploring a Cultural Phenomenon. Anthem Press, 2019.
Ross, Alexander G. “Creative decision making within the contemporary Hollywood studios.” Journal of Screenwriting 2.1 (2011): 99-116.
Ross, A. (2007), The Confidential Studio Manual, Iowa: Fidlar-Doubleday.
Newsweek contributions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
MEDIA INTERVIEWS
In addition to having been interviewed on prime-time network television by Dateline NBC, his career has been covered variously by The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Reuters, Newsday, The London Times, Daily Mail, The Guardian, Newsweek and others.
EDUCATION
Ph.D. University of East Anglia
M.A. University of Cambridge, Economics & Political Science
M.A. Biography and Creative nonfiction writing, University of East Anglia
B.A. University of Cambridge, Economics & Political Science
LANGUAGES SPOKEN:
German, French, Farsi, Urdu (some) and English