Dr. Lincoln Z. Shlensky

Lincoln Z. Shlensky’s research and teaching focus on modernist and postcolonial cinemas, Jewish cultural studies, diaspora and memory studies, documentary film, and the ethics of collaboration across lines of political conflict. His work brings literary and cinematic analysis into conversation with questions of historical trauma, public memory, nationalism, and cultural transformation.

Dr. Shlensky’s scholarship has appeared in journals including Callaloo, Prooftexts, Qui Parle, and AJS Perspectives, as well as in edited collections on postcolonial literature, Caribbean studies, abolition, and Jewish and Israeli cultural politics. His current research examines documentary film, collaborative aesthetics, political conflict, and questions of memory and belonging in transnational contexts.  

He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in global film movements, postcolonial and diasporic literatures, film aesthetics, Jewish cultural studies, and critical theory. His recent teaching has emphasized the relationship between cinematic form, political crisis, and historical memory. He has supervised graduate research in English and interdisciplinary humanities fields including postcolonial studies, film, Jewish studies, cultural theory, and media studies.  

Dr. Shlensky serves on the Advisory Council of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society and co-chairs the Jewish Academic Hub and the Working Group to Address Antisemitism, pluralistic initiatives housed at the CSRS that focus on Jewish belonging, dialogue, and campus climate. He previously served as Section Editor for Postcolonial Text and chaired the Caribbean Studies Association Presidential Task Force on Communications and Technology, for which he received the association’s President’s Distinguished Service Award.  

Beyond the university, Dr. Shlensky has contributed extensively to public humanities and film culture initiatives in British Columbia, including work as a film festival programmer, juror, public speaker, and columnist. He has also served in leadership roles within Victoria’s Jewish community, including seven years on the Board of Congregation Emanu-El, four of them as Vice-President. Selected syllabi, publications, and other materials are available at shlensky.com.