Jonathan Hunter is a first year MA student studying under Dr. Lima and Dr. Gabriel. His research focuses on popular art in West Africa during the postcolonial period with an emphasis on the application of Marxism and Lacanian psychoanalysis to this sphere. More broadly, he is interested in independence movements of the Global South and their lasting effects into the contemporary moment. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida in 2026 with his BA in Art History, and minors in Classics, History, and Asian Studies. His bachelor’s thesis, entitled “Senegal and Cinema: Neocolonialism through Ousmane Sembene’s Aesthetics, Leopold Sedar Senghor, and ‘Xala,’” discusses the tension in post-independence Senegal between Ousmane Sembene and first president of Senegal Leopold Sedar Senghor over the role that the West and their ideals should play in the country.