Lawrence Koval

Lawrence Koval (he/they) is a PhD student in Communication at the University of Illinois Chicago. Entering his graduate studies from a background in fitness, his MA thesis focused on grassroots efforts in what is termed the “inclusive fitness movement.” With their colleagues in this space, they edited and contributed to an anthology titled Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to Resist, Disrupt, and Reclaim What it Means to be Fit in American Culture, published by North Atlantic Books in May 2023. His academic research focuses on exploring the intersection of sports and physical culture with race, gender, sexuality, ability, and ideas of citizenship/nation—with a particular focus on the connections between carceral systems and surveillance technologies, the sports industrial complex, and the body. With a background in library and cultural work, they work full-time as a Library Specialist at UIC.