Appearances and Press
- 16 Jul 2026Inside Disneyland’s MachineBusiness Talk, with Deepak Bhatt
- 3 Jun 2026Disneyland: Cold War FactoryAmerican Prestige, with Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison
- 25 May 2026Disneyland TechnologyMousetalgia, with Jeff Baham
- 10 May 2026The Surprisingly Weird Origins of Disney AutomationThe Disney Dish, with Jim Hill and Len Testa
- 16 May 2026Disneyland and the Rise of AutomationPolitics and Prose Presents, with Bruce Holsinger
- 8 May 2026Disneyland and the Rise of AutomationNotably Disney, with Brett Nachman
- 4 May 2026Disneyland and the Rise of AutomationThe Sweep Spot, with Lynn Barron and Ken Pellman
- 23 Apr 2026Disneyland and the Rise of AutomationNew Books Network, with Miranda Melcher
- 20 Apr 2026Is Disneyland a Machine?An Idiot’s Guide to Imagineering, with Stephen Spink
- 5 Apr 2026The Happiest Factory on EarthWDW Radio, with Lou Mongello
- from 31 Mar 2026Disneyland and the Rise of Automation, a multipart seriesA Walk with Walt
- 26 Nov 2025Disney and Byzantium with Roland BetancourtAmerican Medieval
- Nov 2025Interview with Professor Roland BetancourtBreakthroughs in the Dark Ages
- 2025Queer MonksSweetbitter, season 3, episode 2
- 3 Jan 2025Medieval Studies and Its InstitutionsThe Multicultural Middle Ages
- 23 Dec 2024The Byzantine Middle AgesMedievalism Today
- 11 May 2023The Hidden Truths about Sexuality and Gender in the Medieval WorldBig Brains, University of Chicago
- 2023Proclamations on the FamilyFireside with Blair Hodges
- 15 Jan 2022On Zack Snyder’s Justice League, with Rohan HarrisWhat Byzantinism Is This in Istanbul!, Istanbul Research Institute
- 20 Dec 2021Roland Betancourt on Queer ByzantinesDialogues with Richard Reeves
- May 2021Byzantine IntersectionalityThe Remedial Herstory Project
- 8 Apr 2021Byzantine IntersectionalityQueer as Fact
- 2022Gender and the Body in Byzantine ArtMedieval Art Matters, for Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages (Cornell University Press)
- 15 Dec 2020Sexuality, Gender, and Race in the Middle AgesNew Books Network and Princeton University Press Ideas
- 26 Oct 2020In Raking Light, with Bryan C. KeeneCAA Conversations
- 17 Dec 2019Art History Professor Roland BetancourtUCI Conversations, KUCI 88.9 FM
- 6 Jul 2026SoCal History: How Disneyland Grew Its Park Attractions Through Technological InnovationAirTalk with Larry Mantle, 89.3 FM LAist
- 4 Feb 2020UC Irvine Class All About Disneyland Brings Magic to Lecture HallSpectrum News 1
- 14 Jun 2019UC Irvine Offers Class on DisneylandABC7 News
- 14 Jun 2019UC Irvine Offers Disneyland CourseFox 5 San Diego
- 17 Jun 2019UC Irvine Is Offering a Class All About DisneylandValentine in the Morning, MYfm 104.3
- 3 Jun 2019A Bustling Cantina and $200 Lightsabers among Highlights at Star Wars Theme ParkGreater LA, KCRW 89.9 FM
- 31 May 2019Disneyland ClassTake Two, KPCC 89.3 FM
- 17 Jul 2026AMA: Dr. Roland Betancourt on Disneyland and Automationr/AskHistorians
- 20 Apr 2026How Disneyland Explains Modern LifeUCI School of Humanities, by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow
- 2026Roland Betancourt on Disneyland and the Rise of AutomationIdeas, Princeton University Press
- 30 Mar 2026NYPL Researcher Spotlight: Roland BetancourtNew York Public Library
- 17 Jul 2023Researcher Profile: Roland BetancourtUNLV Libraries
- 26 Jan 2023How Do We Deal with Secrecy?, with Anya VenturaGetty News and Stories
- 2022Entretien: “There was no name for it and yet, it happened”: l’anachronisme comme outil heuristique, with Marion LoiseauPerspective 2 (2022)
- 2022Virgin Territories: A Conversation with Roland Betancourt, with David SerlinRadical History Review 22:1 (2022): 119–132
- 31 Oct 2021Byzantine Intersectionality, with Eric CerviniQueer History 101
- 5 Mar 2021Interview on Byzantine IntersectionalityJadaliyya, Arab Studies Institute
- 2 Dec 2021Leah DeVun and Roland Betancourt on The Shape of SexLabyrinth Books
- 16 Aug 2021Queer Medieval Art: Past, Present, and FutureInternational Center of Medieval Art
- 9 Apr 2021Drinking with Historians, season 2, episode 6: the Byzantine Empire, race, and sex in the premodern worldDrinking with Historians, with Matthew Gabriele
- 17 Feb 2021Performing the Gospels in ByzantiumOnline Edinburgh Byzantine Book Festival
- 18 Sep 2020Race, Racism, and Our Institutions and DisciplinesMedieval Academy of America
- 20 Apr 2012Introduction to Byzantium/ModernismByzantium/Modernism symposium, Yale University
- 19 May 2026Ride Report, by Todd MartensMr. Todd’s Wild Ride, Los Angeles Times
- 19 May 2026Even More Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books to Check Out This May, by Andrew LiptakTransfer Orbit
- 2 Apr 2026The 10 Books You Should Be Reading This April, by Tobias CarrollInsideHook
- 2 Apr 2026A Bubbly Ambivalence, by Tarpley Hitt and Olivia Kan-SperlingThe Paris Review
- 13 Apr 2020The Art of Disneyland, by Jerry HicksPelican Hill Magazine
- 2 Nov 2019Where “Jaws,” the Ride, Lives Forever, by Brian RafteryThe New York Times
- 16 Oct 2019Disney in Class: UC Irvine Associate Professor Teaches a Course Dedicated to Disneyland, by Valerie TakahamaOrange Coast Magazine
- 18 Jun 2019Q&A: Disneyland’s New Star Wars Land Feels Like a Park of Its Own, by Elijah ChilandCurbed LA
- 18 Jun 2019You Can Take a Class on Disneyland at UC Irvine, by Caitlynn McDanielyourPHX.com
- 18 Jun 2019This California University Professor Started a Class on Why We Love DisneylandDisneyExaminer
- 17 Jun 2019You Can Now Take a College Class on All Things Disneyland, by Holly RameyMickeyBlog
- 14 Jun 2019UC Irvine Now Teaching Class on Disneyland, by Monique LopezChip and Company
- 14 Jun 2019A California University Is Teaching a Class All About Disneyland, by Bailee AbellInside the Magic
- 13 Jun 2019UC Irvine Is Teaching a Class on Disneyland. You Guys, DISNEYLAND., by Brian FrankLAist
- 13 Jun 2019Disneyland Fanatics Can Now Take a College Course on the Theme Park, by Raechal ShewfeltYahoo News
- 8 Jun 2019For UC Irvine Art History Class, Disneyland Becomes a Research Subject, by Lilly NguyenLos Angeles Times
- 28 May 2019Dissecting Disneyland, by Roy RivenburgUCI News
Speaking
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Talks in English or Spanish for universities, museums, bookstores, and companies: a 45-minute illustrated lecture, a conversation with a host, or a workshop.
Topics
- How Disneyland taught Americans to love automation, and what it says about AI now
- The new leisure: amusement parks, automation, and the redefinition of recreation
- Making the world small: “it’s a small world” in the American Century
- What corporate archives hide, and how to read the ephemera they leave behind
- Byzantine fragments in the queer imagination; sainthood and gender variance in the Middle Ages
Recent venues
The Met Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection · Princeton University · University of California, Berkeley · Stanford University · University of Central Florida · University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill · University of Pittsburgh · The Ohio State University · Bard Graduate Center · Politics & Prose, Washington, DC · New York Public Library · Smithsonian Associates · Science History Institute, Philadelphia · Seminary Co-op Bookstore, Chicago · Book Soup, West Hollywood · Books & Books, Coral Gables · Anaheim Heritage Center · WonderCon · Disneyana Fan Expo · Themed Experience and Attractions Academic Symposium · National Council on Public History