About

Ann Hetzel Gunkel

Ann Hetzel Gunkel, Ph.D Philosophy

  • Adjunct Professor of Film Philosophy, School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University, Chicago
  • Associate Professor Emerita, School of Communication & Culture, Columbia College Chicago

Dr. Gunkel is an award-winning educator & scholar and the winner of Columbia College Chicago’s 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award. The former Humanities Coordinator, founding member and past Director of the innovative program in Cultural Studies, is a winner of multiple major grants, a two-time Fulbright recipient for both Research (Germany 1991) and Teaching (Poland 2012) and the Harmonia Research Grant from the Polish National Science Center.

A scholar in the fields of Cultural Studies and Polish American Studies, she taught Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Film & Media Studies and Interdisciplinary Humanities at Columbia for twentyseven years. Her favorite classes to teach were Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophical Issues in Film, and Philosophy of Food & Culture. Awarded Emerita status in 2025, she is still teaching Philosophy for the sheer love of it as Adjunct Professor of Film Philosophy in the School of Cinematic Arts at her doctoral alma mater, DePaul University.

She resides in her hometown of Chicago where she is a fan of punk, indie, alt country & opera, a film geek and a bird photographer. Playing in the Old Town School of Folk Music’s Alt Country Ensemble is her happy place. Her interest in conservation and ecocriticism has led to seven seasons (and counting) of service as a Monitor for the Chicago Piping Plovers, protecting and documenting the endangered species at Montrose Beach on the Lake Michigan shore.

She is especially fond of coffee & cake, cocktails, film noir, the Music Box theater, her German Shorthair Pointer Kiszka (named after Polish barley & blood sausage, another fave), midcentury modern design, the Hideout, her son Stas’ indie bands, Delilah’s punk night, Johnnie’s Beef, piping plovers and puffins. Her life’s dream is to be befriended by a crow. She fiercely supports live music and musicians.

Be forewarned…she is a fast talker and can become very ebullient when discussing any of the above. Liability disclaimer: Individuals in the blast radius of her passion hereby indemnify her from any resulting potential damages.