Purcell’s research explores the relationship between race and what Foucault called the processes of subjectification in the twentieth and twenty-first century. His previously published works can be found in ELH, boundary 2 as well as other scholarly journals. Purcell also did a brief stint as a commentator for the now defunct NPR show News and Notes. He is currently working on a book project that primarily uses cinema, television and other time-based media forms to explore representations of creative labor in hip-hop culture.