**Liesbet van Zoonen is professor of Sociology and dean of the Erasmus Graduate School of Social Sciences and the Humanities at Erasmus University Rotterdam.** Professor Van Zoonen joined the department as professor in Popular Culture in March 2009. Previously, she worked at the University of Amsterdam, among others as head of the Department of Communication, and till December 2015 she was professor in Media and Communication at Loughborough University (UK). She also held various positions at other universities in the world, most notably as professor II at Oslo University, and as visiting professor at the University of the West Indies (Jamaica) and the Hochschüle für Film und Fernsehen (Germany). Her research covers a wide range of issues in the social sciences and humanities, but all concern the question whether and how digital and popular culture is a relevant resource for civic understanding and social participation. Her work currently is focused on civic engagement and governance in smart cities. She leads the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for BOLD Cities: www.boldcities.nl