Calandra Ebonee Noelle

Calandra Ebonee Noelle is a Lecturer and PhD Student in Literary Studies at the Department of English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her work bridges African American literature, postcolonial theory, and psychoanalysis.

• Education: M.A. in English from San Francisco State University (2020); B.A. in English from University of California, Berkeley (2007).

Her research investigates grief, death, and trauma in African American Literature, focusing on how Black communities navigate inherited cultural trauma and funerary rituals. She integrates postcolonial theory and psychoanalysis to analyze literature's role in asserting personhood, citizenship, and humanity under systemic oppression.

Calandra also engages with 20th/21st century American literature, deconstruction, and critical race theory. She has taught courses like REL 134–TA (Fall 2023) and Rhet. 105 (2022–2023).

Scientific Awards
• LAS Undergraduate Teaching Award (2023)
• Graduate College Fellowship (2021)
• Debra Plousha Moore Scholarship (2015)