Claire Schmidt

Dr. Claire Schmidt is an Associate Professor of English at Missouri Valley College’s School of Arts & Humanities. She specializes in folklore, medieval literature, and creative nonfiction. Her research focuses on occupational humor, foodways, and race, particularly in prison worker communities. She teaches British and world literature, writing, and grant writing.

Education: PhD in English (Folklore, Oral Tradition, Cultural Studies) from the University of Missouri; MA in English (University of Missouri); BA in English (University of Wisconsin, Madison).

Her research explores everyday cultural practices through lenses of race and labor. Her 2017 book, If You Don’t Laugh You’ll Cry, examines humor among Wisconsin prison workers. She has published in Western Folklore, Oral Tradition, and edited collections like Wait Five Minutes: Weatherlore in the Twenty-First Century.

No scientific awards are listed. She advises no students in the provided text. No lab affiliations are mentioned.