Elisa Tamarkin

Elisa Tamarkin is a Professor in the Department of English at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research focuses on 19th-century British and American literature, intellectual history, philosophy, and art. She holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and previously taught at UC Irvine. Her work bridges literary analysis with broader historical and philosophical inquiries.

Key publications include Apropos of Something: A History of Irrelevance and Relevance (2022) and Anglophilia: Deference, Devotion, and Antebellum America (2008). Currently, she is completing a book on Melville’s exploration of visibility and consciousness in literature, art, and life.

• Editorial Roles: Representations, Nineteenth-Century Literature, PMLA (advisory board)
• Leadership: Past President of C19: The Society of Nineteenth-Century Americanists

Recipient of prestigious fellowships including the ACLS and Chancellor’s Awards, Tamarkin’s scholarship integrates interdisciplinary approaches to illuminate cultural and intellectual movements.