Elizabeth Fowler

Elizabeth Fowler is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Virginia's College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in material culture, medieval and Renaissance literature, and poetry. Her interdisciplinary work bridges literary studies with architectural theory, focusing on how artifacts shape sensory and emotional experiences.

Her educational background includes an A.B. from Brown University, followed by an A.M. and Ph.D. from Harvard University. Key academic milestones include a Junior Fellowship at Harvard's Society of Fellows (1991-1993, 1994-1995) and a Fulbright Scholarship in London (1989-1990).

Fowler's research centers on the intersection of language, space, and materiality. Her 2024 monograph Poetry and the Built Environment: A Theory of the Flesh of Art argues that poems and architectural artifacts function as tools for reshaping human experience. She explores devotional practices across cultures, ritual language in physical spaces, and the phenomenology of spatiality, with particular attention to medieval and early modern English poetry (Chaucer, Pearl-poet, Spenser) and contemporary artists like Tracy K. Smith.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals consistent engagement with material semiotics and spatial theory, spanning medieval manuscripts to modern installations. Her work demonstrates how cultural artifacts—from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to Kara Walker's sculptures—mediate social habitus through embodied interaction.

• Student Council Teaching Award, College of Arts and Sciences (2019)
• Isabel MacCaffrey Prize, International Spenser Society (1997)
• Yale’s Poorvu Prize for Interdisciplinary Teaching (1997)
• Frances A. Yates Fellowship, Warburg Institute (1989)
• Fulbright Scholarship (1989-1990)

Fowler mentors graduate and undergraduate students in medieval/early modern literature and co-edits the Oxford Collected Works of Edmund Spenser. Her architectural practice (1984-2006) informs her scholarly approach, while her music career with The Hi Sheriffs of Blue (performing at CBGBs and Max's Kansas City) reflects her commitment to interdisciplinary creation. Current projects include The Traction of the Social and cross-cultural studies of prayer materiality.