Emily Waples

Emily Waples is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Humanities at Hiram College, specializing in interdisciplinary research on narrative, health, and social justice. Her work spans from 18th-century American literature to contemporary digital media, analyzing how cultural texts shape perceptions of health, illness, and disability. She teaches courses like 'Going Viral: Epidemics in American History' and integrates historical, literary, and sociological methods to explore citizenship and social belonging through disease narratives.

Education includes a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, an MSt from the University of Oxford, and a B.A. from Vassar College. Her research focuses on 19th-century medical discourse, feminist theory, and health humanities pedagogy. Her current book project examines early American public health print media's influence on self-care paradigms.

Awards include the Michael Starr Award. Beyond academia, she has worked as a bookseller, bartender, and preschool teacher, and performed in an all-female comedy troupe. Her creative nonfiction and scholarly articles address topics like breast cancer narratives, Gothic literature, and environmental violence in slave narratives.