Rebecka Rutledge Fisher

Rebecka Rutledge Fisher is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on Black thought, African American literary cultures, and intersections between literature, philosophy, and critical theory. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Washington University in Saint Louis (2001), along with degrees from Ohio University.

• Education: Ph.D. Comparative Literature (2001), M.A. Comparative Literature (1996), M.Ed. Higher Education (1992), B.A. French Literature (1987)

Her work bridges African American literature with global contexts, emphasizing metaphor, poetics, and ethical inquiry. Current research includes The Thinker as Poet: The Poetry and Poethics of W.E.B. Du Bois, supported by the Camargo Foundation Prize (2024). Notable publications include Habitations of the Veil (2014) and Understanding Natasha Trethewey (forthcoming 2025).

Awards include the Berlin Prize Finalist (2021), Du Bois-Mellon Fellowship (2020–2023), and Johnson Family Fellowship (2020). She has held residencies at the UNC Institute for the Arts and Humanities and the W.E.B. Du Bois Center.

Teaching spans undergraduate and graduate courses on Black diaspora, literary theory, and African American literature across eras. She co-teaches advanced seminars on Black queer theory and race-philosophy intersections.