Sami Atassi

Sami Atassi serves as an Instructional Assistant Professor in Maritime Studies within the College of Marine Sciences & Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston, teaching literature courses that intersect with maritime themes through satire, comedy, and scientific perspectives.

His academic foundation includes a Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature from Indiana University (2023), a Master of Arts in English and American Literature from the University of Houston (2014), and a Bachelor of Arts in Arts and Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas (2012), complemented by a Graduate Certificate in Empire Studies and certification as a Master Tutor.

Research centers on American literary traditions with emphasis on Poe and Melville, analyzed through postcolonial frameworks and satirical lenses. He pioneers connections between Blue Humanities (oceanic literary studies) and Middle Eastern contexts, while examining racial representation in antebellum literature and contemporary film, plus digital activism during the Syrian Revolution. His work bridges historical literary analysis with urgent socio-political discourse.

Publication trends reveal evolving focus from Poe scholarship toward postcolonial reinterpretations of American classics, increasingly incorporating Syrian perspectives and digital media analysis. Recent works demonstrate methodological innovation in connecting 19th-century literary techniques to modern social justice movements and geopolitical conflicts.

Scientific recognition includes:

• J. Albert Robbins Prize in American Literature (2022-2023)
• Lawlis-Duchovnay Award (2022)
• Constance Rourke Prize for Graduate Students (2020)
• Culbertson Chair in Writing Award (2018)
• Carnegie Travel Award (2018)
• Carnegie Travel Award (2016)

Research funding encompasses the Albert Wertheim Fellowship for theater/drama research (2022-2023), Sanders-Weber Fellowship for dissertation writing (2022), and Foreign Language Fellowships for Arabic/Islamic studies (2016, 2019-2020). Teaching grants supported online fiction courses and conference participation in humor studies and computational writing.

No dedicated research laboratories or collaborative teams are documented in current institutional materials.