Sara Marcus

Sara Marcus is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Notre Dame, affiliated with the Gender Studies Program and the Initiative on Race and Resilience. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. Her research focuses on American and African American literature, sound studies, popular music, and gender/sexuality studies, with a particular emphasis on how media technologies intersect with race, gender, and selfhood.

Education:

• Ph.D., English and Interdisciplinary Humanities, Princeton University (2018)
• M.F.A., Creative Writing (Nonfiction), Columbia University (2009)
• B.A., English with American Studies, Oberlin College (1999)

Research Interests:
Her work examines cultural histories of political disappointment, media evolution, and interdisciplinary archives. Current projects explore media technologies (1890–1940) and their role in racial/gender conflicts. Her book Political Disappointment reinterprets 20th-century American texts through a lens of unrealized liberation desires.

Publications:
Her award-winning 2010 book Girls to the Front analyzes the Riot Grrrl movement. Recent articles address topics like intermedial music history and post-democratic literature. She contributes to journals like Artforum and Bookforum.

Awards:

• Honorable Mention, MLA James Russell Lowell Prize (2024)
• Finalist, Susanne M. Glasscock Book Prize (2024)
• Shortlisted, Phi Beta Kappa Christian Gauss Award (2024)

Teaching & Grants:
Courses include Sound Studies and Performance and Rebellion. She secured grants for classroom experiences (e.g., theater visits) and research support for her current media history project.