Andrea Bernadette

Bernadette Andrea is a full professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), specializing in early modern literature with focuses on gender, postcolonialism, and global interactions. She holds affiliations with the Center for Middle East Studies, Comparative Literature Program, and Feminist Studies Department. Previously, she was the Celia Jacobs Endowed Professor at the University of Texas, San Antonio. Her research integrates multilingual expertise in Arabic, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Turkish, emphasizing cross-cultural exchanges between early modern Europe and Islamic worlds.

Education: PhD in English Language and Literature from Cornell University (specializing in early modern women’s writing and Arabic studies). Key research areas include global travel narratives, gendered colonial discourse, and the intersection of literature with imperialism. She has authored/co-edited influential works like The Lives of Girls and Women from the Islamic World in Early Modern British Literature and Culture (2017) and Women and Islam in Early Modern English Literature (2007).

Her articles critically examine representations of Muslim women, racial formations in early modern drama, and transnational literary networks. She has served as co-editor of Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal (2017–2024) and President of the Shakespeare Association of America (2022–2023). Teaching focuses on global perspectives in early modern literature, including courses like Global Women’s Lives in Early Modern England and Early Modern Intersectionality.

Labs/Teams: Active collaborator in UCSB’s Early Modern Center, contributing to interdisciplinary projects on transcultural studies. Current research trends emphasize rethinking early modern globalization through marginalized voices and decolonizing literary historiography.