Anna Kurowicka

Anna Kurowicka is an Associate Professor at the American Studies Center (ASC), University of Warsaw, and serves as Deputy Director of the ASC. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of Warsaw (2018) and has held academic positions at institutions including Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the ASC. Her research focuses on gender, queer theory, and asexuality in popular culture and science fiction. Key projects include a National Science Center-funded study on asexuality in American popular culture (2021–2024) and an exploration of queer theory in Polish and German contexts.

Her work bridges literary analysis and social theory, examining topics like non-normative sexualities, genderless futures, and the representation of asexuality in media. She has published widely in journals like *Sexualities* and *Teksty Drugie*, and co-edited volumes such as *Polish Sexual Transformation* (2016). Kurowicka has received prestigious grants, including the Kościuszko Foundation grant (2015) for research at Emory University and a grant from the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (2019–2020) for studying autism in science fiction.

Her research groups include the Gender/Sexuality Research Group and Speculative Texts and Media Research Group at the ASC. She is an active member of organizations like the European Association for American Studies and the National Women’s Studies Association, where she co-chaired the Asexuality Studies Interest Group (2018–2020).

Kurowicka’s teaching spans courses on gender studies, queer theory, and American literature. Her recent work emphasizes asexuality’s intersections with science fiction, exploring how speculative genres reimagine gender and desire. She has presented at international conferences, including the Science Fiction Research Association and National Women’s Studies Association meetings, and organized workshops on LGBTQ+ studies and gender archives.

Her current projects include analyzing asexual futurism in works by authors like Ursula Le Guin and Ann Leckie, and investigating the portrayal of non-normative identities in contemporary media. Kurowicka’s interdisciplinary approach combines cultural critique with feminist and queer methodologies, positioning her as a leading scholar in asexuality studies and speculative fiction analysis.