Bethany Hughes

Bethany Hughes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan. Her work focuses on performance studies, Native American representation, and federal Indian law. She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University (2018).

Her core research explores how performance constructs and challenges cultural categories related to race, Indigeneity, and identity. Key affiliations include the Native American Studies Program, Center for World Performance Studies, and the Institute for Research on Women and Gender.

Teaching includes courses like Introduction to Native American Studies and Broadway and American Culture. Her book Redface: Race, Performance, and Indigeneity (2024) examines racialization and authenticity through theatre studies. Current research interests include federal Indian law's performance, musical theatre's racial dynamics, and Indigenous economic structures in cultural production.

Her work appears in journals like Theatre Journal and Theatre Survey. She actively participates in decolonizing institutional practices, including land acknowledgment protocols and Indigenous performance frameworks.