Claire Sommers

Claire Sommers is a Lecturer in the Department of English and Performing Arts Department at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a PhD from The Graduate Center, CUNY, an MA from New York University, and a BA also from New York University.

Her research focuses on reinterpreting early modern literature through the lens of classical texts and contemporary critical theory, particularly exploring hybridity in works like her book project Chimeras, Centaurs, and Satyrs. She examines how hybrid creatures and texts reflect theoretical discourses on race, gender, and disability, drawing parallels to thinkers like Foucault and Bhabha. Her second project, Drama Queens: Creating Cleopatra and Engaging Elizabeth, analyzes Cleopatra's portrayal in early modern drama as a lens to study Elizabeth I's legacy and issues of globalization, race, and gender.

Dr. Sommers teaches courses such as 'Drama Queens: Cleopatra in Elizabethan England' and 'The Marvelous and the Monstrous in Early Modern Literature.' She has organized professional development initiatives for NeMLA, including the Job Clinic and Publishing Mentorship Program, and previously led the Critical Theory Certificate program at The Graduate Center, CUNY, hosting prominent scholars like Homi Bhabha and Slavoj Zizek. She also co-founded the 'Mapping Time' Digital Humanities project, linking NYC history with archival research education.