Derrick R. Spires

Derrick R. Spires is an Associate Professor at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences, with affiliations in Literatures in English, American Studies, Visual Studies, and Media Studies. His research focuses on early African American and American print culture, citizenship studies, and African American intellectual history.

• Education: Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University

His work bridges historical analysis and contemporary critical theory, examining how Black writers shaped legal and cultural notions of citizenship in the early U.S. and how periodical literature reflects Black intellectual traditions. He is currently working on a second book, Serial Blackness, exploring seriality in African American literary history.

His scholarship has earned recognition, including the Modern Language Association Prize for First Book and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Social Science Research Council. He contributes to digital humanities projects, such as advising doctoral student Charline Jao’s Periodical Poets, which catalogs 19th-century Black periodical poetry.

• Scientific Awards
  • Modern Language Association Prize for First Book (2020)
  • Bibliographical Society/St. Louis Mercantile Library Prize (2020)
  • M/MLA Book Prize (2020)
  • Finalist, Library Company of Philadelphia First Book Prize (2020)

His research is supported by grants from institutions like the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Antiquarian Society, and UNCF/Mellon-Mays Foundation. He also engages with public scholarship through lectures and media, including a documentary on Frederick Douglass and contributions to discussions on Black print culture and democracy.