Elizabeth Loentz

Elizabeth Loentz is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies and Linguistics (LCSL) at the University of Illinois Chicago. She holds a PhD from Ohio State University and dual MA/BA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on German-Jewish Studies, Yiddish culture, transnational literature, and the First German Women's Movement, with a chronological emphasis from the late 19th to 21st centuries.

Her major works include Let Me Continue to Speak the Truth: Bertha Pappenheim as Author and Activist (2007) and numerous articles on figures like Bertha Pappenheim and Clementine Krämer. She has edited special journal issues on feminism in German studies and Austrian studies, and co-edited collections on Yiddish culture.

Loentz has received notable recognition including a 2022 Holocaust Education Fellowship, a Fulbright award (2013), and a UIC Teaching Excellence Award (2009-2010). Her editorial leadership includes roles as Book Review Editor for The German Quarterly (2016-2021) and co-editor of the Amsterdamer Beiträge zur neueren Germanistik book series.

Her scholarship bridges literary analysis with cultural history, addressing themes of migration, gender, and minority representation. Current research continues exploring intersections of Jewish identity, feminist theory, and transnational cultural production.