Elizabeth Muther

Elizabeth Muther is an Associate Professor of English at Bowdoin College, located in Brunswick, Maine. Her research focuses on 20th and 21st century American and African American literatures, with particular emphasis on humor theory, visual culture studies, poetry, and children’s literature. She has developed courses such as 'African American Literature and Visual Culture' and co-curated the exhibition 'Letters and Shadows: African American Art and Literature' at the Bowdoin Museum of Art. Her current book project, Shadow Dancing: Racial Doubles in Performance, explores racial mimicry and shadow figures in American expressive culture.

Education: PhD from the University of California-Berkeley (English) and BA from Wellesley College (English). Teaching includes courses like 'Trolls, Frogs, and Princesses: Fairy Tales and Retellings' and 'African American Fiction: Humor and Resistance.' She is affiliated with Massachusetts Hall, Room 303, and reachable via emuther@bowdoin.edu.

Her scholarship spans interdisciplinary topics, blending literary analysis with visual culture, performance studies, and cultural history. Recent publications address racial dynamics in performance, African American poetic traditions, and narrative resistance in children’s literature.