Gladys M Francis

Gladys M. Francis is Professor of Africana, French, and Francophone Studies at Howard University, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Student Affairs and Humanities. As founding director of the Africana Studies Center, she develops initiatives bridging academic research with community engagement.

Her scholarship examines identity formation through lenses of race, gender, and trauma in Caribbean/African diasporic contexts. Research explores artistic resistance in Francophone literatures and visual cultures, with emphasis on Creole epistemologies and decolonial aesthetics.

Recent books analyze transgressive narratives in Caribbean women's writings and the palpable aesthetics of resistance. Awards include the 2023 Distinguished Purdue Alumni Award and honorary patronage of the Guy Tirolien Literary Prize.

She maintains international collaborations through visiting professorships in Europe and South America, focusing on intersectional pedagogies and social justice frameworks.