Grace Heneks

Grace Heneks is a Lecturer in the Department of English at Texas A&M University, within the College of Liberal Arts. Her academic background includes a PhD in English from Texas A&M (2021), an MA from the University of Colorado at Denver (2014), and a BA from the same university (2010). She specializes in contemporary African American literature, critical race studies, and humor studies, focusing on satire’s role in addressing racial dynamics and cultural narratives.

Her research interests encompass 20th/21st century American literature, African diaspora studies, and the intersection of humor with critical race theory. She has published in journals like MELUS, The Comparatist, and Studies in American Humor, analyzing works by authors such as Colson Whitehead and Jordan Peele.

Awarded the Murray and Celeste Fasken Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award (2020), she emphasizes student engagement and critical thinking in her teaching. Her recent publications explore Obama-era black satire’s critique of whiteness and racial history in contemporary literature.

Grace’s work bridges literary analysis with broader cultural discourse, addressing topics like post-racial allegory, the satirical gaze in horror films, and historical narratives of race. She actively contributes to American humor studies through peer-reviewed articles and academic grants.