Lisa B. Thompson

Lisa B. Thompson is the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. She holds courtesy appointments in English, Theatre and Dance, Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies, and the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies.

• Ph.D. in Modern Thought & Literature from Stanford University (2000)
• Advisor to the Dean for Faculty Mentoring and Support since 2021

Her research bridges African American literature, Black theatre, performance studies, and feminist theory. Current work examines contemporary Black cultural production through playwriting and memoir. As a creative scholar, her artistic output directly informs her academic investigations.

Recent publications and productions include:

• The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body (2024) exploring embodiment politics
• Underground (2020) addressing historical memory through drama
• The Mamalogues (2021) on motherhood narratives

Awarded the University Research Excellence Creative Endeavor Award (2024-2025), B. Iden Payne Award Feature-length Script, and multiple theatre festival recognitions, her work has received institutional support from Harvard University's Hutchins Center, MacDowell, and the New School.

She co-hosts the Black Austin Matters podcast with Dr. Richard J. Reddick, focusing on Greater Austin's Black community. Her teaching includes graduate seminars on Performing Blackness and Staging Black Feminism.