Mary Floyd-Wilson

Mary Floyd-Wilson is the Mann Distinguished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in early modern English literature, particularly drama within cultural, social, and intellectual contexts. She holds tenure-stream faculty status and has been recognized for her exceptional teaching with awards such as the Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professorship (2015–2020) and the Tanner Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2006).

Her research explores ethnological differences, the history of emotion, and occult knowledge in early modern texts, including studies of Shakespeare's works (e.g., Hamlet, Macbeth), Ben Jonson's masques, and anonymous plays like The Witch of Edmonton. She is currently completing a book on demonic causality in Protestant contexts, analyzing plays such as Richard III, Hamlet, and The Tempest.

Key contributions include the 'affective turn' in literary scholarship and interdisciplinary work on contagion, gender, and science in early modern drama. Her publications span monographs, edited volumes, and peer-reviewed articles, emphasizing intersections between literature, religion, and science. She has held prestigious fellowships at institutions like the National Humanities Center and the University of Warwick’s Institute of Advanced Study.

Floyd-Wilson teaches courses on Shakespeare, early modern drama, and feminist historiography, consistently praised for her mentorship of graduate students and undergraduate education. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary debates in race, gender, and environmental studies.