Megan Cole Paustian

Megan Cole Paustian is an Associate Professor of English and Co-coordinator of the Race and Ethnic Studies Program at North Central College. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Rutgers University (2013), preceded by an M.A. (2011) and B.A. (2007) from the University of Wisconsin. Her research explores the intersection of literature and humanitarian thought, focusing on African fiction and critiques of white saviorism. She is the author of Humanitarian Fictions: Africa, Altruism, and the Narrative Imagination (Fordham UP, 2024).

Her areas of expertise include Twentieth-Century Global Anglophone Literature, Postcolonial Theory, African Literature, and Feminist/Gender Studies. She has published widely on topics such as narrative ethics in humanitarian discourse, postcolonial identity politics, and the role of literature in envisioning equitable international relations. Courses she teaches include Black Narrative, Feminism and Queer Theory, and Multicultural American Literature.

• Awards: Jacob K. Javits Fellow (2013), Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellow (2013)
• Key Research Themes: Humanitarianism's narrative limitations, African agency in global discourses, intersection of race/gender in literature

Her scholarship bridges literary analysis with ethical and political questions, emphasizing how narrative forms can challenge colonial legacies and reimagine global responsibility. She actively contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives like the Race and Ethnic Studies Program at North Central College.