Melissa E. Sanchez

Melissa E. Sanchez is an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Arts & Sciences, with core faculty status in the Program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. Her work bridges early modern literature, queer theory, and critical race studies.

Education: Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine.

Research Interests: Early Modern Literature, Comparative Race and Empire Studies, Critical Theory, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Poetry and Poetics, Psychoanalytic Studies. She explores intersections of faith, race, and eroticism in premodern texts to challenge contemporary queer debates.

Scientific Awards:

• Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2021)
• Kahn Award for Outstanding Teaching by an Assistant Professor (2009)
• MLA Scaglione Prize Honorable Mention (2020)
• SSEMW Collaborative Project Award (2016)
• Compassionate Community Award (2020)

Advising and Grants: She has chaired doctoral dissertations on topics including police cultural vocabulary in early modern drama, trans metamorphoses, and reproductive healthcare in literary history. Her projects often involve interdisciplinary grants, particularly in feminist and queer scholarship.