Melissa Pullara

Melissa Pullara is an Assistant Teaching Professor in English at the University of New Brunswick, specializing in early modern drama with focus on representations of witchcraft, gender, and power. Her research examines how supernatural elements in Elizabethan and Jacobean theater critique contemporary social structures, with recent work analyzing modern reinterpretations in the #MeToo era. She teaches courses spanning Shakespeare studies, early modern literature, and clear writing.

Her doctoral dissertation analyzed psychological dimensions of supernatural encounters in plays by Chapman, Marston, Middleton, and Shakespeare. Current research investigates parallels between historical witchcraft accusations and modern discourses about female abuse, exploring how revivals of demonization narratives resonate differently in contemporary social contexts.