Susan Mizruchi

Susan Mizruchi is Professor of English Literature at Boston University, where she has taught since 1986. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and specializes in American literature, religion and culture, and social theory. Her research spans from 19th-century literary realism to contemporary risk narratives, with notable works on Henry James, Marlon Brando, and multiculturalism.

• Education: B.A. in English and History (Washington University, 1981), M.A. and Ph.D. in English (Princeton, 1983/1985)
• Awards: Guggenheim Fellow, Fulbright Scholar, NEH Fellow, ACLS Fellow, MacArthur Foundation Consultant

Research Interests include interdisciplinary approaches to literature, gender studies, and the intersection of cultural economics with narrative forms. She has pioneered analyses of sacrifice theory, historical consciousness in fiction, and the role of religion in American culture.

Publications such as Brando's Smile and The Rise of Multicultural America demonstrate her engagement with both academic and popular audiences. Her work has been featured in American Literary History, Religion and Literature, and Representations.

Awards and Fellowships include: Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Graduate Education (2015), Financial Times Best Books of 2014, and multiple university fellowships. She serves as U.S. Delegate for Literature at Oxford University Press and advisor to the Princeton University English Department.

Graduate Supervision covers American Studies, English, and Religion. Her students have completed dissertations on topics ranging from 19th-century marriage politics to contemporary opioid crisis narratives, reflecting her broad influence in literary scholarship.