Susan Phillips

Susan Phillips is an Associate Professor of English at Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University and is a member of the graduate faculty. Her research focuses on the materiality of books, late medieval and Early Modern literature, drama, and pre-modern pedagogy. She has received prestigious awards including the Alumnae of Northwestern Teaching Professorship (2014), Northwestern's highest teaching honor, and two Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities Fellowships (2009-10, 2017-18).

Her book Transforming Talk: The Problem with Gossip in Late Medieval England (2007) examines the cultural and literary roles of gossip. Current research explores dictionaries and conversation guides in premodern Europe, analyzing how language learning shifted to marketplaces and broader social contexts. Her work bridges medieval and Renaissance studies, emphasizing multilingualism and comparative literatures.

• Education: Ph.D., Harvard University

Awards highlight her exceptional teaching, including the 2008 Distinguished Teaching Award and multiple recognitions on the Faculty Honor Roll. Her scholarship integrates literary analysis with historical practices of text production and circulation.