Tangela Serls

Dr. Tangela Serls serves as an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Department of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and as the inaugural Special Advisor to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of South Florida. She is recognized for her teaching excellence, having received the University’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching award and the USF Faculty Pride Award.

Her educational background, as a first-generation college student, is rooted in historically Black Colleges and Universities:

• B.A. from Fort Valley State University
• M.Ed. from Florida A&M University
• Ph.D. in English/Literary Studies from the University of South Florida

Dr. Serls' research centers on Black Feminist Theory, African American Women's Literature, and Womanist Theory, with additional interests in Disability Studies, Feminist Pedagogy, and Friendship Theology. Her scholarship aims to amplify marginalized voices through contemporary African American women authors and fugitive pedagogies. She teaches courses including Literature by Women of Color and Black Feminisms: Past and Present.

She has secured significant research funding as principal investigator for two Florida Humanities grants and maintains active scholarly engagement through the USF Humanities Institute fellowship cohort. Her conference presentations at venues like the Southeastern Women’s Studies Association demonstrate interdisciplinary reach.

Dr. Serls has held critical service roles including five years as WGSS undergraduate director and five years as faculty partner with Housing and Residential Education.

Her scientific awards include:

• University’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching award
• USF Faculty Pride Award
• USF Humanities Institute faculty fellowship