Tracie M. Matysik

Tracie M. Matysik serves as Professor of History and Graduate Advisor for the Program in Comparative Literature at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts, specializing in modern European intellectual history and critical theory.

Education:

• Ph.D. from Cornell University (2001)

Research Interests: Matysik's scholarship critically examines secularism, subjectivity, and biopolitics through lenses of Spinozism, psychoanalysis, and human-animal relations. Her current book project investigates "bear life" and "bare life," analyzing nonhuman animals' roles in legal sovereignty and biopolitical frameworks, extending her prior work on Marx, Spinoza, and Central European ethical formations.

Scientific Awards:

• Brian F. Bolton Professorship in Secular Studies

Advising and Editorial Work: As Graduate Advisor for Comparative Literature, Matysik mentors graduate students while co-editing Modern Intellectual History since 2016. Her cross-disciplinary teaching spans History, Philosophy, and European Studies departments, covering Hitler/Nazism, Marx, and human-animal relations.