Maisha Wester

Assistant Professor, American Culture Studies & English

Ph.D., English, University of Florida
M.A., English, University of Florida
B.A., English, University of North Florida

Office: 106 East Hall
Phone: 419-372-7158
E-mail: maishaw

Research Interests:

Constructions and representations of "Blackness" in American popular culture; American gothic literature;
representations of otherness and marginalization in contemporary horror films; African-American culture and literature after 1800; womanist theory and literature;
postmodernist theories of narrative and identity

Recent and Reoccurring Courses:

The Nature and Face of Terror in American Gothic Fiction and Film; Survey of African-American Literature I: 1785 to 1930; American Gothic Literature; Writing the Black (Wo)man's body in 20th Century American Literature; Theorizing African-American Literature; Introduction to Writing about Literature;Haunting New Orleans; Horrors of Race; Gender and Sexuality in Horror Film; The Horror of Blackness

Biography:

Maisha is a Florida native who is originally from Miami. During her graduate career at UF she also held a position as adjunct faculty at Santa Fe Community College and worked as a tutor in the College's writing Lab. Maisha is also a trained Victim's Advocate and worked in a Domestic Violence shelter for several years in Gainesville, serving as child advocate to the facility while she completed her doctoral degree. Her work in the Domestic Violence shelter greatly contributes both to her research in African American Culture and Womanist theory, but also impacts her theories of contemporary American Horror.

Selected Publications:

“A Review of Donal Moriarty’s The Art of Brian Coffey,” Nua: Studies in Contemporary Irish Writing 3.1-2 (Spring 2001), 207- 212

Awards and Honors:

Alumni Doctoral Fellowship, 2001-2005