Jessica Williams

Position/Role
Assistant Professor
Department
English
School
School of Arts and Sciences
Building
New Academic Building
Room
3017
Phone
(516)876-3120
E-mail
Email
Courses Taught
  • EL1000: English Composition I
  • EL2239: English Composition II / Horror Literature
  • EL3500: Literature Across Cultures I: Analysis
  • EL3510: Literature Across Cultures II: Theory
  • EL3600: US Lit I
  • EL3610: US Lit II
  • EL4030: Women and Narrative
Degrees
  • D.A. in English, St. John's University
  • M.A. in English, Stony Brook University
Research Interests
  • Multicultural American Literature
  • Disability Studies
  • Popular Culture
Publications

  • Book:

    • Media, Performative Identity, and the New American Freakshow. Palgrave MacMillan.

  • Book Chapters:

    • “Horror Movies, Horror Bodies: Blurring the Freak Body in Cinema.” Circus Space: The Big Top on the Big Screen. Forthcoming 2018.
    • “I would like to think that Refusal is worth making’: The Future of New Punk in SLC Punk.” A Creative Passion: Anarchism and Culture. Edited by Jeffrey Shantz. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010.

  • Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

    • “The Funky Monk and the Myth of the Solitary Author: John Frusciante and the Meaning of Authorship.” Postscriptum: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Literary Studies 3.1 January 2018. 
    • “The Appropriation of an Epic: Lucille Clifton’s Feminist Retelling of Milton.” Feminist Spaces 3.1. Winter 2017, 79-95.
    • “The Racial Freak: In and Out of Harlem.” Storytelling: A Critical Journal of Popular Narrative. 12:1, Summer 2012, 5-14.

  • Creative Publications

    • “I Had Finished Unpacking.” Infinite Rust. Fall 2018. 
    • “High Heels and Hoodies, Blazers and Body Mods: How I Found ‘Myself’ in Academia.” The Atrium. Fall 2017. 

  • Presentations & Invited Talks:

    • Book Talk on Media, Performative Identity, and the New American Freak Show (2017). “Ask the Experts” Series at Coney Island USA. October 20, 2018. 
    • “English Professor Lost in STEM: How I Married my Freshman Composition Course to Pre-Calculus & Chemistry.” NYCEA. October 19-20, 2018. Queens, New York. 
    • “Teaching Disability Through Katherine Dunn's Geek Love.” Midwest Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association. October 18-22, 2017. St. Louis, MO. 
    • “‘Only humans can cry tears’: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the Horror of Crying.” Midwest Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association. October 18-22, 2017. St. Louis, MO.
    • “The Funky Monk and the Myth of the Solitary Author.” Midwest Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association. October 18-22, 2017. St. Louis, MO.
    • “Horror Movies, Horror Bodies.” NYCEA 2013 Convention. St. John’s University. November 8-9, 2013, New York, NY. (Best Graduate Student Presentation Award)
    • “The Appropriation of an Epic: Lucille Clifton and John Milton Retell Genesis.” NeMLA 2011 Convention. Rutgers University, April 2011, New Brunswick, NJ. 
Office Hours
  • M/W 9:45-11:15am
Personal Website
Book