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Melissa Poulsen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, English

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Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Literature; University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Master of Arts (M.A.), Literature; University of California, Santa Cruz
  • Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), English Honors; University of San Francisco

Biography

Dr. Poulsen specializes in critical mixed race studies, transnational Asian American literature, comparative ethnic studies, and ecocriticism. Her current work focuses on twentieth and twenty-first century literary and popular culture representations of Asian mixed race in the United States. Her writing is featured in journals including MELUS, Amerasia, and the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. For her dedication to diversity in higher education, Dr. Poulsen has been recognized as an Emerging Diversity Scholar by the National Center for Institutional Diversity. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Literature (Lit 150)
  • Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi—Oh My!: Introduction to Speculative Fiction (Lit 200)
  • Asian American Literature (Lit 307)
  • Graphic Novels & Manga (Lit 320)
  • Consuming Culture: Writing about Food (Eng 100)
  • The Stories We Tell: Writing about Identity (Eng 101)
  • Crossing Borders: Writing about Travel (Eng 102)
  • Utopian Dreams, Dystopian Nightmares: Imagining Our Future (Eng 450)

Recent Publications

  • “Life is a Long Exorcism: Horror as Mixed Race Resistance in Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress.” Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 2024, 10.1080/21504857.2024.2304088
  • “Of Fanny Packs and Roundhouse Kicks: Teaching Media Literacy through Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Teaching Popular Culture in the Humanities Classroom, ed. Ashley Archiopoli, Lexington Books, 2024
  • “Conjured Others and Exorcized Bodies: Reimagining the Horror of Possession in Alice Sola Kim’s ‘Mothers Lock Up Your Daughters Because They Are Terrifying,’” No More Haunted Dolls: Horror Fiction that Transcends the Tropes, ed. Cassandra Sachar, Vernon Press, 2024
  • “An Ocean of Becoming: Routed Motherhood in Lisa Ko’s The Leavers.” Co-written with Tereza Šmilauerová, MELUS, Volume 48, Issue 4, Winter 2023, Pages 75-92, https://doi.org/10.1093/melus/mlad08
  • “The Weight of the Past: Mixed Race Materiality in Post-Postracial Asian American Literature.” MELUS, Volume 47, Issue 2, Summer 2022, Pages 33–54, https://doi.org/10.1093/melus/mlac041
  • “Writing Madame Butterfly’s Child: Japonisme and Mixed Race in Winnifred Eaton’s ‘A Half Caste.’” Amerasia. Volume 43, Issue 2, 2017, Pages 158-175, https://doi.org/10.17953/aj.43.2.158-17

Recent Presentations

  • “The Multiracial Pasts and Futures of Asian American Speculative Fiction,” Panel Speaker, Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference (virtual), June 13-15, 2024
  • “Van Tran Nguyen: Toward A Mutable Representation and Creative Praxis,” Panel Speaker, Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference, Portland, Oregon, October 25-29, 2023
  • “Children of the Yellow Peril: Writing Asian Mixed Race Characters Amid Anti-Asian Hate,” Presenter, Association for Asian American Studies Annual Conference (virtual), March 31, 2023
  • “I Was Unlike All Other Girls”: Water & Reimagined Femininity in Lisa Ko’s The Leavers,” Presenter, Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Annual Conference, Los Angeles, California, November 10-13, 2022
  • “Monstress Knowledge: Violence & Mixed-Race Resistances in Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda’s Monstress,” Presenter & Panel Chair, Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference (virtual), February 24-26, 2022
  • “In Search of Refuge: Environmental Escape and Mixed-Race Belonging in Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being,” Presenter, Association for the Study of Literature and Environment Biennial Conference (virtual), July 26-August 6, 2021
  • “Citizen of Nowhere, Citizen of the World: Imagining Ecocritical Belonging in Asian Mixed-Race Literature,” Presenter, Association for Asian American Studies Annual Conference (virtual), April 7-10, 2021
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