My grandmother’s art inspired me to pursue a phd

I am an advanced PhD Candidate and Provost’s Fellow at Columbia University, where I work at the intersection of postcolonial literature and performance, Africana studies, and writing studies. As I complete my dissertation, I am preparing to enter the academic job market in Fall 2027 for faculty positions beginning in 2028.

My research considers how the humanities shape conversations surrounding national and international public policy. Ultimately, I explore how artistic practices generate political knowledge, shape public memory, and inform civic institutions. Across each phase of my research, I ask: "whose" political knowledge, and "what kinds" of political knowledge, become visible when artistic production is understood as an intellectual practice?

At Columbia, I have held teaching appointments as a Writing Instructor and was selected as one of nine finalists for the 2025 Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student Instructor. I have also completed fellowships in academic administration across the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), the School of General Studies (GS), and Columbia Business School (CBS), and have served as a Lecturer of Theatre Histories at Rutgers University.

My research has appeared through my long-form public humanities project, "My Colorful Nana," which I founded at New York University, and in GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies (Duke University Press), where I was invited to publish the peer-reviewed book review essay “On the Potentials of Black Feminist Spirituality.” My research has been supported by the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., and the Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

Areas of Expertise:
Postcolonial Literature & Performance Studies
African Diasporic Studies
Writing Studies

- Lauren Stockmon Brown