She received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 2010. Blood at the Root: Lynching as American Cultural Nucleus, the monograph based on her Ph.D. research, won the SUNY Press Dissertation/First Book Prize in 2009, and was published by SUNY in 2011. Her articles have appeared in American Literature, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, and Senses of Cinema. Sponsored by: Newcomb College Institute Admission: Free