Sami Schalk is an

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...

in the Department of

Gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures us ...

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She was previously an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the

University at Albany, SUNY The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

. In 2019 she started the campaig
#twerkwithlizzo
combining fun with larger issues relating to racism, sexism and fatphobia as a form o

Her twerking with

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After college she ...

went viral and made her th
Professor who twerked with Lizzo

Cultural Significance

Schalk twerked with

onstage on October 10, 2019.

Education

Schalk received her

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in English & Women's Studies in 2008, with a minor in

Disability Studies Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability," where impairment was an impairment of an individual ...

, from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 1 ...

, and her M.F.A. in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literar ...

from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 2010. She received her PhD in Gender Studies from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

in 2014.

Publications

Schalk has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, essays, reviews, and popular articles. In 2018, she published a monograph titled " Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction."https://www.dukeupress.edu/bodyminds-reimagined

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schalk, Sami University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Living people Disability studies academics Year of birth missing (living people) Women's studies academics American women non-fiction writers University at Albany, SUNY faculty