Dr. Kiana Murphy

Biography

Kiana T. Murphy is an assistant professor in the Department of American Studies at Brown University. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. in English, Creative Writing, and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kiana's scholarly work connects Black speculative aesthetics, Black girlhood studies, Black feminism, visual cultures, and the archives of Black women writers. As a 2022-2023 Huntington Library Mellon Fellow, she is researching the Octavia Butler archives. Kiana's research interests lie at the intersection of Black Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, with a particular focus on the significance of speculative aesthetics in 20th and 21st-century African American literary and cultural production. Her ongoing book manuscript explores the work of Black women, queer, and non-binary writers and artists such as N.K. Jemisin, C.L. Clark, Rivers Solomon, and Eve L. Ewing, analyzing their craft techniques and world-building strategies. Kiana teaches various courses on African American literature and culture, archive theory, and visual culture, aiming to illuminate the complex narratives surrounding Black girlhood and community resilience.

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