Dr. Sianne Ngai

Professor

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Biography

Sianne Ngai is the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, specializing in Aesthetic Theory and Critical Theory. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2000 and has been involved in significant research within American Literature, Feminist Queer Studies, and Cultural Studies. Ngai's influential works include 'Ugly Feelings' (2005), which examines politically ambiguous emotions such as envy and irritation, and 'Aesthetic Categories: Zany, Cute, Interesting' (2012), which won the Modern Language Association’s James Russell Lowell Prize. Her recent publication 'Theory Gimmick: Aesthetic Judgment Capitalist Form' (2020) investigates the contradictions embedded in aesthetic judgments in capitalist culture. Ngai is currently engaged in writing 'Ugly Thinking', which explores affective dimensions of dialectical thought within the frameworks of Marx and Hegel. Over her career, she has received numerous fellowships and honors, including an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Copenhagen in 2015. Ngai has also taught at other prestigious institutions and presented her work internationally, emphasizing her significant contributions to contemporary aesthetic and critical theory.

Research Interests

Requirements for University of Chicago

Doctorate Program
Requirements
TOEFL
Listening
Required:26
Reading
Required:26
Writing
Required:26
Speaking
Required:26
Total
Required:104
IELTS
Listening
Required:7
Reading
Required:7
Writing
Required:7
Speaking
Required:7
Overall
Required:7
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree Writing sample Candidate statement
Application Checklist
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Specialization Notes

Department of Philosophy