Gayle Wald is a professor of English and American Studies at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

and a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

. From 1994-95 she was Visiting Assistant Professor of English and American Studies at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Education

Wald graduated with a B.A. in English and French from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

in 1987 and subsequently obtained a Ph.D. in English from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1995.

Career

She is currently Professor of American Studies at

. Formerly she served as chair of English; currently she serves as chair of American Studies. She has been a co-editor of the ''Journal of Popular Music Studies.'' She regularly writes pieces for newspapers and blogs. She has also been coeditor of Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series.

Works

* ''Crossing the Line: Racial Passing in U.S. Literature and Culture'' (Duke University Press, 2000) * ''Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe'' (Beacon Press, 2007) * ''It's Been Beautiful: Soul! and Black Power Television'' (Duke University Press, 2015) ''Shout, Sister, Shout!'' is the basis for the documentary film ''Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock & Roll'', directed by Mick Csaky. It is also the basis for the musical of the same name directed by Randy Johnson; book by Cheryl L. West. This opened at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

in July 2017 and the

Seattle Repertory Theater Seattle Repertory Theatre (familiarly known as "The Rep") is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound George Brant George Brant is an American playwright. Born in Park Ridge, Illinois, Park Ridge, Illinois, he is the author of several award-winning plays, most notably ''Grounded''. Career Brant completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University a ...

at the

Atlantic Theater Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their actin ...

uses the story. In September 2019, Beacon released an audiobook of ''Shout, Sister, Shout!'' featuring

Leslie Uggams Leslie Marian Uggams (born May 25, 1943) is an American actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child in the early 1950s, Uggams is recognized for portraying Kizzy Reynolds in the television miniseries ''Roots'' (1977), earning Golden Glob ...

and produced by Elizabeth Healy. She is currently writing a book about children's musician Ella Jenkins.

Awards and recognitions

* John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship, 2012–13 * National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, 2012–13 * National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, 2005-6 Wald has twice been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities faculty fellowship: once in 2005-6 and again in 2012-13. She received the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship], 2012-13.

References

Living people Columbian College of Arts and Sciences faculty George Washington University faculty Fellows of the National Endowment for the Humanities Year of birth missing (living people) Princeton University alumni University of Virginia alumni American writers {{Scientist-stub