Dr. Elise Lemire is Associate Professor of Literature at Purchase College, SUNY, where in addition to teaching US literature, she also teaches Cinema Studies and Women's Studies. She lectures widely on race in American history, has served as an advisor on historical film projects, and is the author of two books: Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009) and “Miscegenation:” Making Race in America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002; paperback edition, 2009). She has received numerous grants and fellowships, including two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Lemire received her BA from Yale University and her PhD from Rutgers University. Prior to starting her graduate work, she was a financial analyst for a major investment bank.