Elisabeth R. Anker is an associate professor of American Studies at George Washington, where she conducts research in political theory, media studies, and American political discourse and culture. She is the author of Ugly Freedoms (Duke University Press, December 2021) which examines how the language of freedom legitimates oppression and war. She is also the author of Orgies of Feeling: Melodrama and the Politics of Freedom (Duke, 2014), which examines how melodramatic narratives shape American politics. Orgies of Feeling was a finalist for the 2015 Romero Best First Book Prize in American Studies, and a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Anker has also published articles in Social Research, American Literary History, Political Theory, Politics and Gender, and Contemporary Political Theory, among other journals. She is co-editor of the journal Theory&Event. Anker is a frequent contributor on television and radio, and often appears on Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Arabic, as well as CNN, BBC, France24, and other television and radio networks. She is beginning a third book project titled "The Sovereign's Wrath."