Geraldine Heng


Geraldine Heng is an Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Perceval Fellow, with a joint appointment in Middle Eastern studies and Women’s studies, at the University of Texas at Austin. She is noted as a key protagonist in promoting postcolonial approaches to the European Middle Ages. Her book The Invention of Race in the European Middle Ages won the Association of American Publishers subject category award for world history.

Life and work

Education

Heng completed her MA degree at the National University of Singapore in 1980, with a thesis entitled "Tilting at Windmills: A Study of Nick Joaquin". She proceeded to study at Cornell University, completing her Ph.D. thesis, Gender Magic: Desire, Romance, and the Feminine in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in 1990.

Work

Amongst other work, Heng is noted for the article 'State Fatherhood: The Politics of Nationalism, Sexuality, and Race in Singapore', co-written with her husband Janadas Devan, critiquing resistance to same-sex marriage in Singapore.
Heng is also the first woman from Singapore to publish a collection of poetry in English, white-dreams.

Books