University Libraries announces Samaine Lockwood is 2026 Fenwick Fellow

University Libraries has named Samaine Lockwood, associate professor of English, the 2026 Fenwick Fellow. 

Lockwood’s research project, Tituba Indian: The History of an American Cultural Figure, will further her work on a monograph of this title. Tituba Indian was the first person accused of practicing witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, and she was an enslaved woman of color.

The Salem witch trials have been a popular subject for literary re-creation since the early 19th century. Lockwood's book will provide the first comprehensive account of this literary history by focusing on the role Tituba Indian has played within this body of literature and examining the cultural work that women of color are called on to perform in relation to theories of democracy, citizenship, and belonging.

Lockwood taught the English Honors seminar The Witches of American Literature in fall 2024, which explored representations of the witch in American culture from the Civil War to the 21st century, particularly in the long shadow of the Salem Witch Trials. 

“The witch is a powerful and enduring cultural figure in large part because women continue to struggle with multiple and intersecting forms of structural discrimination, and the culture at large continues to grapple with questions of what is permissible in terms of womanhood and women's freedom,” Lockwood said.

The witch, according to Lockwood, is frequently cast as a figure of rebellion against existing power structures. 

The course came about as a result of the research Lockwood was conducting on how Tituba Indian was represented in U.S. culture from 1820 to present.

“Tituba is an important figure through which to think about gender, race, and civic belonging as they coalesce in America,” said Lockwood. “Her presence in cultural representations of Salem witchcraft complicate the often white-dominant narrative about witches in the U.S. and women of color in New England history.”

Lockwood has gone on to develop and teach other courses based on this research, including a graduate-level course designed to introduce graduate students, many of whom are public school teachers, to new approaches for teaching Arthur Miller's play, The Crucible, which continues to form part of the public school curriculum.

Lockwood’s fellowship will include an immersive trip to Salem, Massachusetts, as well as the purchase of key works to enhance the University Libraries’ collections, supporting research and relevant courses for students. 

Lockwood will present on the outcomes of this project at a future Fenwick Fellow Lecture.