jasmine butlerPh.D. Student (2026 Cohort)

Jasmine R. Butler (they/them) was born and raised in Memphis by way of deep Mississippi roots. They’re a Black Queer writer, editor, and budding public scholar deeply committed to collective liberation and storytelling in/with the Black South - past, present, and future. As a first year PhD Student and Centennial Scholar, Jasmine is working to become a scholar of the Black South and of Black Atlantic ritual and resistance. Their research interests span literary, spiritual, and pedagogical precursors to enslaved and colonial rebellions. As they seek to answer questions of how we learn to resist and rebel, Jasmine is eager to critically engage with Black archival praxis, Black Feminist methodologies, Black Ecologies, and the Black Radical Tradition.

Jasmine earned a BA in Geography Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth College in 2021 where they were a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and Udall Scholar. After completing their BA and before joining Emory AAS, Jasmine worked across climate justice, anti-war, and anti-imperialist movements as a political educator, organizing coach, and trainer. Jasmine’s commitment to community education and public scholarship continues through their stewardship of Speculative Literary, a communal hub for programming and resources that promote literary, collective study, creative writing, & liberatory praxis. When not reading or teaching, Jasmine can be found swaying to the blues while in the kitchen cooking for their partner, dog child, and step-cat.