Anne Curzan

Anne Curzan is an American scholar in English language and literature. She is currently a professor of English at the University of Michigan.

Anne Curzan
Curzan in 2015
Academic background
Alma mater	Yale University (BA) University of Michigan (MA, PhD)
Website	lsa.umich.edu/english/people/faculty/acurzan.html

Curzan served as the dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan from September 2019 to June 2024.

Education

Curzan received a Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) with a major in linguistics from Yale University in 1991. She received a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy in English language and literature from the University of Michigan in 1995 and 1998, respectively.^[1]

Career

Curzan joined the University of Washington as an assistant professor at the Department of English in 2001. She moved to the University of Michigan to serve as assistant professor in 2002, and was promoted to associate professor in 2004. She received full professorship at the University of Michigan in 2012.^[1]

Curzan is a member of the American Heritage Dictionary Usage Panel and the American Dialect Society, which votes on the Word of the Year. She co-hosts the weekly Michigan Public radio segment That's What They Say with Rebecca Kruth^[2] and has written for the Chronicle of Higher Education's Lingua Franca blog.^[3] At the University of Michigan, Curzan received the Henry Russel Award,^[4] the Faculty Recognition Award,^[5] and the John Dewey Award.^[6]

Curzan served as the dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan from September 1, 2019 to June 30, 2024.^[7][1]

A book authored by Curzan, Says Who?, was published in March 2024.^[8][9]

Books

• ISBN 978-0205032280 How English works: A linguistic introduction
• ISBN 978-0472067329 First day to final grade: A graduate student's guide to teaching, with Lisa Damour
• ISBN 978-0521820073 Gender shifts in the history of English
• ISBN 978-1598038934 The secret life of words: English words and their origins
• ISBN 978-1107020757 Fixing English: Prescriptivism and language history
• ISBN 978-0593444092 Says Who? A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words