She completed her Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University, and M.A. and B.A. at University of Pennsylvania. Her book project, Niobe Repeating: Black New Women and Ovidian Transformation, explores how, through Ovidian allusions, themes, and forms, nineteenth-century African American women writers redefined literary convention, gender configurations, and racial identity, giving rise to a new genre of “Black New Women” classicist fiction. Dr. Spigner also engages with and teaches classes featuring black feminist and feminist theories, twentieth-century African American and Caribbean literatures, and nineteenth-century American literature. She also serves as a member of the Executive-Advisory Board of Vanderbilt University’s Issues in Critical Investigation (ICI).