About:

Richard Rhett Parker is a PhD student in English Literature at the University of South Florida. He received his B.A. and M.A. in English at Valdosta State University.

As a scholar, his primary area of interest resides in Postmodern and Contemporary American literature. Specifically, his research pursuits aim at uncovering the ways that American authors since the ‘60s have recorded and/or highlighted how distinct, regional cultures within America have been “flattened out” in favor of a mainstream culture built on mass consumption, such as through the act of replacing farmlands with shopping malls. Outside of this primary pursuit, he is also highly interested in analyzing science fiction, war fiction, and liminal spaces.

As an instructor, his primary research interests reside in understanding the pedagogical value of multi-modal and digital texts (especially comic books, graphic novels, and video games) as well as how to apply said texts to Rhet/Comp and literature courses. In the classroom, he is committed to teaching students in a way that emphasizes self-efficacy and self-reflection. That is, he strives to place students in control of their own learning while also showing them that their successes and failures should be perceived as opportunities for growth. He fully believes that the best way to learn is to dive in, get messy, and discover along the way. Mr. Parker reinforces these concepts by fostering communities within his classrooms, getting to know his students beyond just bodies in chairs, and humanizing himself beyond the tired, old cliché of the “sage on a stage.”