Lecturer
B.A., English and Ethnic Studies (minor), 2001, UC Berkeley
M.A. English, 2003, University of Washington, Seattle
Ph.C., English, 2005, University of Washington, Seattle
Office: UW1 335
Phone: 425-352-5350
Email: gmr2@u.washington.edu
Mailing: Box 358530, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011
Teaching
Each of us approaches education from a unique social location, a personal history and context. I often teach through the rubric of popular culture because it's one of those places where our understanding of the world may likely ‘overlap' and intersect. I am not suggesting that we always agree on the definition and/or the merits of popular culture; quite the contrary. However, I believe culture becomes ‘popular' because it speaks to something familiar in our understanding of ourselves as social beings - for better or for worse. The key is tracing out what that ‘something' is and learning from it in a way that informs an active response to the present. I strongly believe that knowledge is made both inside and outside of the classroom, and for this reason, I encourage an ethics of mutual respect, difficult dialogue, and persistent, critical reflection about our practices in the university and in our various communities.
For the past three years, I have been teaching upper level special topics courses in the Comparative History of Ideas Program at UW Seattle. The classes have varied in focus and included "The Poetics and Politics of Early Hip Hop Culture" and "Rethinking the Work of Henry and William James."
Research/Scholarship
My research interests include global hip hop culture, American and Comparative Cultural Studies, Critical Race Theory and public scholarship. I am also interested in late nineteenth century American literature, pragmatism and turn-of-the-century political and practical (everyday) conceptions of race, nation and empire.