© 2000 Richard Lord |
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Thelma Shinn Richard, professor of English from Arizona
State University, is shown with a colleague at Stellenbosch
University in South Africa where she is teaching American/African
American literature.
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Thelma Shinn Richard, a professor in the departments of women's
studies and English at Arizona State University (ASU), went to
South Africa this year to teach American/African American literature
and conduct research at the University of Stellenbosch. Richard's
courses at ASU concentrated on the contributions of the American
"Other," including women, African and Asian American
and American Indian writers. She teaches literature with a cultural
studies slant and is devoted to expanding the perception of the
American experience to include a wide variety of perspectives.
The focus of Richard's ongoing research concerns the influence
of myth on perspective and narrative patterns in the development
of the contemporary novel. In the past, she has examined the influence
of Celtic and Greek myth on literary patterns. Currently, she
is combining her interest in the literature of the American "Other"
with her interest in how myth influences literature by conducting
research on African myth and folklore, much of which has been
used in African American literature. She explains, "Since
folklore is inextricably bound to the physical as well as the
cultural realities from which it comes, research into these particular
foundations for African American writing would ideally involve
an acquaintance with Africa." She reported that her Fulbright
experience has expanded her research to include South African
"literary bridges," and she hopes to offer a course
when she returns to ASU reflecting the reciprocal influence of
African American literature and art on the literature of South
Africa.
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