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Gary Richards, Associate Professor of English, earned a Ph.D. (1996) and a M.A. (1992) from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. (1991) from Trinity University. Dr. Richards is an expert on Southern literature and culture, American fiction, contemporary drama, and sexuality studies.
His book, Lovers and Beloveds: Sexual Otherness in Southern Fiction, 1936-1961 (2005), was named Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2005. He has authored several chapters in published books, including most recently “Everybody’s Graphic Protest Novel: Stuck Rubber Baby and the Anxieties of Racial Difference” in Comics and the U.S. South (2012). His articles and essays have been published in the North Carolina Literary Review, Mississippi Quarterly and Southern Quarterly, among other publications.
Dr. Richards has presented papers and talks on literary topics at numerous scholarly conferences, and he has organized and chaired sessions at various literary festivals, conferences and meetings.
He teaches courses and seminars in Southern literature, modern American fiction, American humor; contemporary American fiction, sexuality in Southern literature and perspectives in sexualities. Dr. Richards received a faculty research grant from Mary Washington, as well as several faculty development supplemental grants. Prior to joining the UMW faculty in 2008, he taught at University of New Orleans, Vanderbilt University and Hiwassee College.
Dr. Richards serves on the executive committee of the Society for the Study of Southern Literature through fall 2013. He is a member of the Modern Language Association, American Culture Association, South Atlantic Modern Language Association, Society for the Study of Southern Literature, South Central Modern Language Association and Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the United States.
Dr. Richards’ understanding of various Southern cultures draws in part on his years of residence in several major Southern cities, including Dallas (1969-1987), San Antonio (1987-1991), Nashville (1991-1997), New Orleans (1997-2008) and now Fredericksburg.
Read Dr. Richards’ essay “The Artful and Crafty Ones of the French Quarter: Male Homosexuality and Faulkner’s Early Prose Writings.”
Read Dr. Richards’ essay “Moving Beyond Mississippi: Beth Henley and the Anxieties of Postsouthernness.”
Watch Dr. Richards’ interviews for the Biography Channel on Harper Lee, William Faulkner and Truman Capote.
Gary Richards Facilitates Event at Literary Festival
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Gary Richards[/caption]
Gary Richards, associate professor and chair of the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication, was a participant at the 27th Annual Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival in New Orleans. He was the facilitator of the Breakfast Book Club, one of the Festival's special events. This year, the focus was on the short stories of Southern writer Eudora Welty.Radio Show Features UMW English Professor
University of Mary Washington Associate Professor of English Gary Richards will discuss images of the U. S. South in Broadway musicals during an interview scheduled to air on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. The show, “The Gospel Roots of Rock and Roll,” will air beginning Saturday, Feb. 16. During the program, Richards will [...]Gary Richards Featured on Radio Show
University of Mary Washington Associate Professor of English Gary Richards will discuss images of the U. S. South in Broadway musicals during an interview scheduled to air on the “With Good Reason” public radio program. The show, “The Gospel Roots of Rock and Roll,” will air beginning Saturday, Feb. 16.
Gary Richards
During the program, Richards will argue that despite the popularity of musicals like Porgy and Bess and Showboat, musicals with southern themes tend to have a negative view of the region and don’t reflect its diversity today. As part of the program, Longwood University professor Chris Kjorness will discuss the legacy of gospel musician and singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Richards, who serves as chair of the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication, is an expert on southern literature and culture, American fiction, contemporary drama and sexuality studies. His book Lovers and Beloveds: Sexual Otherness in Southern Fiction, 1936-1961 was named Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2005. He has written several book chapters, including most recently “Everybody’s Graphic Protest Novel: Stuck Rubber Baby and the Anxieties of Racial Difference” in Comics and the U.S. South. His articles and essays have been published in Journal of American Studies, North Carolina Literary Review and Mississippi Quarterly, among other publications.
Richards earned a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University (San Antonio). His understanding of various southern cultures draws in part on his years of residence in several major southern cities, including Dallas (1969-1987), San Antonio (1987-1991), Nashville (1991-1997), New Orleans (1997-2008), and now Fredericksburg.
“With Good Reason” airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/.
“With Good Reason” is the only statewide public radio program in Virginia. It hosts scholars from Virginia’s public colleges and universities who discuss the latest in research, pressing social issues and the curious and whimsical. “With Good Reason” is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
English Faculty Present at MLA Conference
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Gary Richards[/caption]
Two professors and one recent alumnus of the Department of English, Linguistics, and Communication presented at the Modern Language Association Conference that met Jan. 3 through 6 in Boston, Mass. Assistant Professor Zach Whalen presented the paper "OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and the Vestigial Aesthetics of Machine Vision" on the panel Reading the Invisible and Unwanted in Old and New Media. Associate Professor Gary Richards presented the paper "Tennessee Williams and the Burden of Southern Sexuality Studies" on the panel The South and Sexuality. Alumnus Tyler Babbie, '08, presented the paper "Another Term: Richard Aldington and Imagism(e)" on the panel From Imagism to "Amygism" to Vorticism.
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Zach Whalen[/caption]Gary Richards Led Talk at Louisiana Book Festival
Gary Richards, associate professor of English, led the book talk "One Book One Festival: 'A Confederacy of Dunces'" at the Ninth Annual Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge, La., on Saturday, Oct. 27. At the same event, he was part of a panel discussion by contributors to "Comics and the U.S. South" (University Press of Mississippi, 2012), edited by Brannon Costello and Qiana J. Whitted. Richards contributed the essay "Everybody's Graphic Protest Novel: 'Stuck Rubber Baby' and the Anxieties of Racial Difference" to that collection.UMW Awards Top Honors at Commencement Ceremonies
The University of Mary Washington presented its top honors during commencement ceremonies Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. Dorothy M. Sandridge of Charlottesville, Va., received the Colgate W. Darden Jr. Award, which is presented to the student with the highest grade-point average (GPA) in the four-year undergraduate program. She finished with a 3.984 GPA. [...]
