Working towards promoting diversity in literature

Driven by her passion for promoting diversity in literature, senior English major Riley Rhoder has explored a wide range of coursework and extracurriculars throughout her time in the Department of Literatures in English. Her commitment to highlighting inclusive literature and her welcoming presence in classes have earned her recognition from her professors and peers.

While the typical English class stereotypically focuses on classic literature, Rhoder said she has taken many classes that go beyond the readings and critically engage her to learn about cultures and perspectives different from her own.

“The English department has so many incredibly fascinating and innovative classes within it,” Rhoder said. “We get to read a lot of contemporary [content] that’s looking at real world issues and is also incredibly applicable to our lives and our careers.”

For example, Rhoder took a class called Global Blackness with Derek Adams, associate professor in the Department of Literatures in English. The class provides a space for students to learn about Black identity through texts written across the globe. Adams said Rhoder always provided an engaging learning environment for herself and her peers because she was never afraid to go beyond just the content of the literature.

“She was always willing to sit there with how things made her feel,” Adams said. “That requires a courage that is almost indescribable because you are having to be vulnerable in a space full of relative strangers. … She was also incredibly responsive to the feelings that other people would share.”

Outside of her typical coursework, Rhoder is also the president of the international English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta. She started as a first-year sophomore liaison and has worked her way up. Adams said Rhoder is a great mentor and leader to the first-year students she works with.

“She is one of the most reliable, responsible and assured people that I’ve ever worked with — and that includes at the level of graduate study — because you never have to ask her to do anything twice,” Adams said.

Rhoder is also involved in the New Voices Literary Festival, an annual festival where seven newer authors share their work through readings, panels and class visits. Rhoder is involved in the planning of the event, creating community displays and is part of the class that reads all seven of the new works.

In addition to being involved with the NVLF, Rhoder is the editor of the Graphic Novel Advisory Board newsletter. GNAB is a community-service group that operates through the two-credit English Professional Development course. Students read graphic novels and write a review and description of the novel to be shared with libraries across the local area in a newsletter. The board also does programs for rural local libraries. The graphic novels chosen are often ones that center around themes of LGBTQ+ issues or race and thus are more likely to be banned by other libraries or schools.

Katharine Kittredge, professor in the Department of Literatures in English and the adviser of GNAB, said one of her favorite memories of Rhoder was when she was involved in the children’s programming events that GNAB has done, which included visiting rural areas and speaking to children about diverse literature.

“There was a little girl [at the event] who was just in love with Riley,” Kittredge said. “She just thought Riley was the coolest person that she had ever seen. They were sitting there creating comics together and this little girl just got closer and closer until she was actually sitting on Riley’s chair with her. And, I know that little girl is going to think, college is now connected to a great grown up who sat and listened to her and I think that that could be a real turning point.”

To conclude her college career, Rhoder has been working on her senior thesis. She is writing a research paper about the modern manifestations of the cult of domesticity, also known as the cult of true womanhood, within contemporary women’s literature. Rhoder said she is looking into how society defines womanhood through femininity, domesticity and motherhood.

After graduating college, Rhoder said she is considering pursuing a degree in library sciences.

“I’m really interested in looking at diversity and inclusion in library spaces,” Rhoder said. “Ensuring that library shelves represent the wide breadth of experiences and identities within the communities that they’re surveying — that is super important to me.”

Despite her multitude of academic accomplishments, senior Meaghan Burke— another English major and Rhoder’s close friend — said Rhoder is humble about the work that she does.

“She is the essence of the Graphic Novel Advisory Board,” Burke said. “But, she’s not looking for accolades. She’s doing this because she believes in it and she values it.”

Burke said she has taken many classes with Rhoder over their four years at the college together. While they have spent academic time together, Burke said she has not only learned how to be a better student from Rhoder but also gained a best friend.

“I value her so much as a friend because I know I can always trust her and her opinions,” Burke said. “She’s just such a good person to have in your corner. She’s reliable, she’s dependable and she’s also just so fun. … I’m so immensely proud of everything she’s accomplished and is continuing to accomplish.”

This student profile was written for publication in the 2024-25 Year in Review.