Don Holmes

Don Holmes is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh's Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences. He holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2021) and a BA (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Southern Mississippi (2014). His research focuses on early African American literature, rhetoric, and culture from the 17th to mid-19th centuries, particularly examining how Black writers and speakers resisted anti-Black subjugation through rhetorical practices. His first book project explores Black Africans/African Americans' responses to societal disorder in early America, while his recent work analyzes Phillis Wheatley-Peters' writings during the American Revolution.

• Education: PhD in English (UNC Chapel Hill, 2021); BA in English (University of Southern Mississippi, 2014)

Research emphasizes African American rhetorical traditions, cultural history, and the intersection of literature with colonial/antebellum political dynamics. His 2022 article in Early American Literature examines Phillis Wheatley's diplomatic rhetoric. Holmes teaches courses on American literature and Black rhetoric, including Topics in Black Rhetoric: 'The Word at Work.'

Previously served as Lecturer of English at Carnegie Mellon University before joining Pitt's faculty.