Ryan Kernan

Ryan Kernan is an Associate Professor of English at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where he also serves as the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies. His work bridges African American & African Diaspora Literature, Translation Studies, and Postcolonial Theory through a transnational lens.

• Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, UCLA (2007)
• A.B. in English Literature and Theater, Princeton University (1998), Summa Cum Laude

Research explores how translation shaped Langston Hughes's creative processes and Black internationalism (1930-1967), emphasizing radical poetics, inter-American dialogues, and Afrofuturist frameworks. His 2022 book New World Maker redefines Hughes as a diasporic intellectual.

Key trends in publications: transnational literary networks, translation as political praxis, and intersections of race, modernism, and cultural exchange. Articles span comparative poetics, narrative theory, and inter-American literary history.

• 2011-2012 Schomburg Center Faculty Fellow
• 2006-2007 UC President's Dissertation Fellow
• Multiple mentorship awards (2004-2006)
• Phi Beta Kappa, Princeton (1998)

Teaching philosophy focuses on interactive, multicultural classrooms that emphasize critical textual analysis across global literatures. Affiliated with American Studies Association, American Comparative Literature Association, and Modern Language Association.